Gd Rapids, MI Costuming thread

Being our little forum is for the local area...i wondered of you all would like to discuss costuming on a thread here. I know there is one on the main forums...but i figured if we discussed it with us local folks we can give hints pointers and locations to find some good parts and fabrics and what not.

Whatcha think?

 

That would be great! I've always been interested in costumes/costuming but never really knew where to go for materials ect.

 

Yeah there are some good places GR to get costuming items. I'm very happy with mine, I got my boots in GR at the Kostume Room, finished my costume off great.

 

Kostume Room? Never heard of it. Of course, I've never made a costume better than a sheet ( ) when I was little, sooo... Got the address to this Kostume Room place?

 

I'd still love to know the address to that kostume room place.

Also, if any of you have any costumes, post a pic of them or just describe them to us! I personally would love to see some of them and learn a bit about how you come by the design/pattern for them.

 

Well, I haven't done anything SW yet, but I have things to start on Padmé's picnic dress. My website, in my sig, has a few of my things up on it. I have some mundane clothes that I just finished making that I meant to put up a section for, but haven't yet.

For anyone who's interested, the Holland JoAnn Fabrics is one of my favorite places to buy cloth. I hardly ever get to go there b/c the one on 28th street is just a tad closer to me, but I really do like an occasional trip out to Holland to fabric shop if I can't find what I want in Wyoming. The Jenison Hobby Lobby is good, too. Some of their home dec fabrics are really nice, as well as the regular quilting/apparel fabrics they've got.

For theatrical makeup, my experience has been with Theatricks...but I never was the one to get to go there. They always sent backstage workers or the head makeup lady instead of us costume/makeup workhorses.

I'm just getting into historical costumes, and along with it, corsetry. Sometimes your local hardware store--Gemmens in my case--is a good resource for costuming bits & pieces.

Right, must go, my dad's being awful. Almost eighteen and he still feels the need to impose a "bedtime." *sigh* Denial. How fun. I'm in college, for crying out loud. What's he going to do when I need to stay up and do things like write papers? Grrr.

 

I love going out in my costume. I rode the metro to the Timothy Zahn signing and the looks from people are great. I'm not a simtress, but my mom is. she made my dark jedi costume, but I used Big Yellow Box.com to make my lightsaber. If anyone needs help with there lightsaber I will be glad to come april


Here are the pics

Costume

Lightsaber

 

*Forces self not to beg for rvqavalon to do a costume for me*

Those costumes are...just...WOW!!! I've always wanted to be good with sewing and costume making, but to no avail. Not to mention that I hardly ever work on it.


DJK, looking good as always.

 

well i myself have put my costume together with stuff ive purchased...i use a ren.festival shirt for my top...brown slacks for the leggings...and my high top leather boots ...plus my new jedi robe just makes it so cool!

Ive made a big yellow box saber for an online friend...took me bout half an hour..they are real simple to make.

if you get creative..a jedi costume thats unique is actually pretty easy to make..you dont need the big robe...most of the new era jedi dont wear them...look at luke..and kyle katarn...they just use the tunic,pants and boots look.

im planning on puttin a lightsaber together for bultarswan but havent gotten around to it yet...so dont tell her ok? *grin*

 

Here's a pic of my Yoda costume. The pic is over 5 years old - it was taken right before TPM hit theaters. I think I'm a little too tall to make a convincing Yoda though.

 

Here is a picture of me with some troopers from Ohio Garison at the Timothy Zahn signing in Cleveland. The striped purple scarf is not a permanant attachment, though. I couldn't find a single safety pin among any of my friends, and we didn't have time to find anything better than duct tape to hold my belt up. Doesn't work too well, you know. This is what it looks like when I'm trying valiantly to keep my belt on. I don't have any pictures on this computer of my costume when it's a bit better put on, but I'll try to find those. Actually, you can see a small version of it in my LJ icon, that's me fighting with my lightsaber.

And here is me my junior year of high school, dressed as Princess Leia and holding a butane lighter. Not a part of the costume, but I was taking care of my pumpkin table. I wasn't going to let anyone else touch my pumpkins, that's for sure. Carving a treble clef in those suckers isn't easy.

Now I'm starting on my Luke Skywalker a la RotJ costume. And it's going to be top-quality if it kills me, since I want to volunteer with Rebel Legion at the Cleveland London Symphony concert.

 

I was over at WalMart and looked through their Simplicity pattern book. Simplicity make some really good knock-off movie patterns for LOTR, Pirates of the Carribean, and Attack of the Clones.

I found their site's costuming page 2.

Pattern 5840.

 

I'm home from my canoe trip, & while I was gone, I recived a package from FERDALUMP over on the costuming forums. She sent me the sequins for the picnic dress blouse & skirt. I have my corset all cut out & I'm working on the embroidery. I don't know how soon I'll be able to order fabric for the rest of the costume; I'm looking for another job & I don't know if I'm even going to have *this* job through the end of the week. *sigh* We'll see, I suppose.

 

would anyone know where to get liquid latex at a decent price it is normally used to make masks but i was wanting to make a hutt costume and keep it at a decent price

 

Okay, after tonight.. I'm really interested in doing a costume. An Imperial Royal Guard's (my avatar), to be precise. Even if I am short.

It seems like the hardest part will be the helmet. I'd have to look at some pictures to be sure but apart from the helmet I just need a red bedsheet, basically. Although I'd like it to be a more heavy satinish thing. +)

I checked padawansguide.com but nothing there...

And after I get that and a Force Pike thingy, I'm thinking about trying to do the body armor as seen in the Crimson Empire comics.

 

BultarSwan: http://www.kostumeroom.com/ - http://local.google.com is great for finding local businesses if you only know their name.

I'm probably going to go into G.R. this afternoon, I think I'll try to stop by there and see what they have.

 

*Sigh* I'm so bad...I just bought six yards of blue-grey "suede" for another Arwen costume. Bad, bad Katie. No cookie. But it was only $12 at the Jenison Field's Fabrics! How can you pass up a bargain like that?!

 

/\ Is that a trick question?

I have decided that my first costume will be a unique Jedi. I'm thinking a reddish/orange color for the whole thing...or something like that...


All I know is that somehow, I'll have a costume. If anyone has any suggestions for a poor, costume-making-mewbie they would be greatly appreciated.

I already know where I'm getting boots for it though!

 

My best tip is "Don't do it! You'll get addicted!" But of course I don't really mean the "Don't do it" part, hehehe. Go for it! The costuming forums on these boards are great, there's a very *large* "Jedi Costume" thread that it would be worth taking a look at, and www.padawansguide.com is your best friend as far as SW costuming goes. Don't be afraid to ask questions over at the Costuming forum, they're a great bunch of people.

 

My Jedi cloak came in yesterday!! I started making it before I left, but didn't have time to finish it, so my mum finished it up for me.

http://strimmer.no-ip.com/yappa-ng/show.php?size=640x640&album_name=%2Fobies%2Flisa%2F&obj_name=obies_009.jpg

This is what my costume looks like without boots. And I think for now I'm just getting about as what I like to refer to as the Barefoot Hippie Jedi. It's truly in the spirit of Oberlin. But I'm not getting boots before, oh... TOMORROW when I need the costume.

 

Guh, I'm so bad. I haven't worked on the Padmé outfit at all. College is sucking my life dry, along with work & trying to keep in touch with my now-distant best friends. The project I have in the works right now is a circa 1770-1785-ish outfit. Which is bad, because it has nothing to do with Star Wars. I can't help it, my interest is in historical at the moment. Gah. How about this--the next costume I finish, I will wear to a FF meeting, no matter how silly I look in public? Whether it's the 18th c. outfit, Arwen's chase dress, or Padmé's picnic outfit, I'll wear whatever I finish next to the FF meeting after I finish it.

How does that sound?

*trying to appease Jaareth "You Must Sew Faster!" Jedi.*

 

Does anyone have an idea about where I can buy some leather so I can make my own custom utility belt?

 

yes...i cant remember exactly where on division..but there is a shop on the south side of 28th st that sells leather by bulk or just by whatever...you can go in and browse pretty much anything you can dream up.

If your goin south on division after you make a right at that walgreens there(while on 28th st)...i think its just down a ways and on the left side of the street. It almost looks like an abandoned building lol. I got some of my leather i needed from that shop.

i dug this up on the net to help ya out a bit

Leather Express
3773 S Division Ave
Grand Rapids, MI 49548
(616) 243-1441

http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~415465f5.29f9f.47b.5/c=1/isredir=1/

i think...think..this is the place.

 

Trying to un-kill the thread, here...

Hobby Lobby currently has some very nice home dec fabric on 90% OFF clearance. I went in and got some very nice crewel-embroidered linen (at least...I *think* it was linen... ) for my 18th century petticoat. It was originally $29.99/yd, and I got it for $2.99/yd. VERY cool.

There were a couple brocade type things, some gorgeous purple silk (which might work for a Padmé outfit?), and a few other things. If I'd had the money with me, some of that silk would have come home with me to be a skirt or something--you almost NEVER find real 100% silk for three bucks a yard. I almost bought some just so I could say I had gotten it at such a deal

Also, JoAnn Fabrics is having their costume fabrics on 50% off this time around in their ad, and their "symphony" broadcloth (lightweight solid color cotton) is on sale for $1.49/yd. That might work for a Jedi outfit, possibly.

And in some personal costuming news, I've almost finished with my 18th c. stays (think Pirates of the Caribbean), and shall finish my petticoat this week. It looks like I can maybe finish in a couple weeks, barring a natural disaster or homework explosion. That'll be exciting. Well, for me, anyway.

 

Thanks a TON for the information everyone! Now if only I knew what I was doing...


I am hopeless. No, seriously.