Hey! I found this blog while looking for cosplay tips
I’m going to start making my first ever cosplay soon, so I’m looking for some tips!
I’m hoping to thrift as much of the outfit as I can but I’m guessing I’m gonna have to alter a lot.
But of course I have to choose a character with so many details. . . (I may simplify)
Anyways, any tips for this character? If you wanna look into him more it’s Martin from Rune Factory 5 but I have refs all around
Hello there!
I love to see that you are doing Rune Factory cosplay!
That said, some parts of this will be very easy to thrift and modify, and others will need a little creativity and perhaps sacrificing of accuracy. I’d suggest something with fewer armor details for a first cosplay, but that’s still doable with some work.
I’m coming at this from the angle that you are thrifting due to both skill level and budget.
From the top:
The grey shirt will be quite easy. Find a white or light grey ribbed shirt or sweater, cut off the sleeves and sew the edges so they don’t fray. If you got a white shirt, check the fiber content – I’d recommend a natural fiber like cotton – and dye it to light grey. Use the cutoff sleeves to test the dye.
If you can’t find a sweater with ribs, you can get one without the ribs and sew with a twin needle to fake it.
The vest is going to be difficult to get from a thrift store and alter due to the shape. You MIGHT be able to get a blazer or vest in the correct color and alter it, but that would probably be more difficult than making it from scratch.
If altering: remove the sleeves. Cut off the lapels and the collar. Cut open the front to the correct shape, and add the side dart to fit it, as well as fitting from the side seams.
If making: Alter a pattern to have the correct front opening shape, do a mockup, and take it in to fit.
Either way, you will need to sew on the brown leather portion and then line the vest. You can add the straps yourself by sewing them out of the same fabric as your vest.
The apron is easy – simply take a rectangle of fabric, hem it, and sew a strip of fabric onto it so you can tie it around your waist. For the pockets, I’d do patch pockets and glue on fake rivets (painted googly eyes, anyone?). The zigzags can be done just with topstitching.
For the pants, you can buy the widest leg pants you can find, paint on the stripes, and take in the bottoms. You can use the excess fabric you cut off the length of the pants to create the cuffs.
For the armor, look through our website for armor tutorials – I’d recommend foam for budget reasons.
Good luck! This will be a challenge to thrift most of, but with some mods, you can probably get something close enough.
—Fabrickind / Q&A Staff / Twitter