Fine, so armour doesn't automatically make you look like a boss.
This guide is divided into 6 parts:
In the previous post I covered parts 1 and 2, so we start with part 3 here.
Who needs the ability to move when you can look like a boss?
Important notes
- This is a guide, hopefully with enough information to get you started. It’s not a tutorial, there won’t be step-by-step instructions.
- What I’m writing about is just one of the many ways of making con-safe armour. If you use different methods, please feel free to share in the comments!
This is an introductory guide to making con-safe armour. This means it’s lightweight armour that looks the part but won’t cause injuries should someone bump into you – though this might not include random glompers and free huggers because they tend to be quite vicious. Ahem.
I’m writing this because after holding a panel at a con I got a lot of requests asking for the presentation file. But since the presentation is mostly just pictures for me to talk over it wouldn’t make much sense on its own. And I thought others who weren’t at the panel might be interested. This is based on the panel but the actual panel is more thorough because it’s just easier to show and talk about things in person. (The panel also contains a lot of swearing.)
This guide is divided into 6 parts:
Without any further ado, let’s begin…
Read the rest of this entry »
Area: West London
Address: Goldhawk Road
Direciton: Closest tube station is “Goldhawk Road”. If you use the exit where you see a railway bridge to your right after coming out, then turn right, go under that bridge and keep walking. If you come out and see a pub in front of you, then just keep walking straight ahead. [Map on Google]. Also close to Shepherd’s Bush and Shepherd’s Bush Market stations.
Payment types accepted: Cash and card
Goldhawk Road is somewhere you really must visit if you’re buying fabrics in London. It’s within a minute’s walk from the tube station and the range of fabrics there is amazing. There are shops on both sides of the road. I’ll start from the ones on the north side of the road, go east from there, then cross the road to the south side and come back to the tube station. Most shops have the usual stuff like cottons, polyester drills and velvets, so I’ll just highlight the more unusual things.
[[This post is unfinished - I'll expand it when I revisit.]]
North side (I find that I tend to buy more from shops on this side, since the shop people are usually nicer. If you are buying a decent amount – say £20+ – they will quite often give you a discount if you ask nicely!)
A-ONE FABRICS
They have a decent range of fabrics, with quite a lot of silks, suiting fabrics, satins. Lots of drills, some synthetic furs, and I also bought real leather and PVC from them before. They sell some brocades for £3/m!
They are the only shop with haberdashery things there, just go upstairs. Pretty handy if you don’t want to make a separate trip just to get matching thread for the fabric you just bought.
CLASSIC TEXTILES
The shop is very narrow, with stairs at the back of the shop to go down to the basement which has more fabrics. They sell neoprene!
ORYA TEXTILES
The staff here are very nice. :) I’ve bought duchess satin from them before at a very reasonable price.
ALANAKA TEXTILES
They sell a lot of suiting fabrics but they have other stuff too. Remember to check out the basement. I haven’t actually bought anything from them before though.
UNIQUE FABRICS
A pretty decent shop, nothing particularly special.
South side
UK TEXTILES
They have a really good selection of linings both in cotton and satin, and (I think) they are the only shop there who sell silk crepe – expensive, but so beautiful. One day I’ll finally get some and make a gorgeous dress. They also sell lots of other silks.
The basement is where they put all the fabrics that’s not silks or linings.
FABRIC WORLD
To be honest I try to avoid Fabric World. Every time I try to shop there, the staff was in-your-face helpful, followed me around and had no concept of personal space, which made me very uncomfortable. So I don’t really remember what they sell there.
TONI TEXTILES
Toni is another one I don’t go into anymore, after once when they tried to make us buy more than we needed because it was near the end of the roll – surely that’s what remnant bins are for. We were already getting a bit more than the pattern stated and didn’t want to pay for even more fabric we didn’t need, but they said if we didn’t buy it all then they weren’t going to sell it to us. So we walked away and gave our money to a different shop instead, and never went back there again.
A TO Z FABRICS
I’ve bought from them a few times and they are pretty good, nothing special that I spotted though.
Summary
Pros: Huge range. You’re likely to find what you want there.
Cons: Some shops get extremely busy at weekends, which can be annoying when they have narrow corridors and tiny basements!
Shop: Dunelm Mill (http://www.dunelm-mill.com/)
Area: Essex
Address: Turner Rise Retail Park, Petrolea Close, Colchester CO4 5TU
Tel: 01206 577722
Direciton: [Map on Google]
Payment types accepted: Cash and card
Dunelm Mill has stores all over the country but I’ve only used the Colchester one so far.
Dunelm Mill is a home “superstore”. The sewing and haberdashery department is at the back, next to the made-to-order curtains.
They have a good range of sewing equipment, and sometimes have low-cost sewing machines and overlockers for sale too. I don’t know what the quality of their machines are like.
As for their fabrics, most of them are displayed on racks so they’re very easy to browse. They have more upholstery (suedette, PVC, vinyl leather, fabrics with large prints) than craft fabrics, but there is a fair selection of cottons, satins, organzas and some taffetas too. I’ve seen people make fabulous dresses using fabric from Dunelm Mill. You can also get your interfacings, wadding, stuffing and upholstery foams there.
You must get one of their staff to take the fabrics off the racks and cut it for you. Depending on the time of day and your luck, you might have to spend a long time either trying to flag someone down or waiting for them to finally finish cutting the fabric. Some of the staff are fine while others are slow to the point of tears. I also would not expect them to know much about the fabrics unless you get the manager of the curtains section.
Although they’re a superstore, don’t be fooled, some of their fabrics are not cheap. For example their suedettes are at least 20% more expensive than I’ve seen at other places – but the quality is also a little bit better and they have a few more colours than other shops. Overall their prices are fair.
Summary
Pros: Large selection, easy to browse, has haberdashery and sewing equipment.
Cons: Hard to get help. Proportionally less craft fabrics.