#i'm saving all threads on drafts and i'll work on them when i come back. i just don't know when will that be.

[the-wild-card-hand]

//Updates, I'm gonna work on drafts and starters tomorrow for certain threads. If I've not responded odds are I lost the thread and if you wanna do another lemme know and I'll get it made. I'm also gonna put a read more here for the current CoD brain rot cause MWIII and MWZ has a bit of a grip on me right now.

Advanced Warfare is looking to be added into the new timeline and I think its a potential soft reboot for that story much like how Black Ops Cold War was for the Black Ops series meaning we could have some familiar beat-points but certain 'canon events' could be changed, could stay the same, we all know how that ended for Soap and I have my opinions on the story but its not the worst CoD campaign that was put out there. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst either there still was some good takeaways and subtle shit.

Anyways, from my current knowledge I know that Treyarch is on deck next potentially for their newer Black Ops iteration which is rumored to be the Gulf War, which lasted between 1990 to 1991. I think Makarov's backstory is going to help seg-way into the Black Ops story.

Born before the fall of the Soviet Union, Makarov's father, as described in Vlad's MP bio, was a high-ranking politician. So when the Soviet Union fell in 1991 his father took his own life. Around this time too, we know that Imran Zakhaev was also getting a foothold in the Soviet Union as well, with Kravchenko sort of being his in, so there might be some kind of connection there where the two try to work together to help save and strengthen the Soviet Union leading to the inevitable hunt for Imran Zakhaev who is brought into the Perseus network, we bring in Russell Adler and some of his guys to help hunt for them along with a couple of additional guys, a young John Price and Captain MacMillian leading them to Pripyat to kill Zakhaev just before the fall of the Soviet Union to stop him from an arms trade of recovered Nova Six, of course Zakhaev lives but is wounded and essentially stokes up the fuel and the fire with his son Viktor.

Considering Vlad would still be a teenager around this time, he wouldn't be involved in that particular event since he joins the Russian Army in 1998 right when he turns 18 and he volunteers for General Barkov's unit a year before Barkov performs an unsanctioned attack and occupation of Urzikstan and is there up until the ULF took back their home. Makarov goes back to his superiors to plead to reclaim Urzikstan and is stripped of his honors and rank.

In comes Viktor Zakhaev looking to take Barkov's throne and who is also looking for a little bit of revenge and justice? Makarov. With a little coercion they also get Al-Asad and place him as the new leader of AQ. It plays into the titles of one of the CoD 4 missions 'The Sins of the Father' if they go that route. Might fly over the heads of most but could be a subtle little nod.

[luxlightly]

(2/2) Also, what kind of fabric should I use if I don't want to get heatstroke or something? I'll most likely be wearing it in autumn and not summer, but I'll be indoors so I'm still worried, especially with how much walking a con usually entails. And how much of that fabric do you think I'll need? (I'm about 6ft tall and weigh about 185-190lbs I think, I'd want the coat to go to about halfway down my lower leg.) Thanks so much in advance and sorry for bothering you!

(Tumblr deleted the first ask when I tried to save it as a draft. Luckily I predicted this and saved a pic of it)

Experienced sewer and cosplay? Oh anon, your flattery will get you everywhere. 

Luckily for you, my grey faced friend, you’ve picked about the easiest costume in the world to sew. The only way it could be simpler if it didn’t have the sleeves, but, since the outfit is so loose, it shouldn’t really a problem if those don’t turn out perfect anyway.  More beneath the cut:

You have a few ways you can do it, though, depending on how you want it to look.  

Snukfin’s actual outfit has no visible seams, but that’s not something really possible in real life, so you’l have to determine where the seams will be. Easiest place is two seams along the sides.  You could also do it with 4 main pieces to make it rounder looking but that seems like it would be a lot more work for not a lot of payoff, so let’s stick with two. You could also use some things to puff out the bottom of the robe so it has that very circular look, like using a sort of faux tu-tu made of tulle, but again, let’s keep it simple.

As for fabric you have a few options there depending on the look, stretch, and feel you want the garment to have. 

First off is cotton twill

This fabric has almost no stretch to it whatsoever which can make sewing it easier, but again, it has no stretch, so it’s less forgiving about seam accuracy and is sometimes uncomfortable to wear. It may give the sort of rustic look that you’re going for though. However, you will need to hem all open seams or they WILL unravel on you. Hemming is when you basically turn some of the fabric of an open seam up on the inside of the fabric, then sew it down, stopping the woven thread of the fabric from coming undone and making it look cleaner. Like this:

Also, since many of these fabric are thin, you may need to make a lining, which is basically just the same garment in a silky fabric, connected to the out pieces at the seams. I would recommend not getting anything so thin you need to do that.

Second fabric option is a knit fabric:

Knit fabric has a good deal of stretch to it, which can make it easier to move in, but stretchy fabrics can be a little bit of a pain to sew, since the presser foot can have trouble keeping them from sliding around. Using a “walking foot” can help a lot, but I assume you probably don’t have one if you’ve never sewn before. If you pick this, just be sure to pin thoroughly. Due to the nature of the fabric, some knits can also be harder to press the seams of properly, making them bulkier on close fitting garments, but that’s not what you’re making so it’s all good. the big thing, though, is that knit fabrics often do not need to be hemmed. Sometimes it can look kind of shiny and synthetic, depending on the kind you get.

Third is fleece:

Fleece is a thicker fabric that is very fuzzy and has a good deal of stretch to it, at least one direction. It does not necessarily need to be hemmed, as the open seams will not unravel. It’s primarily used in things like stuffed animals, but can be used in some more whimsical looking garments. It may give you the puffy look to the outfit that Snufkin has. But, as it is thick, it can be very hard to sew multiple layers of without a proper walking foot and a thicker needle, depending of the thickness of the fleece and the number of layers. 

It’s really up to you, depending on what you find that fits the look you want and your budget. Wander the aisles of a fabric store and maybe ask an employee for a recommendation. I would definitely avoid anything shiny, plastic, or very very stretchy as those are hard to sew and also will probably not look right for Snufkin. I probably recommend a more natural looking knit fabric. For both comfort and ease. Just be sure to pin that stuff and hold it very steady when sewing it because it WILL try to escape from under the presser foot.

First step after deciding on a kind of fabric (but NOT before buying the fabric!) is taking measurements. For this outfit, I’d take a measurement of  the circumference your neck, from your collar to the length you want to the robe to go to on your leg, the width you want the bottom of the robe to be, the length from your collar to your shoulder, your bust, your waist, and around the thickest part of your arm. Since Snuf’s outfit is simple, some of these will just be to ensure you don’t accidentally make the angle of the side cut too steep and end up where it doesn’t fit you around the waist or chest.

The pattern for the main part of the robe will look a bit like this. For each cut, be sure to add half and inch to an inch to it for seam allowance (the amount you’ll lose when you sew two pieces together. The part that becomes the seam) along with an extra inch or two since you want this to be pretty loose and baggy:

You’ll need two of these. The basic sleeve will look like this:

You will need two of these. That’s ONE for each sleeve. That’s why the width is the whole measurement around your arm, not half.

That bump at the top is basically just to have it fit better over the shoulder. There’s measurements and calculations and rulers to get that curve perfect but honestly, in your case…..just kinda…put a bit of a bump there that right. Like “yeah that looks like something a shoulder curve might look like!”  This method is something that has served me well in cosplay. Same for the neck hole and arm holes. If your head and arms fit comfortable through them and it looks right to you, it will look right to other people, for the most part. Closer fitting, more complicated pieces require more accurate and precise measurements. You are, for all intents and purposes, making a potato sack.

Drafting patterns and testing them on cheap fabric before buying your final fabric is time consuming, but will ultimately save you time and money remaking it later and having to buy more of the final, usually more expensive, fabric. So make a test out of some cheap muslin fabric or whatever you have around, adjusting measurements as you see fit. Once you do that, determine the amount of fabric you’ll need to get. It’s often not a bad idea to wash the fabric in cold water with a bit of fabric softener before starting. It will make it easier to work with, and shrink it if it’s going to shrink. Some fabrics are dry clean or hand wash only, though so be careful. So do these next things at least twice, at least once in test, then once with the real fabric.

Using the patterns/tests you made earlier, cut out each piece. Now the actual sewing. I’m assuming you’re using a machine but either way it’s the same idea.

1: Place the two main pieces on top of each other so the red marked sides line up and the “right side” of the fabric (the sides you want on the outside) are touching each other.  Pin the fabric along the red seams. Sew the seams together, leaving a ¼ to ½ inch space between the seam and the edge of the fabric, so you will have enough seam allowance to press the seam. DO NOT sew the black marked edges of the arm holes or head holes. Leave these open!

2: Setting your iron to the setting appropriate for your fabric, press the seams “open”. Like this:

The two pieces of seam fabric should be folded back over the piece they’re from and flattened down. This will help the seam lie flat. This isn’t super important for your very loose costume but a good habit to get into and it will help the seam stay steady. 

If you used a fabric that needs to be hemmed, curl the bottom edge of the fabric up about a half inch, then sew it down. You can do that with the neck too, but curve can be harder to hem, and Snufkin’s neck is always covered by a scarf so you can forgo it if you like, or just use a “liquid hem” product. 

3: Pin and sew the yellow labeled edge of the sleeves to the other yellow labeled edge OF THE SAME SLEEVE. That means each sleeve will have only one seam, running along the bottom of the sleeve. That will give it a more rounded look (and also means fewer seams to sew and fewer pieces to cut). Remember that the “right sides” of the fabric should be touching so that the sleeve will be inside out when you sew the seam. Same as with the body piece.

4: Press those seams open as well. Then turn your sleeves inside out(technically right side out) so that the right side is facing outwards. 

5: Pin and sew the blue marked edges of the sleeves to the blue marked edges of the main body. This step will be trickier and may require more than one try because you will need to be sewing in a loop. Sewing machines like to sew in straight lines and can only sew on flat surfaces, but you also don’t want to sew your sleeves closed. 

What you need to do is pin all around the loop of the hole, lining up the sleeve seam with the bottom of the arm hole of the main body. The sleeve will be RIGHT SIDE out and inside of the main body which needs to still be INSIDE OUT.  Again, right sides of the fabric need to always be the ones touching. This is counter intuitive and trips me up a lot because of it.

Then, sew all around that loop. This can be hard to conceptualize and that little shoulder bump will definitely try to cause you some trouble too. If the opening is big enough, it helps a lot to slip it over the sewing machine’s sewing platform like this:

Most machines will have a little shelf or part that can be removed to make this easier.

6: Since these seams are curved, you need to “clip” them so that they lie right. Take your sewing shears and clip the excess seam fabric up to but NOT THROUGH the seam all around the sleeve seam. Like so:

7: Press the seams so that both pieces of seam fabric are folded towards the sleeve, not the main body. 

8: Turn the whole thing right-side out and check that there are no holes in any of the seams. Small holes can be patched with a hand needle and thread, bigger ones you may need to go back over them with the machine. Remember if anything really goes bad, you can always carefully remove the seam with a seam ripper and redo it. 

9: BECOME THE BOY. That is to say, try it on and make sure everything fits ok. 

10: You done it.