Question 1

Can I message you for sewing help?

Accepted Answer

Of course you can! Please don’t hesitate to reach out for sewing support, I do however kindly request you review all of the instructions first as often the answer to the question is not far ahead! I strongly recommend reading through the entire instructions before printing patterns and starting, I try to be super comprehensive and there is a lot of advice as I go – the builds are often too involved for me to load the top end of the instructions with all of the advice. If you still find yourself stuck, fear not! I can usually provide more guidance and resources to help you through a tricky spot. I do my best to check messages once per day, but I am trialing establishing some ‘weekend’ days so please bear with me.

Please DO NOT message me on my social media platforms for support. I am not able to monitor DMs on social media for support due to the unmanageable amount of notifications I now get. If you need assistance with your purchase, you can reach me by using the contact form on this site, or via Etsy.

Question 2

How long will it take to sew a pattern/make the costume?

Accepted Answer

I get this question quite a lot and it is unfortunately not something I can advise on. I am not even able to recount how long it took me to produce my sample, because the sewing/making work is done in-between drafting, grading, instruction writing and beyond. Plus I have severe time blindness with my ADHD so estimating time for literally anything is a nightmare task for me.

The only advice I can really give is that if you don't have enough sewing experience behind you to be able to have a rough mental idea of the scope of a project just from looking at my sewn example, to assume that speed building it may be too much for you. Even with equal levels of experience, some people work much quicker than others so there is no way to give solid time estimates. If you're unsure whether you can make a project in a certain deadline and you are worried about crunching it out, I would encourage you to consider choosing a project with a smaller scope or with elements that align with your skill set, or being open to extending your deadline.

A pretty good general rule if you are a less experienced sewer is - if it looks intense, it probably is. Please don't crunch out things as detailed as Genshin designs in small time frames unless you have lots of experience and know what you're getting into. Don't burn yourself out for the sake of a costume, take your time and enjoy the process!

Question 3

How much fabric do I need?

Accepted Answer

Most of my newer patterns have min/max fabric charts included and I try to add them into the listing photos. These will give you an idea of what the outer sizes of each size bracket included will need if using 150cm wide fabric and is presented in metres. This should give you a good starting point to cost up your build before committing to a pattern, but if you want to get a super accurate estimate for your fabric, I recommend printing out your pattern and laying it out on the floor within the width of your chosen fabric – especially if you are mixing things up with your fabrics or are looking at more expensive cuts. If you have further questions about fabric, please reach out.

To locate the fabric estimates, open up your download folder and you will find the charts in JPEG format in either the root folder or a dedicated 'fabric estimates' folder.

Question 4

What type of fabric should I use?

Accepted Answer

Most of my patterns are designed for woven fabrics. Knit and stretch patterns will note what type and amount of stretch is required. Each pattern has a page of in-depth fabric recommendations in the instructions to run you through what I have used and what I recommend.

Question 5

My pattern doesn't have fabric estimates/for my size

Accepted Answer

Generally, I do not make fabric estimate charts for every single pattern size and fabric width permutation. This is due to my need to do this manually as I do not have expensive industry software that can assist in this area and fabric estimate charts are HUGE jobs. As such, I provide the outer sizes of each size range, and depending on the scope of the pattern, I may also include a middle range size. This should give you a pretty good estimate for the minimum and maximum about of fabric you can expect to need.

A handful of my much older patterns do not include fabric estimates. These patterns were made before I had the resources to make charts like I do now, and are deceptively difficult and time consuming to go back to. I hope to one day get back and add them to all of my patterns, but some are potentially not possible due to the old formatting I worked with. For these patterns I suggest printing and taping together the patterns so that you can arrange them on the floor with rulers/tape measures to gage fabric requirements. Indigo Patterns has come a long way, far beyond what I expected when those patterns were made, so please excuse there not being as many of the quality of life luxuries that I am able to include with all newer patterns.

Question 6

What supplies do I need?

Accepted Answer

Each pattern has a supply list included in the instructions, directly after the fabric recommendations. I try to be as comprehensive as I can, but for cosplay projects, there is often a lot of personal preference involved when it comes to hardware, structure and embellishments. My list will be a good starting point for you, but ultimately you may have you own personal preferences. These supply lists do not always include things that go beyond the scope of the patter - eg. if the character has fancy boot covers, accessories, hats etc. that are not part of my sewing pattern, I do not include a supply list for those elements.

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