Hero's Closet: Sewing for Cosplay and Costuming

Product Description Cosplayers rejoice! The Hero’s Closet is the ultimate DIY guide to creating unique and fantastical homemade costumes This essential handbook offers detailed, step-by-step instructions that cover the basics of sewing costumes (which often require skills not found in standard sewing guides) to help even the most novice sewists create the costumes of their dreams. A skilled crafter and avid cosplayer, Gillian Conahan walks readers through finding inspiration online and through their fandom; shares insight into translating character art into real-world garments; and offers advice on pattern selection, alterations, fabrics, and embellishment techniques. The book also features 11 original step-by-step basic patterns—such as jumpsuits, jackets, and pants. It then suggests ideas for mixing and matching these basics to create costumes of all styles, including superheroes, pirates, elves, school girls, and adventurers. The Hero’s Closet is the first how-to handbook on the art of sewing for cosplay. A must-have guide for Comic Con and Halloween, it’s essential for all ambitious fans with a DIY spirit who love the idea of cosplay, but need the inspiration and technical tips to make an awesome costume. Review 'The Hero's Closet is an exciting new sewing book that perfectly demonstrates the growing popularity of cosplay!' --Love Sewing 'Coming from a cosplayer who also happens to be editor-in-chief of Vogue Patterns magazine, expect high standards of authenticity with this book, packed with essential step-by-steps and inspiration.' Simply Sewing magazine 'Cosplay and costumes give people the chance to transform into someone else and connect with their favourite characters, and The Hero's Closet is a great guide to creating DIY outfits. It's filled with insights on choosing materials, step-by-step instructions and sewing tips to create bespoke outfits with.' --Make it Today 'Last year, I said what the cosplayers really needed was a decent book to show how to create costumes and here it is. Gillian Conahan has written The Hero's Closet: Sewing For Cosplay And Costuming book showing how to create basic costumes and get it right. [...] There's enough here to give you thoughts, practice and design to get you started if you want to enter the cosplay game. It might even come in handy if you suddenly develop super-powers and...er...want a disguise.' --SFCrowsnest From the Back Cover Cosplayers rejoice! The Hero's Closet is the ultimate DIY guide to creating unique and fantastical homemade costumes. This essential handbook offers detailed, step-by-step instructions that cover the basics of sewing costumes (which often require skills not found in standard sewing guides) to help even the most novice sewists create the costumes of their dreams. A skilled crafter and avid cosplayer, Gillian Conahan walks readers through finding inspiration online and through their fandom About the Author Gillian Conahan is the associate editor of Vogue Patterns magazine, as well as a certifiable geek thoroughly immersed in the cosplay community. A former freelance reporter and researcher for Discover Magazine, she holds degrees in physics and writing from MIT.