I've been sewing for maybe two years, and cosplaying/costumes are the first thing I started with. Since then, I've begun to sew a lot of clothes for myself as well.
Sewing on a sewing machine, although daunting, isn't too difficult if you have someone to show you or read the instruction book. Practice material is good too. Think about it as a skill, like driving. There's a pedal that controls speed, and your hands control the direction of the fabric. And, as always, the more you do it, the better you get.
Like one of the other postees said, as far as threading the machine and working it, the best thing would probably be to find someone to teach you or take a class since every machine is different.
On that note, every pattern and costume/cosplay is different. It ::would:: be nice to have a general "cosplay panel" but it's probably super difficult, as you have a variety of different genres of anime, thus producing an array of costuming needs. There are two panels this year though, one for beginners and one for more adept persons. I am planning on attending one for sure :)
If people need help though, I'm not a sewing guru or anything, but I'd be willing to answer basic questions... otherwise, ask your mom/granddad/aunt/uncle/relative, i'm sure someone in the family sews or knows someone who does ^-^ I think a good idea would be to set up a forum/email/talkspace that allows people with cosplay problems to get feedback...
And a tip for people wanting to do armor [it took me a long time to figure this out, so i'd like to pass it on]: flashing is very cool. You can get it at a hardware store [it's used to restore rain drains on the sides of houses] and it's thin metal that can be cut with regular scissors and then you can spray paint it, decorate it, glue it together [Hard As Nails works well with some heavy books to hold on top of it] whatever your armor needs require.
::hops off of soapbox:: gomen ne ^^;; now i'm done
Sewing on a sewing machine, although daunting, isn't too difficult if you have someone to show you or read the instruction book. Practice material is good too. Think about it as a skill, like driving. There's a pedal that controls speed, and your hands control the direction of the fabric. And, as always, the more you do it, the better you get.
Like one of the other postees said, as far as threading the machine and working it, the best thing would probably be to find someone to teach you or take a class since every machine is different.
On that note, every pattern and costume/cosplay is different. It ::would:: be nice to have a general "cosplay panel" but it's probably super difficult, as you have a variety of different genres of anime, thus producing an array of costuming needs. There are two panels this year though, one for beginners and one for more adept persons. I am planning on attending one for sure :)
If people need help though, I'm not a sewing guru or anything, but I'd be willing to answer basic questions... otherwise, ask your mom/granddad/aunt/uncle/relative, i'm sure someone in the family sews or knows someone who does ^-^ I think a good idea would be to set up a forum/email/talkspace that allows people with cosplay problems to get feedback...
And a tip for people wanting to do armor [it took me a long time to figure this out, so i'd like to pass it on]: flashing is very cool. You can get it at a hardware store [it's used to restore rain drains on the sides of houses] and it's thin metal that can be cut with regular scissors and then you can spray paint it, decorate it, glue it together [Hard As Nails works well with some heavy books to hold on top of it] whatever your armor needs require.
::hops off of soapbox:: gomen ne ^^;; now i'm done