[COSPLAYING INTENSIFIES]

Pattern: Cut/Sew’s 015 Lolita JSK in a Small and Extra Large

Ease - 3.5, doable, but exhausting and had a few issues.

Time - Myself and a partner took about 22 hours to make two, over several days.

Process - I had to resize the largest size in this pattern to fit my cosplay partner. She has a substantial bust line, so i added some width to the side bodice panels and added about an inch to each piece of the waistline as it comes just under the bust.

For my own, the smaller pattern size was actually too large, and I did a lot of adjusting of the back and side panels. I couldn’t really manage the elastic ruching in the back. I honestly didn’t understand how to manage it with my sewing machine and several youtube tutorials did not assist.

Issues - Along with the above ruching issue, which may have just been my machine not being a good model, I had some difficulty with the back bow and the zipper. I hand tacked the zipper in, after several failed attempts at sewing with my machine. Agony. But I think it was my own fault. Now, the real issue with the pattern was the bow, as even following explicitly the directions I managed to sew the bow straps in wrong twice. I have no idea how it was supposed to go, and I opted for removing them and manually sewing them by the zipper. But it still looked fab.

Suggestions - If you’re a fair tailor I might go without the ruching, as it looked much cleaner. I also suggest getting ruffles with a nice ribbon seam on them to help sewing them in. This is a moderate difficulty pattern, but I can’t imagine how much worse it would have been if it was a traditional pattern company.

Rating - I would recommend for someone with a good strong machine (not me) and a couple patterns under their belt and a LOT of time.

Pattern:

Cut/Sew’s 008 Pattern Slouch Sweatshirt in a Small

Ease:  4.5/5 Few issues to speak of, clear directions.

Time:  About 6 hours, including fabric sourcing. One afternoon took me from cutting pieces to finishing lacing the collar.

Process:  I cut and sewed the entire piece except the collar in one stint.

Added the collar and lacing afterward because I didn’t have the grommets to make the two lace holes. Probably the fastest and easiest part of the whole costume.

Issues:  Due to the fabric I chose, which was sort of an athletic sweatshirt material, the arm cuffs were very difficult to sew. I also had some issue with the grommets, but that’s a personal problem I’ve always struggled with. I ended up using my roommate’s anvil since I got quite large eyelets.

Suggestions:  

I would use a thin jersey material if you have a weaker machine, as the number of layers in the sleeves became unwieldy. 

The eyelet holes are pretty high up on the collar, and if I was going to remake the shirt, I would bring them lower on the cowl.

A collection of progress pictures from March 2017 to May 2018 leading to the finished product of my Gerudo Vai Link.

You make for quite a good lookin’ gal!