FemHanSolo-Basics
Perfect shirt? Home made dye? Inexpensive figure-hugging military pants?
Simple but iconic costume can be easy for you too!
D.I.Y Dye Shirt
At Walmart I found a 'Faded Glory' shirt that was absolutely perfect for my version of the swarthy space pirate. But it was super white! Instead of paying for commercial fabric dye, I decided to dye it at home.
Faded Glory Shirt: $12
As a caffeine junky I had the coffee and tea already and salt is common in all kitchens. All I needed was a $3 bottle of Cider Vinegar.
In my recycle trash bin (cleaned out of course) I combined:
2 parts Brewed Earl Grey Tea
1 part brewed Coffee
1/2 cup of Apple Cider Vineagar (Things I dye in both vinegar and salt last longer)
1/4 cup salt
And enough boiling water on top to not only cover the shirt but allow it to move freely.
I let it steep for 3 minutes before stirring (sounds like Im cooking, eh?). Stirring is important so there's no streaking or pooling of color.
I repeated this for about 10 minutes.
Result:
Vest
The vest I wanted:
But not at $67!!!
So I found a plain black vest at a Thrift Store but it was much too big! But I couldn't pass up the bargain!
Every dollar I save on my costume is a dollar I can spend at the Con!
Black Vest: $7
I decided I could take out a panel of the vest to make it smaller. My sewing skills are sub-par and I don't have a sewing machine...But I know basic sewing.
What was that gentle reader? You can't sew and/or don't have a sewing machine either?
DONT BE AFRAID!
When I mean basic skills, I mean basic!
Thread and needle? Check!
Basic stitch--- no problem! NO one is gonna see the stitching anyway!
Want it a little more secure? I did a chain stitch for the majority of the combining the two panels together. Want to learn a chain stitch? It's saved me lots of money hemming my own pants since I'm so short! Here's a great tutorial !
http://www.wikihow.com/Sew-Chain-Stitch
Captain Tight Pants
The costume gods were smiling on me. Time was short, I didn't have time to search any further than Walmart for all my pieces.
I wanted to show off my curves, it IS a femcosplay after all. The costume gods were smiling on me while finding my shirt and boots at Walmart. I found a Faded Glory blue jegging for $12
Now with the red stripe. Ribbon was too shiny. And paint didn't really give me the crisp line I wanted. Again at Walmart I found the answer for super cheap!
I suppose if I had not been pressed for time I could have done the lines in paint or with a paint pen. But time was of the essence! I took a Sharpie (it did bleed the lines a bit, if I could do it again I would do it differently) and every half inch I marked a line. OR if I had a sewing machine AND patience I could sew the red on with black-creating the line in a stitch across. But talk about time consuming!
To attach I considered a "No Sew" Glue I have in my sewing kit. But the material was too thin and the glue bled through terribly.
So I stitched it with red thread. That took forever, so since I was tucking the pant in my boots anyway I didn't sew them all the way down the leg, just to wear it was going to show!
