April 15, 2021
Forgive Your Mistakes
This article is part of a series that will walk you through the steps to create a cosplay costume, suitable for Comic Con, our local Kitsune Kon, and more. Angel is currently working on an Iron Man and a Rainbow Dash costume for two kids in her family.
It’s time to take stock of what we’ve got so far. I’ll start by sharing my progress, and then you can share yours (I’ll give you instructions in the next edition). I made a lot of mistakes so far, so if you have, too, don’t panic: it’s normal.
I started by making the Iron Man helmet too small, which means I had to resize, reprint, recut, retrace, recut again, and reglue the pattern together. Although they can be frustrating, without these kinds of mistakes, I wouldn’t be able to keep improving my skills, so I actually look forward to them.
Update on Rainbow Dash: When I started sewing the skirt together, my sewing machine began to glitch, so I’m in the process of fixing it. The machine is currently sucking in the tulle instead of sewing.
Update on Iron Man: I’ve included pictures here of the Iron Man pattern and cut-apart foam pieces (top), as well as the assembled helmet (left). This was the first helmet I ever made, and it was too small for the person wearing it. From this mistake, I learned that it’s best to resize each pattern piece individually. Instead, I had measured the difference for one piece and used that measurement for all of them, but the size differences were not the same for each part!
The biggest mistake I ever made does not pertain to the projects I’m writing about in this section, but it’s an important mistake to avoid if possible. I used hot glue when I should have used super or wood glue when making a staff. I’m still peeling hot glue strings off of my staff a year after gluing it together. I thought I had all of the strings off before starting to paint it, but I didn’t, and I only noticed the glue lumps after I started painting the detail. Now I’m having to carefully go over every part of the staff checking for glue before I can continue painting. Hot glue is one of my favorite tools, but if you can’t easily hide or cover its residue, I would consider using a different kind of glue.
Overall, I encourage you to look forward to and forgive your mistakes. You will continue to grow, and when you compare future cosplays to current ones, you’ll see a clear improvement. When I think back to some of my first cosplays, I can’t help but laugh at some of the horrible mistakes I wouldn’t make today. Mistakes are what make us better at what we do!