Can you really improve your sewing productivity?

Of course you can, there is thousands of seamstress that have to create many new garments daily. How come you cannot finish just that one piece in 5 months? Leaving aside practice and experience, there are many reasons why you may not be able to be as productive as you want. These are just some ways in which you can be more productive. If you ask me, I can give you one single word that summarizes it all: focus.

1. Find a cozy spot

First things first, find youself a nice spot and keep it. Ideally you want to have your own sewing space. If you have a spare room, you can use it as your basecamp, I recently refurbished my sewing room. Now, I know many people won’t have the luxury of a permanent sewing spot. That’s not a problem. Just make sure your machine and utensils are readily available and easy to set up whenever you need them, let’s say in a cupboard by the table so you can easily access them whenever you are ready to start.

2. Start with a clean slate

Keep it clean and keep it tidy. Personally, I have a little ritual before I focus and start sewing. First of all, I make sure everthing is in the right place. I tidy up the room and I clean and return any tools to their original places (if I didn’t during the last session). This actually puts me in a good mood. Because being comfortable is very important

Tidying your room is a great practice and it will actually help you during your sewing sessions. No more looking for the scissors under a pile of scrap fabric or . Just get ready to start sewing.

3. No interruptions allowed

Sewing time is me time and I want absolutely no interruptions. The one thing that distracts me the most is my phone or my computer. Getting all those annoying notifications while you are sewing is very distracting. Turn off your devices. Don’t worry, you do not need them. If the house is on fire you will know. Furthermore, make sure you make it very clear that you are busy and you are not expecting any visits. A keep out sign on the door is tempting, but if you are struggling, try to sew when you know you won’t be interrupted, perhaps after you have put the kids to bed (or fed the cats). And make sure you have everything else done in advance. Dinner is sorted, washing up done and all your homework finished before hand. Nothing worse than having that one thing to do stuck in your mind.

4. Set yourself a goal

I know that mostly you want to sew just for fun, me too! Deadlines can make you feel nervous or anxious, we don’t want that. However, having a goal will also make you have a purpose. And that purpose may motivate you to keep going. For example, you may want to finish your new dress for your sister’s party, or maybe you are going to a convention and you need to dress up. Is Halloween around the corner? If you don’t really have a goal (let’s face it, last year hasn’t been known for the abundance of parties) make up one. Let’s say, I would like to have a new dress by the end of the month. If you don’t get it done on time, it is not the end of the world, but knowing that you have a purpose may give you that little push that you need,

5. Materials assemble

There is nothing that annoys me more than starting a project and notice that I have forgotten to buy matching thread, the lining or any other silly thing. Not only is this annoying, but it is going to make you waste time. You will have to leave your sewing garment half way through just to go and buy that one piece you are missing (or wait for the delivery truck), just to realise a day later that you have forgotten something else! I like making a full list of materials on my Cosplay Planner just before I start and I won’t start a project until I have gathered all the necessary materials. No interruptions when you are in the mood.

6. Focus on a piece at a time

When I am sewing a new project, I find very useful focusing on one piece at a time. You dob’t need to finish the whole thing in one go. For example, you could focus on just cutting all the pieces one day, sewing the lining another day and finishing the garment the third day. Getting bored of the same project? No worries, choose something else for today, maybe finish hemming a skirt you left halfway through, or start gathering materials for your next dress. Just remember to go back to your initial project without leaving it unfinished for too long. Otherwise, it will become a UFO (UnFinishedObject) and we really don’t like those cluttering your space.

7. Boost your motivation

The time I am most productive is when I am motivated. You know I make cosplays , so watching a series or playing a game with the characters I want to recreate always makes me want to sew even more. Watching sewing programs like “The Sewing Bee” also gives me a good boost of energy and ideas. What’s most important about motivation is using it wisely. If I have just seen something I really want to make, I don’t stop myself and do something else I don’t want to be doing. Instead, I go straight to the project I really want to do at that exact moment. I find I get much more done if I am really motivated.

8. Switch before you get burnt out

Some projects take just too long. Sometimes it is as if they were cursed! If you feel like you can’t continue with something you are doing, just take a break. If your mindset is not the right one you will start commiting mistakes and that’s the last thing you want.Taking a short break from those projects is not a bad idea. Maybe you can take a day off and watch telly, it is absolutely fine. Just again, don’t let them wait for too long or you will completely lose interest.

9. Don’t overthink it

Personally I am very insecure. Sometimes I spend more time thinking or researching how to sew something than actually giving it a go. I have actually written a million sewing tutorials myself. Truth is, it is not going to work if you don’t even try it! There is always time to fix mistakes or start a new project if the first one didn’t work. Just keep sewing.

10. Let it go…

This is perhaps the most difficult advice to take. There are times in which simply you are not prepared to finish a project. That is absolutely fine. You can instead… let it go. You don’t need to finish something if you are not really enjoying it. Sometimes it was just not meant to be. Don’t be afraid to say I can’t do this (right now) or simply I don’t want to do this anymore. Maybe you lost interest or maybe you just don’t have the abiliy or resources yet. Take the project out of your list, pause it or get rid of it all together. Start with something new that really excites you right now. The time you spent on that project will never be wasted as you keep with you the experience and joy it gave you when you were sewing it.

Just remember, you don’t owe anything to anyone. It does not matter if you are productive or not. You are doing this for yourself. Enjoy the process and have fun with it! And you will see how you will improve with time without noticing it.

Do you like my posts? Remember you can support my blog in many ways, using my affiliate links, buying me a Ko-fi, or visiting my Cosplay Store! Following me on my Social Media and sharing my posts helps too! With your help I can create more cosplays, articles and tutorials to share with you!

The post 10 Tips to improve your sewing productivity appeared first on Alice in Cosplayland.

1. Plan in advance

Before I even start a new project I always research the character in detail. Then I take notes of all the pieces I will need and how I will make them work together. I always do my best to make sure I have all the pieces bought and sorted before I start a new project. It saves a lot of time.

I use my Cosplay Planner to help with that part and I always start with sketches and hand written notes of all the pieces and materials I will be using.

2. Dissect your cosplays into pieces

Some cosplays can be huge and look daunting. However it is much easier to divide them into smaller pieces or groups of pieces and focus on one part at a time. Instead of focusing in making a full cosplay try and finish one piece that day. I make small lists and cross the pieces down once I have finished them. You will feel much more accomplished and get much more done this way.

I like writing down all the pieces of my cosplays and crossing them out one by one as I finish them, all together it seems like a lot but if you take a piece at a time it is not so difficult! Also, you can make those lists into even smaller lists, for example, if I have to do a piece of armour I’ll write next to it, cut , assemble , prime and paint. It makes your tasks a piece of cake.

3. Don’t let your inspiration escape

In my many years as a cosplayer I have discovered that if you really feel like working on a specific piece you should go for it. As any other “job” there will be parts that will motivate you more than others. Feel a crave to make one of them now? Go for it! If you are inspired don’t let it go, probably you will finish it faster. Don’t try to force yourself to do the piece that was next on your list but you don’t feel like doing now. You may get stuck on that one, not finish it because you are not motivated and lose inspiration on the one you really wanted to do.

I never finished this project because I lost my inspiration, I forced myself into continuing with this piece instead of another one I really wanted to do, I did a terrible job with both and lost all will to keep going on the project. Now I am just waiting for my muse to come back.

4. Have an allocated time for whenever you are not motivated

As I said, having inspiration is good, but if you where to wait for it to appear for each piece you would never finish. Allocate some time for your projects. If you know Saturdays are your free days or Thursday you have a couple of hours to spare make it a routine to cosplay that day. I usually find that once I start I get hooked!

If you don’t feel like doing something big try with some easy tasks like cutting pieces, priming foam or basting. You may motivate yourself to do something more challenging once you have started.

5. Follow the 5 minutes rule

Are there any tasks that you can finish in 5 minutes? Do them now! Don’t leave them for later. Everybody has 5 minutes to spare. Something quick and simple can turn into hours if you leave a pile of things unfinished till the end.

If you just need 5 minutes to hem that skirt, attach that button or make some decorative bows do it now and you won’t have to worry about it later! It is very motivating when you spend those extra 5 minutes on something and you are able to cross that piece off your to do list.

6. Find a comfy spot and avoid distractions

Of course you do want to avoid distractions and your phone is probably the main one. Disconnecting completely is difficult but leaving your phone in silence is probably the best idea. Make sure you have plenty of time to spend on your own and no one will come to your room. Leave a do not disturb note on the door. It is cosplay time.

Ideally you should have your own space to cosplay, I recently refurbished my cosplay room and now I am super comfortable. If you feel like you are going to be interrupted or you don’t have the space to work, you will tire much quicker. Your back will also thank you if you are using a proper table and a chair. Say no to the floors!

7. Alternate projects

Some people will advice you to work on a project at a time. That never works for me. Some projects can be monotonous, lots of sewing or lots of crafting. They kind of get boring and make you want to give up. Others are just too long. Try to keep it interesting and alternate techniques and styles.

If possible have two or three projects at different stages so you don’t feel stuck on just one. It is better to work a bit on a different project than not working at all! I have a rack where I place all my ongoing or just finished projects as well as baskets with cosplay pieces so I can quickly swap projects.

8. Take a break

More often than not I find myself sewing very late at night or after long periods without rest. It is then when I commit the biggest mistakes and mess up things. Going without eating for hours is also not a good idea. Plan for breaks, eat properly and make sure to keep hydrated. There is always time for a cup of hot tea chocolate. If you are rested and focused you will do much better.

I left behind other tricks like listening to music, ask for advice or binge watching TV series while you work. There are many others. Let me know which ones keep you focused!

Do you like my posts? Remember you can support my blog in many ways, using my affiliate links, buying me a Ko-fi, or visiting my Cosplay Store! Following me on my Social Media and sharing my posts helps too! With your help I can create more cosplays, articles and tutorials to share with you!

The post Top 8 tips to get through your cosplay list appeared first on Alice in Cosplayland.

Let the cosplay list season begin

It has started. Every year by December and January my feed gets full of cosplay wishlists. “This year I am doing these cosplays”. Well, I don’t even know if I’ll finish soon the cosplay I started 6 months ago!

But let’s be realistic, how often do you get to finish the cosplays in those lists? I have actually checked my own lists. My Cosplay Planner actually helps a lot keeping track of my ideas.

I checked the lists of my last three years. I wasn’t that bad, on average I completed about 40% of the cosplays in my lists. However, I almost never completed them in that same year they appeared! I only completed about 25% of the cosplays I had planned for the year on time! Which means I dropped 3 out of 4 cosplays I had planned that year! And I am being very optimistic with these numbers.

Reasons why you will never complete your Cosplay Wishlist

There are many reasons why you won’t be able to finish those cosplays on time. And I’m not even considering the time when you sprained your wrist while doing martial arts (funny story, true story) or when you had to refurbish your craft room from scratch. Here are just some of the problems you may encounter.

1. The hype

This is your nemesis, the number one reason why you won’t be finishing your cosplays, the thing that will keep you awake at nights. The culprit of all those unfinished projects, the delay of your current build and the great fear of the cosplayer. The new stuff.

Fashions come and go so fast, and they also apply to cosplay. There is always new characters appearing on your social media and you want to be on top of the wave. There are so many new characters and with so amazing designs. The new anime season, the latest Marvel film, the E3 new games, you want to make them all! The truth is most people will forget about these characters in a year or two, but who cares, you want to do it and you want to do it now.

Hype can strike you in two different ways. One, it will make you drop your current project in favour to the most fashionable one, you will finish it, but you will delay or drop your current project, maybe forever. Or two, you will do a make up test, probably spend a lot of money on fabric and materials you will never use and you will lose interest. The cosplay will never make it out of your list. FAIL.

2. Too many cosplays

And this makes cosplay 31 on my wishlist of cosplays for this year, which means… I need to finish a cosplay every 1.6 weeks in order to finish them all in time…D’oh!

You are not being realistic, there is no way you can finish all the coplays in your list before the end of the year. There are just too many! And you haven’t even considered the hype in the original ecuation.

There are just far too many outfits out there you would like to make and not enough time for all of them. You are going to have to choose. Go for the ones you would really want to make, and leave the rest for whenever you have the extra time (ha, ha, ha, extra time). Remember that not only you want to make the cosplays but wear them in a convention or two and take some photos. That takes time too! Choose wisely and remember that cosplay time has its own flow (usually slower than you think).

3. You are poor

Sorry my dear, the piggy bank is broken. You have spent all your money on fancy fabric and worbla. And you don’t have enough for a new project.

Cosplayers have very expensive tastes, we think we are clever and we are saving money on the sales, but the truth is that we spent quite a bit of money on those cosplay details that make our cosplays perfect. If I were to buy all the materials for all the cosplays in my list I would probably not have enough to eat!

Sometimes saving up for that next project may take longer than you think. Be aware of your limitations and plan your budget with care.

4. Life

Yes! You DO have a life! Did you forget to visit your grandma this weekend? Don’t tell me you run out of milk again this week. When was the last time you played with your cats?

It is very easy to get carried away with your cosplay and forget about everything else. Many times I have found myself forgetting to eat! Your mum won’t be cleaning your room for you forever. The truth is there is not enough time for everything. Make sure you have plenty of time saved for your everyday tasks, your friends and your family, they are for sure much more important than your next cosplay. This also includes TAKING A BREAK every so often.

My list of cosplays I will never complete (2020 edition)

I may not be able to finish my list of cosplays this year, but nevertheless I will make one. It just wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t. Here are just some of the cosplays on my list that I may or may not finish, but hey, let’s just give it a try!

By the time you read this I will have already started 2 of them, and probably dropped another too. Want to know how I’m doing? Make sure you follow me on Facebook . Twitter and Instagram to see my progress!

And remember to check my goals on Ko-fi, I will be ablet to create more cosplays and more tutorials with your support, and I will share them with you! Some of my cosplay patterns will end up in my patterns and cosplay related downloadables make sure to check my current collection! Also, don’t forget to download my Cosplay Planner to start your own list! Happy sewing!

The post Why you will never complete your Cosplay Wishlist appeared first on Alice in Cosplayland.

I spend a lot of time crafting, and I think having a space to be creative is very important and part of the creative process. When I first moved to my new house the first thing I did was to find a space for my sewing machines and all my tools. At the beginning it all worked well. I adopted some furniture and filled the place with my stuff. But when I decided to make some changes it all went wrong.

My first working space ever

Having a room for my cosplays is a new thing for me. For a long time I only had a little space at home where I could do my crafts, and store them, and sleep.

At the very beginning, when I started cosplay, I had to alternate between my bedroom and the guest room. The sewing machine was there. As you can imagine it wasn’t very comfortable nor productive. I only had a table and a cupboard to put all my tools and my fabrics and cosplays were everywhere around the house. It wasn’t ideal, but at the time it worked.

A few years later I decided to move the machines to my bedroom. In a sense it was great because now all my stuff was together. However, it was very difficult to disconnect, and my tiny room was messy all the time. I hardly had any space to move or to live.

The new space and the catastrophe

When I moved to my new house I knew it was my chance. I was lucky enough to have a spare room just for my crafts. The house was old but I could make it work. The wallpaper was in good condition. The carpet floor wasn’t ideal but would have to do for the time. We made some shelves for the old fitted in cupboard out of an old door and I filled the room with all my tools and fabric.

For a year or two the place was ideal. However, as it is usually the case, I soon run out of space. Therefore, I decided to get a bigger cupboard to store all my fabrics. My father in law offered to make it. He is an amazing carpenter and I trusted him with it while I went on holidays.

But alas! When I came back the cupboard was not finished, the wallpaper was ripped off and there was a huge hole where the fireplace used to be. Carpet was gone as well. With his good will he had tried to refit the fireplace and doing so the old walls had crumbled down.

Cosplay room from scratch

I had to put a hold on all my current projects and focus on fixing the mess. As I couldn’t save the room I may as well remake it to fit my purposes. I went all over and designed a new room from scratch.

Of course, IKEA was my choice to get my new cupboards. Inexpensive and beautiful. It was much easier to order online so I did. I even got an amazing view of how my room would look with one of their apps. Guess what? They messed up the order, and a quick delivery became months of despair…

After two scratched units, missing pieces, 5 delays and about 10 calls to the customer service, I eventually got my new furniture and was able to finish this oddysey. In total, t took us 4 months of hard work plastering walls, wallpapering, adding a new floor, new ceiling and assembling all those IKEA units. And this was because I just wanted to get ONE new cupboard in my room.

However, now I have the most amazing cosplay room ever. It was frustrating and took longer than I would have liked but now I have all the space in the world to store all my wigs. My fabric looks pretty and tidy. All my cosplays are stored succesfully and it is just a real pleasure to work on my sewing room.

Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, but with a bit of patience you will eventually get there. Next time I will give you a guided tour of my room and will let you know what’s in all those cupboards!

Like my cosplay stories? Remember you can support me on Ko-fi, there are no subscriptions and you will help me create more cosplays and more tutorials to share with you! Also, if you are looking for patterns and cosplay related downloadables make sure to check my collection!

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I must say that I really like my things tidy, I have already shown you how I organize my fabric stash and I do keep all my materials together just so it is easier to find the bits and pieces I use to build my cosplays.

Here I will give you some tips to store your cosplays succesfully for a long and prosper life.

1. Keep your cosplay together

It may seem obvious, but believe me, I have lost many pieces of many cosplays just because I forgot where I put half of it. At the very beginning I put all the pieces of all my cosplays in the same box. When the number started to build up, I moved some pieces but forgot others. Everything became a mess and I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out which piece was from what cosplay.

That’s why I decided to get big zipper bags to store all the pieces together. You can see what is inside and it is a matter of getting the right bag each time. Right now, I am starting to store my cosplays in custom bags. I make them with fabric leftovers as I am trying to reduce plastic at home. They only take a few minutes to make and you can make them to fit your needs.

2. Be careful with the small pieces

What if your cosplay has many small pieces like earrings, hairpins, cuffs and collars? Make sure you put them all together in a little bag with your cosplay. You will easily forget they are there if you mix them with the bigger pieces and you will definitely lose them!

Organza bags are ideal to store your cosplay bits as you can easily see what’s inside but any little bag or container will do. You can use small boxes for the most delicate pieces.

3. Invest on a good box

Again, on my early days I put my cosplays on random bags that moved around my bedroom. I couldn’t really stack them and they were always getting moved and falling. Once, I lost a costume for 6 months because one of my bags had fallen behind the sofa!

To solve this, I initially decided to store my cosplays on cardboard boxes, but they got destroyed so quickly! It is worth to invest on a good plastic box. Right now all my cosplays are in Really Useful Boxes. They are in comparison a bit expensive but they stack on top of each other, they are clear and I can see what is inside. And the best part, they don’t pop open when you overload them! Because you will overload them.

They fit easily under your desk, on top of your wardrobe or under the bed and your cosplays will be sealed and secured.

4. Support your delicate pieces

There is always a cosplay with very delicate parts on it. A sturdy box will help but sometimes you may want to add some extra support. Add newspaper pages to hollow hats and cardboard around the pieces that may collapse. Make a structure around any pieces that need it and make sure there is nothing heavy on top of them.

Also, consider putting the smaller pieces of your cosplay inside the bigger ones, you will save space and they will support each other.

5. Avoid paint stains

There is nothing worse than getting a stain on your cosplay. I lied, it is worse to get the pieces stuck together and not being able to separate them. You should be giving the right finish to your cosplay to avoid this, but nevertheless you need to be careful when you store them as it may still happen.

Never store two painted pieces touching each other nor any fabric directly. This is easily solved by adding a layer of paper in between the pieces. I recommend you to use white tissue paper, it is very inexpensive and light weight and it will save you from a bad surprise.

6. Label it all

My memory is amazing, I remember I put this cosplay in this bag along with this other piece. But, wait a minute, I changed this part so I had to move it so now it is… lost? It doesn’t matter how good your memory is if you are going to store things for a long time. Believe me, you will forget.

As I said, I store my cosplays in boxes, but very often a box will be enough for several of them. In order to remember where is each one I just write the names on the boxes. If you use a whiteboard marker you will be able to modify them easily if you ever sell, retire or move any of those cosplays. Easy and practical.

7. If it doesn’t fit…

I still haven’t found a box big enough to store some of my props. But they make beautiful decorations for my room. You can keep your bigger builds around your room, they actually look really good. Personally, I tend to build lots of swords and staffs. Other people store umbrellas, I store weapons on umbrella stands.

Ready for the convention

Try to keep all your cosplaypieces together as much as you can and consider protecting them somehow if they are going to be under direct sun or in places collecting dust. Remember that no matter how well you store your cosplays it is still possible that they got some stains and they will totally get creased after long periods of time. Always check them a few days before the convention

If you follow these tips to store your cosplays you should be ready for the convention in no time. Check all those pieces, fix any closures that broke during the last con and iron it all, after that, your life will be easier and you will be able to spend more time sewing new cosplay! And if you still struggle remember to get my Cosplay Planner to make sure you don’t forget anything. Check my patterns for new cosplays too!

Do you have any other tricks to store your cosplay? What is the worst that happened to one of your cosplays when you stored them? Let me know in the comments! And if you want me to keep writing useful articles and new tutorials don’t forget to support me on Ko-Fi. No subscription needed!

The post How to store your cosplays succesfully appeared first on Alice in Cosplayland.

A mannequin can be expensive. I didn’t want to spend over £100 on a professional one as I mainly do cosplays for me. The other cheap options that I found were polystyrene and I thought it wouldn’t be as durable as my fiberglass one. So I gave it a chance and I decided to revamp my mannequin.

First steps

The first thing I did was to get a new stand for my mannequin. My father in law cut a couple of copper pipes and attached them to a heavy wooden base. I painted the base and it was already looking much better. At least it was now functional but still very ugly.

I decided to change the cover. Originally, I didn’t know what I would find underneath. I unpicked all the seams being careful not to reap the fabri. What I found underneath was even worse.

The soft padding underneath was completely destroyed and crumbling. It looked terrible and no wonder it was very difficult to pin any fabric to it. It was time to change not only the cover but the wadding as well.

Cleaning the mannequin

As I said, there was little I could do for the original fabric so I decided to take it off and clean the mannequin as well as I could. Everything was full of old glue and pieces of fabric. First, I used a wire brush to get rid of the worst part and later a damp cloth to clean all the bits.

Patterning the new cover

As well as the cover I decided to add a new layer of wadding to my mannequin. This way, I could pin garments easily to my mannequin.I used the old wadding as a pattern and instead of glueing it I sew it around the mannequin.

Finally, I did the same with the cover for my mannequin. I chose an elastic fabric in white that I had at home. It makes my mannequin look cleaner and modern. I could have chosen some fancy pattern but I thought this would look better with any clothing on top.

Now, after I revamped my mannequin, it looks much nicer and it also looks good as a decoration in my room. It only took me one day to complete the whole change and now I can buy lots of fabric with the money I saved doing this.

If you are looking for new patterns to cover your revamped mannequin make sure you check my collection. And if you want to see more tutorials and tips go to my sewing section to find out more. Have you ever attempted to rescue an old piece like this one?

The post How I revamped my mannequin appeared first on Alice in Cosplayland.

It is that time of the year again. We look back at what we have done and get ready for the year to come. You don’t need a new year list of goals, what you need is the new year resolutions for cosplayers.

Looking back at my year I have to say that I did pretty well. Certainly, I didn’t attend to many conventions but I managed to finish many dropped projects and enter a national competition. I didn’t win, but I was most proud of my cosplay and performance. I also relaunched my Etsy store and started making patterns for cosplayers.

Next year I want to be even better. I will be setting new goals and I aim to improve even more on this hobby. One of my personal goals is to write in this blog more often but this is my list of new year resolutions for cosplayers.

1. Plan in advance

Every single year I think about how cool it would be to wear this or that cosplay for Halloween, Valentine’s day or that awesome convention in summer. Or I want to wear a new cosplay but find that my lenses have dried out. Every single time I remember it too late and run out of time. This year is time to start early and have the cosplays ready for the right time. Do you need a Cosplay Planner? Maybe?

2. Sleep more

Of course, because I don’t plan in advance, I get to stay all night up trying to complete my cosplay. In the last few years I got better at this but I still get overexcited at times and forget to sleep. Now a days I always have a plan B in case I don’t finish my cosplay in time. I have gone to conventions with no sleep at all. You only think about going to bed and don’t enjoy yourself. It is OK to postpone a project if you see you run out of time. You will be able to give a 100% at the convention and will get a better finish next time after a good sleep.

3. Stop buying fabric

But it is so pretty… and so cheap… No! At the moment I have two full cupboards full of fabric for projects. Some of these fabrics I bought ten years ago! I know they are cheap, I know they are pretty, but you should be thinking how to use them instead of collecting them and potentially ruining them if you didn’t store them properly. You will appreciate the savings of space and money for the projects that really matter.

4. Be more active on social media

For me, sometimes it is very difficult to be active in social media. I have a daytime job, a house to look after, a family, and believe it or not, other hobbies! I always try my best and I schedule posts so there is always new content on my pages. Sometimes it is not enough and life keeps me occupied instead. Nevertheless, it can be done, and hopefully I will be more active in the new year.

5. Share more tutorials

I love making tutorials, but they are very time consuming. I know you like them and I love being able to help other cosplayers like me. Actually, I have lots of pictures from lots of processes ready and hopefully I will get new content up very soon. Sharing helps us all being better.

6. Learn something new

Learning new techniques can be frustrating at the beginning, but they are worth the trouble. This year I learnt how to use Illustrator and it was more difficult than I expected. Actually, it has helped me a lot and made my life easier. It was totally worth it and I was able to create digital patterns that I can now share with you. You can always improve and learn something new. Don’t get stuck on your comfort zone and try something different.

7. Make a challenging cosplay

Every year I try making something amazing. Making small projects is fun, but doing the extra detailed or extra big cosplay is so satisfying. It can easily take you six months or a year to finish it; you will drop it a million times; but when you do finish it, you will feel very proud of yourself.

8. Finish an unfinished cosplay

You start a project, you flirt with another project and you end up forgetting about the first one. We have all been there. Some more often than others. Last year I managed to finish 3 long forgotten cosplays that I had started years ago. I already have 3 more ready to launch next year. They may not be as relevant or as good as your current projects but you will feel better with yourself.

9. Make a cosplay from your wishlist

Every cosplayer has a wishlist. Basically, it is a list of cosplays that you want to do no matter what. Sometimes you don’t start them because you haven’t got the money, the knowledge or even the time. This is your year, plan in advance (remember resolution 1?) and get all you need to fulfill your dreams. No more excuses.

10. Have fun

This is the most important part of cosplay. We forget about it so easily and we shouldn’t. This is a hobby. You don’t make cosplays for others. You make it for you! And you should enjoy it. Forget about criticisms, winning or losing, stressing over a competition. This is for you, it is OK to have a break and it is OK not to enter a competition. Always remember to have fun and forget about anything else.

Did you like my New Year Resolutions for cosplayers? Is there anything you would add to the list? Comment here or in my social networks and let me know what you wrote on your list!

The post New Year Resolutions for cosplayers appeared first on Alice in Cosplayland.

I am a very organised person but very messy and forgetful at the same time. At the beginning of the year I decided to start an agenda, but I couldn’t find anything to keep track of my hobby so I decided to build one.

Easy to print

The best part is being able to print it at home and fill in the pages whenever I need them. Of course, I needed many pages, as I already had over 100 cosplays!

My favourite sections

I decided to add lots of sections to my planner to keep track of absolutely everything. Of course I wanted to plan my next conventions and cosplays but I also wanted to track the cosplays I had already done. Also, I had so many wigs, contact lenses and fabrics that I neede a way to track them.

One of my concerns was my sketches, I always seem to draw very weird proportions and sometimes my sketches are terrible. That is why I made a Sketch Planner, one of my favourite pages in the planner, you only have to draw on top. Also, you have plenty of space to write notes and add drawings of your details and props.

And of course, the contact lenses, I can never remember when I opened them. I will not forget it anymore as now I write down the date in which I opened them in my agenda.

Over 30 pages of content

The planner has over 30 pages, You can plan your sketches, skits, events, photoshoots, competitions,… Have lists of you cosplays, circle lenses, wigs, fabrics and add everything to your different calendars and much more!

You can download the Cosplay Planner in my Etsy Shop

And if you don’t want to miss any important updates follow me in my social media

Facebook www.facebook.com/aliceincosplayland
Instagram www.instagram.com/cosplayalice

The post Cosplay Planner. Plan your cosplay year appeared first on Alice in Cosplayland.

You should definitely start using those meters and meters of fabric. And you want to use the fabric before it gets spoiled. Actually, I can help you with that, check my patterns! But of course, it is going to take time, and meanwhile, those piles of fabric are just getting creased and lost in a sea of frayed ends by the moment.

How to fold your fabric

There are many ways to fold fabric. For best results you can use a board to figure out the size you want for your stack. Fold the fabric so it will fill your board horizontally and then start folding it around it. It is up to you to fold the raw edge of the fabric at the end. It does look prettier but it is also bulkier.

How to organize your fabric

Once you have folded your fabric as neat as possible you want to make sure you can see all your material at a glance. Actually, you can tidy your fabric depending on its colour or its type for example, it is up to you. Furthermore, I like keeping my small pieces in a different stash. I have a wardrobe where I keep all my fabrics. Also, you can keep any extra fabric in boxes or baskets.

I’m sure you have already planned what to do with some of those fabrics. Obviously you don’t want to use them by mistake, therefore, it is always a good idea to keep those separated from your stash. For instance, you can put them together in a separate box with a picture of the project you want to make. Therefore, it will be easy to start it whenever you feel like it. I also keep my started projects in a different basket. That way I will not mix them and lose them in my stash.

Another problem you will have is all those little pieces of scrap fabric. They aren’t big enough for a full garment, but they are so pretty you don’t want to bin them. At the beginning, I used to keep them in a box. Now I use a laundry basket to store them. It is very handy as you can store them straight away. Actually, mine is under my sewing machine, any leftovers go straight to the bin. I do keep the small pieces and make little projects with them later. Also, I will sort them every so often when I feel like my basket is getting full.

Keep track of your fabric

Once you tidy all your fabric you will realise that you have meters and meters of almost the same thing and you didn’t even know it! A tidy stash will totally help, however, it is even better to keep a list of all the materials that you have bought in the past. Cut a small piece of each of your fabrics and write down some details. You can note the price per meter, size,  shop, type of fabric, planned project or any other relevant information.

If you want half of the work done for you, start a Cosplay Planner and print the fabric page. You can fill all the details of your materials and keep everything pretty and tidy. You can also plan all your future cosplays, photoshoots and conventions so it is very handy.

And what about you, how do you organize your fabric? Do you have a special place where you keep it? Do you have a box with leftovers? Let me know in the comments and if you really liked my post consider supporting me on Ko-fi. There are no subscriptions and you will help me make more tutorials and posts for you!

The post How to organize your fabric appeared first on Alice in Cosplayland.