Tackling
Embroidery
Projects
AKA a trip to the Circles
Of Cosplay Hell
Ah yes, you have arrived. Welcome to the circles of cosplay hell.
Okay, not literally, but it really does feel like it sometimes. What are the circles of cosplay hell? It’s hard to say, they differ for each cosplayer and can include any number of tasks (Some examples are patterning, hemming, beadwork, wig styling, armor building, picking out fabric, lining garments, painting, sanding… or, you know, just cosplay in general). My circles have changed over the years. For the longest time, sleeves occupied a special circle. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to take apart and reattach sleeves on different projects. It got to the point where I would wait until the last possible moment to attach them and make things worse by adding unnecessary stress to the end of my builds. I’m still not great at sleeves, but I don’t dread them nearly as much as I once did.
On the other hand, not all circles are horrible, dreadful places. Some exist because they are tedious and time consuming. For example, embroidery is one of my favorite parts of cosplay. I love adding embroidered details whenever I can. I’ve even gone as far as add superfluous embroidery on several of my cosplays.
Case and point:
My Frozen 2 Bunad has a lovely snowflake motif embroidery on the bodice.
And a matching one on the back that is COVERED BY A JACKET.
Fifth Spirit Elsa has silver embroidery to match the geometric patterns on Elsa’s dress from the movie.
And countless hours spent on the hem of the underskirt that is only visible like 7% of the time.
If I love embroidery so much, why is there a circle in my cosplay hell that is devoted to it? Simple. There’s always a time during the process where I question why I’m doing it. Why am I adding 50 extra hours of work to this project?? How did I convince myself that this would be a good idea? Who left me in charge of making these decisions?!? But once I get over the “thanks, I hate it” phase of a big cosplay build, I *usually* end up loving it. On the plus side, each project has helped me develop tricks that allow me to be more efficient for the next time I venture into embroidery hell.
My most recent hack has been creating embroidery guides with my circuit and cutting them out of iron-on vinyl. This doesn’t work for every project, but when it does *chef kiss*. It’s perfect for thinner, repeating patterns that cover a large area of space. I haven’t used it on something that requires filling a lot of negative space yet, but I imagine that it would be ideal for that as well. Depending on the cosplay, I will either embroider directly onto the garment or create an appliqué and attach it when I finish (Travel Elsa’s embroidery is done directly on the bodice, Fifth Spirit Elsa had an appliqué on chiffon that was trimmed down and applied near the end of the project).
For my Viking Agatha project, I’m working with a sturdy linen and making appliqués. I wanted something simple that would also have a callback to WandaVision so I played around with the concept of incorporating a “hex” shape into the design. I used Procreate on my iPad to draw out and refine the design before uploading it into my Cricut space to cut it.
Since I didn’t want the vinyl to show through the final design, I opted to use the color that was the closest to the fabric I was using. This was a bit of a mistake as the colors were so close that it was hard to see the guide without having a light shining directly on the area I was working. In the future, I’ll probably use something closer to the color of the embroidery floss to increase the contrast and make things easier on myself (see, l’m learning). The bulk of this project is going to be a simple satin stitch, and having a guide that is a constant width really helped my keep my stitches clean and even. I’m planning to add some decorative herringbone stitches to other parts of the garment, but that’s future me’s problem.
If you’re more of a visual learner, the Tiktok video on the right is a quick look at to how I set up my embroidery. I’m trying to be more proactive about filming my projects and making content that others will find useful. If y’all are interested in a more in-depth embroidery tutorial, let me know and I’ll see what I can put together.
The second tip I have today that has greatly improved my hand-embroidery process is using an embroidery loom/frame. My husband bought me one for Christmas some years and it has been a game-changer for tackling big projects. I’m able to work on large sections of embroidery without having to reposition my hoop multiple times (It’s also adjustable so I can use it on smaller pieces). I searched for my exact frame, but it doesn’t seem to exist anymore. This one is a well-reviewed alternative, but it is on the pricier side. If you want something that is more budget friendly, here’s another option.
If you’re planning to start a new embroidery project, I hope you’ve found some tips to help you navigate this special circle of hell. One thing I can say for sure, I’ll be back there soon.
@historicallylaced Several hours of work distilled down to 1 minute. Working on embroidery for my #Hynafol garb. Hoping to have it ready for Sherwood in a couple weeks. #larp #larping #followmetohynafol #renfest #renaissancefaire ♬ original sound - Historically Laced
