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[Kirschwasser]

Melanie - No, I don't have my fan art online. I'm kind of afraid to put it online because there are a lot of theives out there. *Shakes head* But, at the same time, I would love to put it online so I can show off my fan art. ^^ Maybe some day...whenever I can find access to a scanner, that is!

Even if that's the only thing you use the game for, it will be totally worth it! Honestly, you won't find a better source for reference pics!

So it is the best for reference, eh? Well, that settles it...if I ever see a copy of DW Empires, I'll be sure to buy it. I need all the reference I can get if Xiao Qiao's Level 11 fans have extra designs on them (which I can't tell if they do have designs on them or not in DW4). That'll also be great to aid me in case I decide to do more DW cosplay. I would like to, but I can't afford it right now. (I know making my Samurai Warriors cosplay is going to be expensive! *sweatdrops*) I would like to make Diao Chan's 6th Model outfit sometime in the future, though, because it's pretty.

[GFO]

Hey all.

I'm planning a DW4 Ma Chao for A-Kon 16. I was wondering if anyone had some advice for the shoulder and chest armor, as well as possibly some enlarged (and clear) pictures of those areas. I'd really like to get those parts as accurate as possible.

Also....with his little skirt-thingy....I can't tell from this reference pic I've got if that's all the same fabric or not. If it's not, how to get the subtle fabric transition?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get farther along, but this is enough to work with for now. And if anyone knows of a good place online to find fabric for this costume, I'd appreciate that as well.

[shadowsong]

something i found recently - if you're picky about your brocades and are having a hard time finding a specific pattern, try posting a fabric search on fabrics.net. i've been corresponding with a fabric store owner because of that - i can't tell if he really wants a sale or if he's just being helpful, but i suspect it's the second one.

[shadowsong]

gfo - from the pictures i'm looking at (see here for the whole list or here for the picture i found most useful) it looks like the upper part of his robe and the lower split skirt type thing are actually one piece. i would say it either splits under the sash or is split all the way down and the gold bit and sash hide where it overlaps.

now mind you, this is definitely not the easiest way to do it, but what i would do for the color is use the green belt fabric for that robe, and do a gradiated dye over that with a green-based black. (i think i described how to gradiate dye earlier in the thread, talking about da qiao.) using that technique, you could get most of the fabric that darker greyish color shown, fading into the bright green at the very bottom.

[Rydain]

Originally Posted by Melanie

Oh! I wish I could be there with you and see everything come together!

Awww...that's so sweet of you! ^_^ I would love to see your sewing in action as well. I have a feeling that it would be lots of fun and I'd definitely learn a few good tricks...

I don't have anything that looks anywhere near finished yet, but I will post a picture when I get to that point. But I can tell you that I'm currently assembling the back sides of the four hanging sashes, and the process has gone far better this time. I applied an appropriately sized block of very lightweight fusible interfacing to the fabric before I cut it out, which helped me save some time on measuring and kept it from sliding around annoyingly (which is what happened last time, and it made most of my pieces more than slightly irregular). It does keep fraying to a minimum, too. The interfacing stiffened the satin more than I thought it would, but I think it was A Good Thing (tm) because it still bends in a fabric-like way, and the extra body will help the sashes hang nicely and not look flimsy. Now, there are some slight puckers, but some of them might come out after the temporary spray adhesive I used for "pinning" the applique wears off, and even so, these pieces look way better than my original attempts, so I'm not going to complain.

And I have yet another question: is your brocade a silk/rayon blend? (I'm guessing it is because it appears to have similar properties to the fabric I bought, which is 78% rayon/22% silk). If so, do you recall which fusible interfacing you used on it? I've read that you have to be careful with rayon and fusibles because heat + water = significantly shrunken rayon, so I was planning on ordering a low-temp rayon-friendly fusible called Touch o' Gold for my finicky fabric. Would you suggest anything different?

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by Rydain

And I have yet another question: is your brocade a silk/rayon blend? (I'm guessing it is because it appears to have similar properties to the fabric I bought, which is 78% rayon/22% silk). If so, do you recall which fusible interfacing you used on it? I've read that you have to be careful with rayon and fusibles because heat + water = significantly shrunken rayon, so I was planning on ordering a low-temp rayon-friendly fusible called Touch o' Gold for my finicky fabric. Would you suggest anything different?

I'm so happy to hear everything is coming together nicely!

Yes, the brocade I used was silk/rayon. I bought it from www.goodorient.com and www.gofabric.com - which are both BRILLIANT online stores, if you want to check them out.

I'm afraid I have no idea what interfacing I used on them... whatever brand my local fabric shop sells. I can ask them about it next time I'm there, if you like? I had no idea there were any problems associated with ironing it to rayon! Heh, I guess I was extremely lucky.

Originally Posted by GFO

I'm planning a DW4 Ma Chao for A-Kon 16. I was wondering if anyone had some advice for the shoulder and chest armor, as well as possibly some enlarged (and clear) pictures of those areas. I'd really like to get those parts as accurate as possible.

I've just started making Ma Chao's costume for Manifest 2005, so if you want to PM or email me, I'd love it if we could share our collective information! I hope to start work on his armour over the next week. I've got some ideas on how to make it, and I'd be happy to tell you all about my failures (which I hope there won't be many of!) and successes.

Originally Posted by GFO

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get farther along, but this is enough to work with for now. And if anyone knows of a good place online to find fabric for this costume, I'd appreciate that as well.

www.goodorient.com and www.gofabric.com are my two favourite Chinese fabric stores, and where I have bought the fabrics for all of my DW costumes. I hope I've been able to help!

[GFO]

Originally Posted by shadowsong

gfo - from the pictures i'm looking at (see here for the whole list or here for the picture i found most useful) it looks like the upper part of his robe and the lower split skirt type thing are actually one piece. i would say it either splits under the sash or is split all the way down and the gold bit and sash hide where it overlaps.

now mind you, this is definitely not the easiest way to do it, but what i would do for the color is use the green belt fabric for that robe, and do a gradiated dye over that with a green-based black. (i think i described how to gradiate dye earlier in the thread, talking about da qiao.) using that technique, you could get most of the fabric that darker greyish color shown, fading into the bright green at the very bottom.

Yeah, I got the pictures from that site for myself, so that's what I've been looking at (that, and spending an inordinate amount of time at the character-select screen). As far as the dyeing.....I'll address that once I've actually picked some fabrics and started sewing. Right now it's weapon-work and accessories for me.

Whoa!...I've been gone for such a long time!! ^^;;;; so many posts!! Anyway My compu was busted so yeah...actually had time to work on Oichi's costume. coming along nicely! ^^

[shadowsong]

melanie - goodorient is a great site. that's where i found shoes for da qiao.
i had the hardest time finding anything that looked appropriate, and was considering buying espadrilles and completely remaking the uppers. then i found some embroidered china flats there that, while they weren't the shoes in the game, matched the rest of the outfit perfectly. they aren't on the site any more, but i think the design was called "flowers of desire".

didn't even think of buying fabric there, though, probably because i already had all my fabric. it's nice that they tell you what to look for to make sure you don't get ripped off buying silk on the internet, but they did say something that made me a little wary/disappointed.
"Brocades are a delicate mix of silk and satin..." Uh, no they're not. Silk is a fiber, satin is a weave. You can have satin-weave silk, you can have part silk, part other fiber satin fabric, and you can have part satin, part other weave (think jacquard and brocade) silk fabric, but you can't have fabric that is just a mix of satin and silk, delicate or not. argh.

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by shadowsong

"Brocades are a delicate mix of silk and satin..." Uh, no they're not. Silk is a fiber, satin is a weave. You can have satin-weave silk, you can have part silk, part other fiber satin fabric, and you can have part satin, part other weave (think jacquard and brocade) silk fabric, but you can't have fabric that is just a mix of satin and silk, delicate or not. argh.

Oh! I'd never even looked at their information page before! I've never had any problems with my orders from them, and the brocade seems to be of the same quality as anywhere else.

It could just be an innocent translation error on their part. *shrug*

[shadowsong]

you're right, it probably is just a translation error, but i couldn't help the head->desk reflex.

[SephirothXer0]

Wow this thread has really grown... well, see U guys in another 40 pages!

[Kirschwasser]

Another technique for brocade on fanart is to scan a piece of it, and pattern fill the clothes. That's what I do with mine.

Melanie - I do it the "hard" way...I paint the brocade in. I don't use computer art. For my artwork, I use acrylic coloured inks to draw the characters, then I use Japanese watercolours & sometimes Copic markers to colour my art in. Painting brocade is actually easier than I thought it would be. ^^ It just takes some time to draw in all the detail.

Whoa!...I've been gone for such a long time!! ^^;;;; so many posts!! Anyway My compu was busted so yeah...actually had time to work on Oichi's costume. coming along nicely! ^^

Glad to see that you are back on the site. ^_^ I can't wait to see your Oichi in the future. I know it'll be awesome.


Oh yeah...and whoever asked for where to buy brocade & such online...you can also try www.thaisilks.com. That is where I got my brocade & silk for my Qiao sister costumes. It is actual silk brocade & very lovely & beautiful fabric. Thai Silks sells it for a really great price, considering that real silk brocade usually costs a million dollars per yard.


EDIT: Oh yeah, those of you going as SW & DW for Anime Expo 2005, then please go to the thread I made in the AX area. I figure it is time now to start rounding up everybody & start recruiting. ^__^

[Chibi Plush Toy]

Okay right now I'm confused about one of the crucial points of Qiao sister cosplays. Kirschwasser how do you get your Da Qiao shoes?!?! I gotta know!

[Rydain]

This is a survey of sorts (and a request for opinions). When you're picking out fabric for costumes and can't find anything that really matches the reference, do you prioritize accuracy or overall effect? I think Xiahou Dun's front patterned sash (if you don't know what I'm talking about, go to this gallery and look at the DW4 pictures) would look best made from predyed fabric, especially batik, so I've been scouring online batik stores for anything similar. There isn't much. Accuracy-wise, the closest I've come across is this. It's pretty, but I think it's too cheery and bright for a serious officer, and it might look funny next to the forest-green sash. Effect-wise, this really jumped out at me. Though dissimilar to the reference, it has a background color that appears to be a much darker version of the base of the brocade I'm using for the surcoat. The gold in the leaves would go with gold elsewhere in the costume. Thus, it's tempting me more and more. If anyone has an opinion (or a suggestion for more places to look for patterned fabric), I'd be happy to hear it.