3. Get the Materials

Textile and other crafting materials are often the most expensive part of any costume of cosplay. Not to mention that some materials are impossible to get, especially when you live in a small town, or in a small country. Internet shopping is great, but it doesn’t solve everything. You cannot touch, you cannot smell things there. So, where to get materials?

•  textile fabric

Of course, textile shops are the easiest way to buy fabric, but the choice is often limited to seasonal textile and to fabrics that are in fashion at the time. There are, however, several alternatives. I don't know about other countries, but in Germany there is a „Stoffmarkt Holland“ twice a year, which is a moving textile market that opens its booths in various cities all around the country for several weeks. You have usually a greater choice of textiles than in your average textile shop and often also the prices are better. In addition you can buy there ribbons, buttons and other things necessary for sewing. Research the internet, if there’s a similar market in your country as well.

Once I came upon a treasure of textiles. They were the odds-and-ends-fabrics from the local theatre workshop. The theater was moving to a new location, and because the mother of my friend worked there, we were able to bring home several big sacks full of textiles indented to be thrown out. Granted, a theatre doesn’t move every day- but maybe it would be worth to ask your local theatre, if they have some scrap textiles which they intend to throw out, or if they could sell you some of them at low prices. It’s worth your time, as some of these so called „leftovers” are big enough to become a nice skirt or a short jacket, not to speak about the many ribbons and other accessories you can create from them. And they are some textiles, too!!!!

Some of the fabrics from the theater including  one boa feathered over sized  hat (I got three of them)

Outfit (very left) made out entirely of the theater scrap fabric, with a cheap halloween Lady Gaga wig revamped with dreads  -  big hat (right) with tassels from theater scraps (Halloween costume, courtesy of a friend of mine)

Seasonal events like Halloween (or annual carnival season in February called Fasching in Germany) often bring many cool things in your common boring warehouses. You can buy variety of wigs and cheap fashion accessories (which can, by the way, look just great with careful usage), also face paint and false lashes for reasonable prices. Curiously, “one euro/one dollar/100yen” shops are too a great source of many strange things, which you wouldn’t buy elsewhere.

Fuzzy slippers from lingerie shop (not shown coordinated) -  green skirt with petals from toy shop -  strawberry bag from a "cheap" shop

The green skirt coordinated with a cheap "halloween" wig with DIY wolllen dreads, strawberry bag from the "1Euro" shop

A great source of things – provided you don’t do cosplay and don’t aim to partake in competitions – are charity shops, or as we call them here, second-hand shops. If you’re not repulsed by the idea of wearing something other person has worn already you should visit them. There are some obscure places with vintage or peculiar things, which none could wear normally, but which sometimes are just perfect for the costume you intend to create. The prices are usually low, so you don’t have to be afraid to ruin a piece of clothing by dissecting, re-sewing or reusing selected parts.

Pair of vintage gloves from a charity shop

Corset, originally black, white lace added by me

Corset coordinated with a DIY horned wig and old woolen thighs, net gloves from the seasonal Halloween ware

Similar case is the famous grandma's wardrobe (or aunt, or mother, of father). If your grandma is any similar to mine, she’ll have somewhere a wardrobe with perfectly good but absolutely not used clothes. The same rule as for second hand shops applies here: clothes you wouldn’t wear on street can fit you just perfectly for costume. Be sure to ask her or him if they’re ok with you “ruining” the chosen piece, although usually it’s not a problem. The same applies to shoes.

Baba Yaga witch costume, completely out of grandma's closet (except the DIY wig)

Before you buy something, you shouldn’t forget several things:

-fabrics look differently under natural and artificial light

-if you are making a costume of several different fabrics, check if they’ll look good together (colour, face type, ornaments etc.)

-you can dye only fabrics with mainly natural fibers

-if you’re doing a historical costume, don’t use modern, artificial fabrics (see Research)

-check if the fabric isn’t creasing easily. If possible, prefer non creasing materials. It’s not practical to carry around an iron when on conventions

-fabric shops are often seasonal – you can mostly buy (fake)fur only in winter, colourful, flowery fabrics mostly in summer, so plan ahead!

• other costuming materials

Here the situation can be more complicated. My advice is, do not limit yourself to art & crafting-shops. They are often overpriced and the package size is often way too small and you have to buy several of them - as is often a case with paper glue. An arts & crafts shop often has several specialized kinds, like napkin glue, paper patchwork glue etc., whereas an old boring wood glue works just as fine on different kind of materials, even paper. Just thin it with water and voila!, you have perfect paper patchwork glue for a much better price. The same applies to metallic paints. Usually you’d need several cans to cover a relatively small area of your costume, because the dosage is quite small. What about car paint? It can be shiny or matt, it comes in various colours including metallic ones, it coves very well and the cans are larger. Do your math before you buy something. For this purpose, visit various kinds of specialized shops, be it DIY stores like Hornbach (of Bauhaus or whatever they are called in your region), technical shops, toy-shops, pet-shops (yeah, there too. They have a great choice of different bendable tubes, ropes and so on). Find out what parts can you use from different things. Believe me, after a while you’ll become an expert on improvisation.

Breast plate and mask made out of heat reflective auto foil

Need cogs and wheels for your steampunk? Visit your local watch-maker. They often have unusable scrap wheels which you can bargain for free or maybe for some chocolate muffins, if the watch maker is nice. Or visit a bike repair shop. Small gear wheels work perfectly for steampunk. Sex shops offer a variety of corsets and fancy underwear, as well as other useful things like whips or padded handcuffs. Gothic and lingerie shops are further obvious choice.

Cogs from a nice watch maker, bijou end cap from a cheap earring, boa feather backing from theater scraps

Lastly, economize. You don’t have to buy the most expensive material. Look around you and find out what you can do with what you already own, or from what you usually throw away. You wouldn’t believe how much difference a cleverly applied putty or paint coating can make! Again, there are many tips and tricks about how to use totally common things to create something which will look badass and cool, and all for a reasonable price.

How to make steampunk goggles

And if you’re absolutely desperate where to get material for your project, there’s of course the internet. Many people offer not only crafting tutorials, but also provide advices on what material to use for a particular piece of costume and where to get it.