My hubby suggested that I try this because I like being crafty. This is something to do outside, because trying to do my needlework or crochet outside is almost impossible because of the heat and humidity here.
I went to the library to see what I could find and I picked up a few books on the subject. When I got them home, I started flipping through the pages to see what grabbed my attention, all of the books except one weren’t to my taste. I’m not really into anime or manga, so seeing all those costumes was just…meh. Then I started flipping through the one I really didn’t think I was going to like, it was a big paperback (thin, but large) and looked like it was for kids.
The Costume Making Guide by Svetlana Quindt was amazing and I wanted to try everything! She has step-by-step guides to various techniques and projects. The first project was a purple bracer, so of course I wanted to try it. I didn’t have any of the materials, and the search was on.
I needed EVA foam, Worbla, paints, Dremel (hand-held sander), heat gun, D-rings, duct tape, resin gemstones, ribbon. That list was getting way too long, it needed to be shortened. I looked to see what I would need first, instead of trying to get everything up front. First up, duct tape and saran wrap. Definitely do-able. I already had saran wrap, just needed to find the duct tape. I found black duct tape, but I wouldn’t be able to make any markings on it to see where to cut 🙁 Rob(hubby) picked up a giant roll of basic silver/grey duct tape and I could get started.
I wrapped my forearm with saran wrap, then put pieces of duct tape all over it. Use a mirror so you can get it all covered…I forgot. Time to cut it off. Hmmmm, I wrapped my right arm, and I am right handed. Really right handed, my left can’t quite figure out how to do much. How am I going to cut through saran wrap and duct tape with my stupid hand without slicing my arm open? Let’s give it a try. Should I go from the wrist up? Or the elbow down? Elbow down requires some contortion, so let’s go the other way. Got the tip of the blade under the duct tape and started cutting, I could feel the blade on my arm and that was kind of freaky.
Got about 4 inches cut and realized I was only cutting duct tape, I didn’t get under the saran wrap. Damn 🙁 I went back and started again. Really started to get nervous about cutting through the skin and into the vein. About this time Hubby realized what I was doing and brought my mental status into question. 🙂 He took the scissors and cut it for me. Next time I should probably ask for help.
Okay, what do I need for the next step? 5mm EVA foam and Worbla. No problem. Got onto Amazon and started looking. Worbla was totally out of my price range, I would have to save for a few months to get this. That’s ok, the Worbla goes on the EVA foam, let’s get the foam! Go to Amazon again, definitely a better price let’s order. Out of stock. Let’s try a different seller. Out of stock. That’s ok, my book had the link to the author’s website and she lists places that carry supplies in the US and Europe. Went to kamuicosplay.com, found the supplier list and started my search again. Out of stock everywhere. What is going on? Oh, this is the end of March and everyone around the world is on some sort of lockdown. I guess quite a few people decided to try cosplay during Covid.
Ok, no supplies, let’s try to learn to sew. No sewing machines in stock. Another new Covid hobby. I have some foam mats that are really thick, the kind that gyms use for cushioning, let’s try that. These mats are about 10+ mm. I have an exacto knife set my father-in-law got for me years before. I can do this! Wow, this is really hard, do I really want to try this hobby? I will keep trying, what else am I going to do? Shopping? The Gym? Out to eat? Nope, everything is shut down, so keep going!
I found that if the blade isn’t sharp it is really hard to cut anything. My handy knife set also had a sharpening stone in it. What a difference! Very cool, I can do this! I cut my pieces out of the foam, so very thick. I need to figure out how to cut it in half. Take the exact knife and start shaving the edges. What a mess and very time consuming. Strangely enough, I still wanted to do this even with all the setbacks.
My cosplay life had begun 🙂
