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Creating your own costumes is a hugely creative pastime, which challenges you to work with unfamiliar materials and really pushes you out of your comfort zone.
If you’re new to costume making and designing or cosplay, it can be difficult to know how to make the most of your materials and fabrics to get the best results and match the exciting end result you’re envisioning.
Whether you’re an avid cosplayer or a fan of historical costuming, our practical guide will help you to choose the best fabrics for your needs and give you practical tips to help you work with them.
We’ve teamed up with expert cosplay designers to give you the technical advice you need to choose the right fabric for your next character.
Popular costume fabrics and how to use them
Linen, cotton and hemp
Natural fibres are great for costume making, especially if you’re looking for breathable fabrics that will keep you cool. They’re a fantastic choice for historical costume making, as they can look very rustic and they’re comfortable to wear.
Be careful when sewing them though: cotton has a tendency to shrink. Annye Driscoll, author of Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fabrics & Unconventional Materials, says: “Cotton shrinks dramatically; be sure to preshrink cotton fabrics – maybe more than once! After preshrinking, consider washing with cold or warm water and tumble dry on low heat to prevent further shrinkage.”
Annye is a cosplay costume designer, sewist, and educator known for competition-level builds and fearless use of unconventional materials, so they’re a seasoned expert when it comes to crafting incredible costumes.
Additionally, Annye advises that linen is a very sustainable fabric, but it does have a tendency to wrinkle, so take that into consideration when choosing your materials. Linen and hemp also attract moths, so make sure you store your costume in an airtight container when you’re not wearing it.
Swimsuit fabric and Spandex
Looking for a skin-tight, stretchy fabric? Spandex is the perfect choice for fitted superhero costumes. It’s notoriously difficult to sew, but knowing the tools and materials you need will save you time and stress!
Using interfacing will help to make the fabric more manageable as you sew it, as it’ll stop it stretching uncontrollably. Annye also recommends prewashing it before you start sewing. Use a roller foot to sew swimsuit fabric with a 1.5mm narrow zig-zag stitch and all-purpose polyester thread. It’s a good idea to use a rotary cutter to help you get the perfect fit.
Amanda Haas, author of Creative Cosplay: Selecting and Sewing Costumes Way Beyond Basic, has used Spandex to make snugly fitted hero costumes: “When you are making skintight garments that need to hug the body, be sure to purchase four-way stretch spandex, which stretches in all four directions. Spandex is always four-way stretch, but sometimes in stores it’s stocked near knit fabrics that are two-way stretch.
“While two-way stretch fabrics have their use, you do not want to use them for skin-tight garments. (You’ll want to be able to sit down, right?).”
Brocade
Want to dress like a queen? Brocade will give your royal cosplays a truly luxurious look and feel.
Amanda says: “Brocade is heavily decorated, sporting outdoor scenes with birds and leaves, paisleys, damask,and all sorts of designs. Just like lace, brocade weaving is an art form, so the fabrics can be expensive.
“Consider hand sewing beads and sequins onto brocade to really make this fabric sing! This fabric does fray, so be sure to finish the edges before you start sewing.”
Wool
Wool is a wonderfully warm natural material that’s ideal for costume making, particularly if you’re creating a period piece. It’s wrinkle-free, absorbent and insulating.
Annye warns that you should take care when washing wool fabrics such as tweed, as they can shrink dramatically. “If you’ll be washing your wool creation, make sure to prewash it carefully, and follow the label (usually that’s in cold water with special detergent made for wool),” they advise. “You can also steam wool to pre-shrink it. Ultimately, you may want to take your fabric to a dry cleaner to prepare it, especially if it’s pricey yardage.”
If you’re not careful, your precious woollen fabric can turn into felt. If you actually want to make felt, the good news is that the Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fabrics & Unconventional Materials covers that too!
Top tip: Shape your washed wool garments when damp to make sure that they don’t become warped or distorted.
Leather and vinyl
Leather is strong, versatile and hard-wearing, making it a popular choice for cosplay costumes. Alan Wigness and Janella Reiswig of Wig-Wig Cosplay, authors of Leather in Cosplay: From Hide to Hero, are experts in creative costume making.
They recommend starting with simpler projects such as belts and bags: “These are common, useful, and straightforward leather projects. Both are utilitarian and allow you to practice several techniques. They can also be used as part of your daily wardrobe or at special events. We’ve definitely worn cosplay leather projects to weddings and Renaissance festivals!”
While leather is more expensive than synthetic alternatives, it’s much more durable and likely to last longer. “It’s easier to use leather where a character would, instead of making one material look like another, such as manipulating foam or vinyl to mimic leather,” Alan and Janella say.
It’s also more breathable, making it ideal for conventions that are held in warmer weather! It also has the added benefit of being more authentic, which can help to make your characters more believable.
Alan and Janella say that working with leather is generally quicker than using synthetic materials, as there’s less preparation involved and leather needs less sanding and priming before you can use it.
The biggest downside of using real leather is the cost – there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s more expensive than synthetic leather. It’s also harder to correct any mistakes you make when working with real leather.
Leather is worth exploring if you want to make stunning cosplay costumes, as it can be used to make everything from archer’s wrist guards to sculptural armour.
If you don’t want to use leather, you can opt for a synthetic material such as vinyl. Amanda Haas says: “Vinyl is a diverse fabric that adds a plastic/latex kind of industrial or leather look to any outfit. It does not fray when cut. Vinyl fabric can be stretchy and is often used in super suits. I use it for my suits as long as it has four-way stretch.
“Vinyl can be used as a replacement for leather fabric if you wish. It is a great fabric for experimentation!”
“Because people sink their time, money, and life into cosplay, it has transformed into a true art form. There are a lot of amazing craftspeople around the world that have made insanely beautiful works of art. Even if the art project is fandom-based or an original design, the result can be museum worthy. Some of my creations have been featured in an art gallery, many friends have created internationally known cosplays, and many have won worldwide competitions with their creations.”
Amanda Haas, author of Creative Cosplay: Selecting and Sewing Costumes Way Beyond Basic
Faux fur
Faux fur is a fluffy synthetic fabric with a deep pile that’s perfect for animal costumes. You could also use it to trim outfits inspired by fantasy series such as Game of Thrones.
Annye advises washing a sample of the fabric if you’re likely to need to machine wash the material, but you should avoid washing them if at all possible.
One of the challenges of working with faux or teddy fur is that it’s very difficult to mark out your patterns with tailor’s chalk or disappearing ink. Instead, Annye suggests using “a long tailor’s tack in a contrasting thread colour”.
Cutting your faux fur also requires a very specific technique: you should put the fabric on the cutting mat with the pile facing downwards, then cut out the shapes from the back. “Your knife shouldn’t hit the cutting surface at all; we’re trying to avoid damaging any of the pile fibers! When the base material is fully cut, you can pull your pieces apart, leaving the pile intact all the way to the edge of your cut fabric,” Annye says.
Embellished and sequined fabrics
Working with embellished or sequined fabrics is difficult, but well worth the effort. Annye says: “Fabrics that have already been embellished should not be pretreated. If you’re doing the embellishment yourself, make sure to preshrink and otherwise clean your base fabric before bedazzling.
“Glitter fabric can be pretreated as it will be laundered; some are machine washable, but more often they’re hand-wash or dry-clean only. Most other embellished fabrics are dry-clean, hand-wash, or spot-clean only. They should be laid flat to dry.”
Sequined fabric can be tricky to cut, so Annye recommends using cheap craft scissors so you don’t risk damaging your more expensive sewing scissors. If you need to press the fabric, do so on the wrong side using a terry cloth as a matt to protect the fabric.
“If your sequins want to fly around as you cut your embellishments, tape the outline of your pattern piece with masking or washi tape; then cut through the tape along your cutline. The tape will secure the cut sequins, which can then be thrown away,” Annye recommends.
Stretch knits
Stretch knits, or jersey, can vary widely in terms of its weight and stretch. It’s a versatile fabric type which lends itself well to costume making. Jersey comes in three main types: fine jersey, silk jersey and wool jersey. Unlike many other kinds of cosplay fabric, jersey can be tumble-dried and Annye recommends pre-washing it to remove any chemicals created during the manufacturing process.
When pressing them, Annye says you should avoid “aggressive ironing”, which can distort the fabric and seams should be closed when you press them.
Choose sew-in interfacing when working with jersey fabric, as adhesive interfacing can bubble and spoil the look of your costume. Use a rotary cutter for best results when cutting out your pattern pieces.
Make inspired costumes with C&T’s sewing book range
Get creative with C&T’s sewing books, which are packed with useful tips and advice from leading cosplayers and costume designers:
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fabrics & Unconventional Materials by Annye Driscoll
This book is a brilliant resource for cosplayers, as it’s packed with detailed information about different materials and how to use them, from tricky to tame. Annye explains how to work with over a hundred different kinds of fabric, including silks, faux leather and much more.
It includes clear step-by-step instructions to guide you through the whole process, from beginning to end. There are even tips for what adhesives to use, for those times when you need to go beyond sewing.
This is an endlessly useful guide that you’ll refer to again and again.
Leather in Cosplay, From Hide to Hero: Tips, Tools & Techniques by Wig-Wig Cosplay
Learn how to become a true cosplay hero with this fantastic guide created by Alan Wigness and Janella Reiswig of Wig-Wig Cosplay.
You’ll discover how to make your own stylish leather accessories, from basic belts for beginners to more advanced techniques, such as leather armour making!
The book includes expert tips to help you avoid costly leather-working pitfalls, saving you time and money.
Creative Cosplay: Selecting and Sewing Costumes Way Beyond Basic by Amanda Haas
Take your costume making to the next level with this in-depth guide created by Amanda Haas. Along the way, you’ll learn how to turn your ideas from fiction into reality, and discover the practical techniques you need to make your costumes successfully.
This book will give you the confidence you need to design and create your own impressive costumes from scratch.
Creative Cosplay: Selecting and Sewing Costumes Way Beyond Basic by Amanda Haas, £11.99 from Amazon
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