Hi there everyone, i'm new to the world of cosplay, got introduced by someone I know, and now would love to have a go! However I dont have a single stitch of sewing skill in me, cant say arts and crafts is my strong point. How on earth do I go about sorting a costume for my favourite characters? Any help is greatly appreciated, many thanks! =)

V

Nice to meet you. Depends exactly what your after. If you want to get something made for you, then more than likely there will be someone on here who you can commission it from or who will be able to direct you to a suitable website. If you're looking for advice on how to make something yourself try posting something specific to the discussion boards.

Hi there.
I started cosplay about a year ago, and couldn't sew.
To begin with, don't choose a massively advanced costume.

You can either find a costume on eBay or a Cosplay site, but make sure you check reviews of who you are buying from, because some of them turn out terrible.

Or you can go looking around various casual shops, and put together your costume that way.
I find Primark a good place to start - The stuff is cheap, the design is simple, and doesn't have any huge logos all over it.
Madhouse is another good suggestion for bits and pieces.
And for Supplies, and possibly fabrics, Hobbycraft - although you can probably find certain fabrics cheaper elsewhere.

Buy a sewing machine.
Even if you are not brave enough to make a whole piece of clothing from scratch, it will make things way easier for sewing on sleeve, and other bits and pieces.
I regret not buying one sooner ^_^

Yeah thats all good advice, I do know a cosplayer so maybe I can get some help, my first one I think would be nice and simple i have some robe type characters in mind!

Welcome to cosplay island! don't feel lost. Sewing isn't the be all and end all of cosplaying. Cosplaying is all about cheating to get stuff looking right

You can buy clothing that is close enough to what you want that with a bit of painting with fabric paint might be perfect.

You could do armoured cosplays which is all about working with foam and heat to get shapes and some painting.

You get hemming tape which will allow you to hide where you've butchered that primark t-shirt with scissors.

There's loads of things you can try but don't be scared about not being able to sew. Everyone has to be a newbie at some point. You'll mess stuff up, everyone does, you just have to learn from that mistake and carry it across to when you do it again, better, faster, stronger and as other people have said, if you just like the actual dressing up of cosplay and not the making, you could always buy it by getting one of the friendly people here to commission one for you etc but tbh there is no greater sense of achievement than thinking "yeah, I made this".

Give it a go, ask questions here (well not here in the intro forum but here) Everyone is really helpful and friendly, just when you ask for help on a costume, please please please provide a link to a picture or embed it in the page. As the first thing you'll be asked if you ask for help, is references.

For really cheap stuff that you can alter charity shops are also great.

Hiya, firstly welcome to CosplayIsland ^_^ I'm SJ, one of the staff members here.

I couldn't sew AT ALL when I first started! Now I can sew a coat with a lining and everything! Never thought I'd get that far but genuinely, just have a go at it!

There's nothing wrong with buying costumes from stores online to start off with either, just bare in mind you won't be able to enter contests with them etc.

Remember, it's about having fun ^_^

well I suck at sewing too lol xD

i just go and buy my costumes of ebay, you just give them your mesurements and they will make the costume you want to fit your body shape!

Or you could just buy clothes from shops and alter them! thats what I did with my latest project