What You Should Know Before You Begin
On this lens is a list of a few basic things to follow, when making any costume. I know, they seem so simple that it would seem I would not need to list them, but hey, even a professional costumer needs to be reminded of them every now and again.
Be Organized
Always have everything on hand BEFORE you begin, all of your materials, all of your supplies, and all of your tools, should laid out where you can reach them at a moments notice.
Keep things organized and neat, always wash your hands before handling your materials, and no food or drinks in your sewing area. There is nothing worse than losing small pieces or getting soils and stains on your project!
Keep things organized and neat, always wash your hands before handling your materials, and no food or drinks in your sewing area. There is nothing worse than losing small pieces or getting soils and stains on your project!
Things You Need: A Sewing Machine
Brother SE270D Computerized Sewing and Embroidery Machine
Well, unless you are a historical reenactor who takes historical reenactment to the utmost extremes and sews everything by hand, you are going to need, first and foremost, a sewing machine.
Sewing machines come in all shapes and sizes and there is one to fit every budget. You can pick up a really cheap, basic machine at Wal-Mart of $50 on sale. Alliteratively, you can go to a sewing machine dealer and take one of their models out for a test drive as a rental before you decide to dish out $7,500 or more for it. Going to your local Jo-Ann's will give you a choice of mid range machines in the $250 - $1,000 range.
The type of machine you choose to buy will be determined by the type of sewing you plan to do.
If you will be sewing a few gifts for Christmas and maybe a costume or two for Halloween and not much else the rest of the year, than a cheap model from Wal-Mart will suit your needs.
Singer CE-100 Futura Sewing and Embroidery Machine
If you are going to sew a lot of stuff, crafts, quilts, costumes, dresses, and gifts and sew regular on a daily or weekly basis, than you should look into a mid to high range sewing machine, like you'd find at Jo-Ann's.
If you plan to make yourself a quilted jacket, than sew up 3 or 4 quilts to sell at the fair, plus 3 or 4 more to give as gifts, and than quilt a wall hanging or two each month, than you will want to look into a mid to high range quilting machine.
If you plan to do lots of embroidery embellishing on your store bought or home sewn cloths, bath towels, and gifts, you'll want to look into an embroidery machine.
Brother 1034D 3/4 Lay-In Thread Serger
If you want to take your machine embroidery to a professional level and start a monogramming business, than you'll want to look into getting a Pfaff, but plan on spending a few thousand dollars on your machine. Pfaff's are not cheap, and most states do not have a local dealer, you may have to take a trip 2 or 3 states away to find your "local" Pfaff dealer.
If you plan on opening a dressmaking, bridal, home decorating, or curtain shop, and will be sewing garments at a rate of 3 or 4 a day, than you'll want to look into a professional sewing machine, called an "industrial sewing machine", but plan on spending $10,000 to $25,000 for one of these, super high powered mega machines. These are often built to order.
Some Things To Know Before You Buy Your First Sewing Machine
Here are a few sites I found where, actually sewers discuss the pros and cons of their favorite sewing machines.
- Your first machine, a buyers guide
- Your first machine, a buyers guide Online community for hip off-beat DIY craft projects. I do not pretend to know everything about every machine, or even everything about my own machine, I look for good commentary from you other experienced folks which I will incorporate into the original post with proper credit. I do know how to recognize a good machine, and I'm a pretty good comparative shopper.
- Sewing Machines - Before you Buy, Look Here - Cosplay.com
- Sewing Machines - Before you Buy, Look Here General Costume Help. What I'm hoping to do here is create one reference for those looking into making their first sewing machine purchase - I happen to be one of those people and would like to be able to find the recommendations all in one easy place... instead of scattered in smaller threads across multiple forum sections.
What Type of Sewing Machine Do You Own?
I found a set of questions to be answered by sewing machine owners. Ah! More question and answer thingies for me to fill out! Yay! I love those! I found this one on CosPlay.com. Feel free to copy these questions and write your own answers to post on your blog. Here are the questions and my answers:
1) What Machine do you own? Include the maker and model number please!
2) When did you purchase it/how old is it?
3) How much sewing experience do you have? (how long sewing, how advanced your projects are)
4) What do you like most about the machine?
5) What do you not like?
6) Would you recommend your machine to a fellow cosplayer?
In the past I've sewed on several other machines as well. From the machines I've used, I'd say most any Singer built before the 1980 would be a good buy, so long as it's still running.
I tend to steer clear of digital and computerized machines, simply because they seem to focus more on the little details, like embroidering logos and such, and I do all my embroidery by hand because it looks so much better than machine, even if it does take 2 weeks to hand sew what a machine can sew in under 5 minutes.
I'd recommend getting 2 machines. One cheap, light weight travel/student type that you can take on the road with you and use for you basic small stuff on a daily basis; and one heavy duty (possible older) model that you can use for years and years and sew through any fabric you feed into it.
What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post and your own sewing machine. Leave a comment in the guestbook at the bottom of this page and share your views!
1) What Machine do you own? Include the maker and model number please!
Brother LS-2125, which replaced a Singer that was very similar in type
I also still have my old machine which is a JCPenny one from the 1970's that I keep because it does like 200 decorative top stitches. It used to be my mom's but she gave it to me after she got a new machine. I literally used that machine to death, there was a while when it was running steady day in and day out for weeks on end, I was using it like a "professional" machine and killed the motor as a result. It'll still sew, but it goes slow and stops after an hour or so (I think it over heats), so I only use it for top stitching now.
2) When did you purchase it/how old is it?
Well, the flood that destroyed my old Singer sewing machine (which was about 10 years old), happened in May of 2006, and I got this one the fall of that same year, so its about 2 years old
3) How much sewing experience do you have? (how long sewing, how advanced your projects are)
My mother was a seamstress. I sewed my first cloth doll at age six. At age 12 I sewed my first ball gown. At age 14 I enrolled in a two-year college course in pattern making and fashion design. At age 16 I sewed my first dress made from my own pattern designed by me. Today, 13 years later 90% of my clothing consists of historical re-enactment costumes all designed and sewed by me, made from my own patterns. In my most extreme, things are hand embellished with embroidery and bead work, I do a lot of hand sewing in addition to machine sewing. Though I do not sell my work, I sew on a very advanced professional level, such as compared to designers in France and Italy. I have devoted a great deal of my life to perfecting my sewing and designing skills, my ultimate goal is to open my own shop selling Gothic apparel, historical reenactment garbs, and CosPlay costumes..
4) What do you like most about the machine?
I like that it is a light weight "travel" model, making it easy to pack up and take with me, just about anywhere.
Initially I bought it because, as I said, a flood pretty much destroyed everything, and me living without a sewing machine is just out of the question. I was short on cash and needed a machine that would go anywhere and do all the basic things (straight and zig zag), and I needed a machine that I could buy right than, instantly without having to save up for it or take out a loan for it , so I ended up in WalMart and bought the one machine they had that, judging from the display machines, was the best buy for the money.
Basically it's a good, inexpensive machine that will get the work done. It has no special features, no computer, basically it is no different from a machine you would have bought in the 1950s - 1970s I think it was like $149 or something like that.
5) What do you not like?
I wish it was a more "heavy duty" machine, like my old JCPenny one was (which cost like $300 back in the 1970's, when the average machine was just $50).
There really isn't anything to not like about it, I mean it's a cheap "student's" machine, so it does what it's made to do and nothing more. I'll have to dish out more money if I want a better quality machine, but for now it suits me, as I don't sew quite as much as I used to. If I start up full time sewing day in and day out again though, I'd need a better machine as I don't think this one is built to take that kind of steady use.
6) Would you recommend your machine to a fellow cosplayer?
Oh, most definitely. It's a good reliable machine. Great for the occasional sewer, who only makes a costume once every few months or just wants to make a few crafty gift items for birthdays and Christmas, and such. For the average home sewer this'll do just fine.
If you wanted to go professional, though, and start whipping out a couple of costumes a week, than you'd need a better quality than this one though.
In the past I've sewed on several other machines as well. From the machines I've used, I'd say most any Singer built before the 1980 would be a good buy, so long as it's still running.
I tend to steer clear of digital and computerized machines, simply because they seem to focus more on the little details, like embroidering logos and such, and I do all my embroidery by hand because it looks so much better than machine, even if it does take 2 weeks to hand sew what a machine can sew in under 5 minutes.
I'd recommend getting 2 machines. One cheap, light weight travel/student type that you can take on the road with you and use for you basic small stuff on a daily basis; and one heavy duty (possible older) model that you can use for years and years and sew through any fabric you feed into it.
What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post and your own sewing machine. Leave a comment in the guestbook at the bottom of this page and share your views!
Brother LS2125I 10-Stitch Free-Arm Sewing Machine with Automatic 4-Step Buttonholer
Amazon Price: $79.95 (as of 12/31/2009)
List Price: $99.00
Used Price: $71.99
Release Date: 10/16/2006
Avg. Customer Rating: 
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Things You Need: Several Sewing Machine Needles
Put a new shape sewing needle in your machine, and have change it after sewing each piece of the costume. I.E. put in new needle, sew kimono; throw needle away, put in new needle, sew hakama, throw needle away, put in new needle sew obi, throw needle away.... etc. etc. etc. REMEMBER: You are sewing silk or a silk imitation for this project, so replacing needles often is an absolute MUST! A dull needle will snag, tear, and quickly ruin your fabric. Plan on going through 6 to 8 needles on this project.
EZ-IN Needle Threader for Sewing Machine
Amazon Price: $2.99 (as of 12/31/2009)
List Price: $2.90
Used Price:
Release Date: 12/31/1969
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Usually ships in 2-3 business days
Things You Need: Scissors
Sew Fast Sew Easy:
All You Need to Know When You Start to Sew
Clauss 18091 8-Inch ExtremEdge Titanium Shear
Amazon Price: $10.86 (as of 12/31/2009)
List Price: $15.99
Used Price:
Release Date: 12/31/1969
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Usually ships in 24 hours
Things You Need: Thread
Use only the very best thread you can afford! This can not be over stated! Cheapo threads, stretch, break, and fray, and will result in pulled seams when you attempt to put on your finished costume. Use only heavy duty threads. I recommend Coats and Clark brand for this project. $5 for a spool of thread may sound high, but it's worth it's weight in lack of heartache and tears when you have to resew your entire costume from not using it in the first place. You will need about 2 spools each of white for the kimono and hakama, and 2 more of black for the battle armor and 1 of yellow for the heko-obi.
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- Tiddledeewinks Tiddledeewinks Jul 10, 2008 @ 9:22 pm
- Of course I always love the sewing lenses as you know sewing was my favorite hobby for years. I love veggie (and flower) gardening and karaoke now, too!
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