Costuber/Costuming Community - Part 5

[herewego2]

Rachel's video was so fun. I really like when she does closet cosplays like that. She has such a cool style. V. Birchwood also finished her berry dress, which is adorable on her. Loepsie did a review on her makes from last year that was fun.

I felt for Rachel when she was close to the end and getting fatigued! 20 closet cosplays could have been two videos. Oof. Not that I didn’t enjoy them.

I particularly like when she does something as random as the beatnik from the Goofy Movie and then looks adorable rocking the look. Not that I don’t always have space for another whiskey grandpa but bring on the surprises!

I've been enjoying some of the year end review videos. There were projects I missed and it was fun to see what people made and figure out if I should go back to see videos I initially passed on.

[hysterically_adq]

I've been enjoying some of the year end review videos. There were projects I missed and it was fun to see what people made and figure out if I should go back to see videos I initially passed on.

Yes, I was watching a year-end review where I saw the maker made a piece with a pattern I was on the fence about purchasing. I had actually searched youtube for anyone that had made the pattern but didn't find anything before.

[Iamnothere]

I just don't get the mindset of going on a forum talking about mostly American creators, with mostly American audiences, who mostly live in America, and then getting upset that mostly American culture and history are discussed, while offering no other creators to look into.

I'm trying to imagine myself going on a Lolita forum that mostly talks about Japanese creators and culture, or a forum based mostly on European creators, and then consistently venting frustration that they are talking about Japan or Europe, and on top of that, not sharing any creators or whatever from my country or culture. It just doesn't make any sense to me to do that. I'm not going to follow someone from India, and then get mad they talk about India all the time.

You're sick of talking about Americans, as you say every time something controversial is brought up. Offer up other creators from your areas and culture, then? Or are you expecting Americans to start doing it, and then you can get mad about how they don't understand the full history and nuance of your country and culture? Most of the times an American costuber does that, people here jump down their throat about how ignorant Americans are and got it wrong.

This conversation happens at least once or twice every new thread, usually sparked by a conversation around racism or bigotry. As Stitch_in_Time mentioned, is hard to know if people are just being assholes or what.

And as hysterically_adq mentioned, let's try not to make it so the moderators have to keep getting involved in these things. There are very strong opinions about these things, and why people disagree, and that thread was made for the long discussions and conversations to go there. Like that guy's commentary video that was posted a few pages back. We're all guilty of going off topic, that's why other threads were made.

Again, if you're sick of talking about these people, talk about other creators you know, events, groups, etc. Please, share with us who you like from your part of the world. Is there anyone who is doing eras we're not usually seeing? Are there any costuming groups or events that look fun? Is anyone studying different traditions or crafts? V. Birchwood just did that Bashlik in memory of her grandfather.

[herewego2]

I've been enjoying some of the year end review videos. There were projects I missed and it was fun to see what people made and figure out if I should go back to see videos I initially passed on.

Yes, I was watching a year-end review where I saw the maker made a piece with a pattern I was on the fence about purchasing. I had actually searched youtube for anyone that had made the pattern but didn't find anything before.

Which piece or maker was it? Did they help you make your decision? I feel like that's a plus to the Costubers. Even if they don't show you every step, they give you a decent idea of if a pattern goes together the way you hope it will.

[LakeGalore]

Yes, I was watching a year-end review where I saw the maker made a piece with a pattern I was on the fence about purchasing. I had actually searched youtube for anyone that had made the pattern but didn't find anything before.

Which piece or maker was it? Did they help you make your decision? I feel like that's a plus to the Costubers. Even if they don't show you every step, they give you a decent idea of if a pattern goes together the way you hope it will.

The year-end reviews really highlight how some creators *don't* include pattern numbers in the descriptions, so you miss the actual making-of, which would be rather useful. Like, they put the name of the character that they're making a costume of, or the name of the project in the title, but don't mention the pattern *company* let alone name/number in the text (even if they say it aloud in the video), so the videos don't show up in searches!

[hysterically_adq]

Yep! That’s a chronic problem on Instagram and YouTube. For some of the makers I honestly wonder if they don’t include the company and the number if they’re trying to either A) pass it off as their own creation or b) keep it secret so they’re the only one making it?

For YouTube I get not putting it in the title if you’re really trying to get with the algorithm but put it in the description and maybe even link it if you wouldn’t mind.

Truly Victorian has a good number of bustle overskirts and they also have not particularly enlightening sketches of the overskirt and really pathetic pictures that often don’t even show you the bustled part of the overskirt. I turned to youtube to try to get an idea of what the final product would look like. There I scrolled, clicked, fast forwarded, and squinted my eyes at the thumbnails until I had a headache.

Noelle, who makes a ton of bustle content and is good about crediting pattern makers and sharing where she finds things, wasn’t even helpful in this regard… also with YouTube seemingly moving away from a land of helpful reviews and tutorials towards more entertainment based content it’s just going to get harder to find information. We already lost blogs and live journals…we need a scribe for this content that isn’t going to paywall it (looking at you CH.)

[herewego2]

Yep! That’s a chronic problem on Instagram and YouTube. For some of the makers I honestly wonder if they don’t include the company and the number if they’re trying to either A) pass it off as their own creation or b) keep it secret so they’re the only one making it?

For YouTube I get not putting it in the title if you’re really trying to get with the algorithm but put it in the description and maybe even link it if you wouldn’t mind.

Truly Victorian has a good number of bustle overskirts and they also have not particularly enlightening sketches of the overskirt and really pathetic pictures that often don’t even show you the bustled part of the overskirt. I turned to youtube to try to get an idea of what the final product would look like. There I scrolled, clicked, fast forwarded, and squinted my eyes at the thumbnails until I had a headache.

Noelle, who makes a ton of bustle content and is good about crediting pattern makers and sharing where she finds things, wasn’t even helpful in this regard… also with YouTube seemingly moving away from a land of helpful reviews and tutorials towards more entertainment based content it’s just going to get harder to find information. We already lost blogs and live journals…we need a scribe for this content that isn’t going to paywall it (looking at you CH.)

I've seen a few videos where they show the pattern or say the name in the video, but then they don't have the pattern's name in the description, but they do have a link. Maybe they just forget to list the name by the time they get to that point? While I wouldn't mind pattern reviews/tutorials if I needed it, I probably wouldn't click on a random one that popped up in my subscriptions unless it was really interesting. Maybe I'm part of the problem since I'm not giving those kinds of videos any engagement.

[hysterically_adq]

Maybe I'm part of the problem since I'm not giving those kinds of videos any engagement.

I wouldn't say you're part of the problem because I think a large portion of the audience is consuming this content and isn't actually sewing or making anything. (Not to make an assumption about *you*.) I think that audience just wants to see the creator make something that looks cool/pretty/unique. This is also, I think, why we get videos where the whole thing is done in one video rather than paced out over a series. Hey, if you're gonna commit 30-50 minutes you want to see an outcome and you don't want to wait another week or month.

It's just a shame so many are following this model and the blogs, reviews, and whatnot are harder to come by, becoming private, and going offline.

I'll give to Lauren of AD and Fresh Frippery props for both being popular enough that they could to let their blogs die but they still post, review, and share. So many others just seem to do it for internet notoriety or whatever. Which is whatever to me... You do you but I sure would like to know if a pattern is shite before I buy five yards of pricey fabric.

[PiratePrincessa]

Heck yes I so appreciate folks who still blog…they are still my go-to for not only pattern reviews but also tutorials. I can’t even begin to count the number of small but fascinating skills or hacks I’ve learned from so many historical sewists who blogged, and some posts I have bookmarked and still refer to them when I get stumped on a particular step of a garment. Obviously I’m in the wrong place to complain about it, lol, since this board’s centered around YouTube, but I read so much faster than I can listen, so I tend to like a few YT sewists for the soothing/inspirational aspect (and occasionally a tricky technique that just doesn’t translate as well via words in a blog entry), but for sheer usefulness of information to refer back to later, I’m not sure blogs can be beaten and I’m happy to throw dollars to KoFi or Patreons if it means blog content like I’m slowly starting to see.

[herewego2]

Maybe I'm part of the problem since I'm not giving those kinds of videos any engagement.

I wouldn't say you're part of the problem because I think a large portion of the audience is consuming this content and isn't actually sewing or making anything. (Not to make an assumption about *you*.) I think that audience just wants to see the creator make something that looks cool/pretty/unique. This is also, I think, why we get videos where the whole thing is done in one video rather than paced out over a series. Hey, if you're gonna commit 30-50 minutes you want to see an outcome and you don't want to wait another week or month.

It's just a shame so many are following this model and the blogs, reviews, and whatnot are harder to come by, becoming private, and going offline.

I'll give to Lauren of AD and Fresh Frippery props for both being popular enough that they could to let their blogs die but they still post, review, and share. So many others just seem to do it for internet notoriety or whatever. Which is whatever to me... You do you but I sure would like to know if a pattern is shite before I buy five yards of pricey fabric.

It also might be a time thing. Depending on the editing style, editing a video can take a while. Someone I follow recently posted that it takes her about an hour to edit one minute of finished video. Spending fifteen hours on one video might be more palpable to them than spending 45 hours making a three part series on the same project.

[hysterically_adq]

Heck yes I so appreciate folks who still blog…they are still my go-to for not only pattern reviews but also tutorials. I can’t even begin to count the number of small but fascinating skills or hacks I’ve learned from so many historical sewists who blogged, and some posts I have bookmarked and still refer to them when I get stumped on a particular step of a garment. Obviously I’m in the wrong place to complain about it, lol, since this board’s centered around YouTube, but I read so much faster than I can listen, so I tend to like a few YT sewists for the soothing/inspirational aspect (and occasionally a tricky technique that just doesn’t translate as well via words in a blog entry), but for sheer usefulness of information to refer back to later, I’m not sure blogs can be beaten and I’m happy to throw dollars to KoFi or Patreons if it means blog content like I’m slowly starting to see.

There are a handful of creators that post pretty good reviews and tutorials but they're not all that prolific on YouTube because it seems they have families, careers, and general lives.

Herewego2 asked me up thread about a video I was referring to and the conversation moved on. So, instead I'll share some people I would like to see post more often because they're in a niche that are least Pirate Princess and I want (even if they're not blogs):
Willoughby & Rose - great tutorials
https://youtube.com/c/WilloughbyRose
Sew Loud - funny and really well put together videos featuring patterns but really infrequently posts (I believe she is a nurse so I get the infrequent posting)
https://youtube.com/c/SewLoud
Dixie DIY - good reviews and no ramble
https://youtube.com/c/DixieDIY

Honestly, Noelle does a fair number of reviews but you have wade through so much to find what you're looking for.

Anyone else know any?

[hysterically_adq]

It also might be a time thing. Depending on the editing style, editing a video can take a while. Someone I follow recently posted that it takes her about an hour to edit one minute of finished video. Spending fifteen hours on one video might be more palpable to them than spending 45 hours making a three part series on the same project.

The trade off would be they don't have to think of content for other videos. One video for the underpinnings, another for the skirt, another for the bodice, and some reels on Instagram for accessories! We used to see content like this frequently. I'm not saying they're not getting ennui from video editing but I bet the audience taste and copycat syndrome feed the beast mostly.

[herewego2]

Heck yes I so appreciate folks who still blog…they are still my go-to for not only pattern reviews but also tutorials. I can’t even begin to count the number of small but fascinating skills or hacks I’ve learned from so many historical sewists who blogged, and some posts I have bookmarked and still refer to them when I get stumped on a particular step of a garment. Obviously I’m in the wrong place to complain about it, lol, since this board’s centered around YouTube, but I read so much faster than I can listen, so I tend to like a few YT sewists for the soothing/inspirational aspect (and occasionally a tricky technique that just doesn’t translate as well via words in a blog entry), but for sheer usefulness of information to refer back to later, I’m not sure blogs can be beaten and I’m happy to throw dollars to KoFi or Patreons if it means blog content like I’m slowly starting to see.

There are a handful of creators that post pretty good reviews and tutorials but they're not all that prolific on YouTube because it seems they have families, careers, and general lives.

Herewego2 asked me up thread about a video I was referring to and the conversation moved on. So, instead I'll share some people I would like to see post more often because they're in a niche that are least Pirate Princess and I want (even if they're not blogs):
Willoughby & Rose - great tutorials
https://youtube.com/c/WilloughbyRose
Sew Loud - funny and really well put together videos featuring patterns but really infrequently posts (I believe she is a nurse so I get the infrequent posting)
https://youtube.com/c/SewLoud
Dixie DIY - good reviews and no ramble
https://youtube.com/c/DixieDIY

Honestly, Noelle does a fair number of reviews but you have wade through so much to find what you're looking for.

Anyone else know any?

These aren't pattern reviews, but I remember Dolthalion was doing Sewing 101 tutorials. They weren't super polished like some others, but he explained things clearly and the videos were still engaging. He's another one I wish posted more.

youtube.com/c/Dolthalion

Burnley & Trowbridge has some really clear, straight forward videos about handsewing stitches that I refer to all the time.

youtube.com/c/BurnleyandTrowbridgeCo

[hysterically_adq]

There are a handful of creators that post pretty good reviews and tutorials but they're not all that prolific on YouTube because it seems they have families, careers, and general lives.

Herewego2 asked me up thread about a video I was referring to and the conversation moved on. So, instead I'll share some people I would like to see post more often because they're in a niche that are least Pirate Princess and I want (even if they're not blogs):
Willoughby & Rose - great tutorials
https://youtube.com/c/WilloughbyRose
Sew Loud - funny and really well put together videos featuring patterns but really infrequently posts (I believe she is a nurse so I get the infrequent posting)
https://youtube.com/c/SewLoud
Dixie DIY - good reviews and no ramble
https://youtube.com/c/DixieDIY

Honestly, Noelle does a fair number of reviews but you have wade through so much to find what you're looking for.

Anyone else know any?

These aren't pattern reviews, but I remember Dolthalion was doing Sewing 101 tutorials. They weren't super polished like some others, but he explained things clearly and the videos were still engaging. He's another one I wish posted more.

youtube.com/c/Dolthalion

Burnley & Trowbridge has some really clear, straight forward videos about handsewing stitches that I refer to all the time.

youtube.com/c/BurnleyandTrowbridgeCo

B&T! Yes, I forgot about them. I have to go check out your other suggestion.

[LakeGalore]

Even a shite (visual) quality video that goes into depth on a pattern (like some of Clusterfrocks' due to losing equipment in a fire) is better than an *~*aesthetic*~* video that glosses over the making of portion. I have found many new creators just from searching up the name/number of a pattern, creators with teeny followings (<1k). I also feel like because I follow smaller creators, I get recommended more smaller ones as well, so it would be nice if it were easier to find them in the first place.

And yes, after finding some people's old blogs, I wish for more people to be making them, even if they just repost the contents of their instagram posts on a project all in one blog post and link the appropriate posts for images.

[herewego2]

Even a shite (visual) quality video that goes into depth on a pattern (like some of Clusterfrocks' due to losing equipment in a fire) is better than an *~*aesthetic*~* video that glosses over the making of portion. I have found many new creators just from searching up the name/number of a pattern, creators with teeny followings (<1k). I also feel like because I follow smaller creators, I get recommended more smaller ones as well, so it would be nice if it were easier to find them in the first place.

And yes, after finding some people's old blogs, I wish for more people to be making them, even if they just repost the contents of their instagram posts on a project all in one blog post and link the appropriate posts for images.

I'm grateful for both the indepth stuff and the aesthetic stuff. Sometimes, I'm just spent and I don't have the brain space for much more than pretty visuals and music.

I enjoy Clusterfrock too! I think I found her because of the Pass the Notion video. Do you have any favorites of the smaller creators you'd recommend?

[Iamnothere]

While not in the HCC, Evelyn Wood has good videos on sewing techniques, sizing, working with patterns, etc. She also has a warm vibe around her. She has Vintage Sewing School, which are sewing courses, but I've not done it because of the paywall.

[IrishBreakfastTea]

The algorithm recently offered Penguin and Pear in my suggestions - sewing channel, but not historic costuming. Middle-aged, plus size lady who shows how to do things like a full bicep adjustment and fit for a larger body. She's really body positive and seems to always account for factors like cost and budget in her reviews of equipment/patterns/fabric. Again, it's not historic costuming, but might be useful for anyone who is a self-taught sewist or would like to start sewing, and who feels like they are missing some information that would make their sewing journey easier. I don't personally find her relaxing to have on in the background, but if anyone wants to make modern clothing for themselves from one of the big commercial patterns, she does review some of their plus size patterns.

[LakeGalore]

Even a shite (visual) quality video that goes into depth on a pattern (like some of Clusterfrocks' due to losing equipment in a fire) is better than an *~*aesthetic*~* video that glosses over the making of portion. I have found many new creators just from searching up the name/number of a pattern, creators with teeny followings (<1k). I also feel like because I follow smaller creators, I get recommended more smaller ones as well, so it would be nice if it were easier to find them in the first place.

And yes, after finding some people's old blogs, I wish for more people to be making them, even if they just repost the contents of their instagram posts on a project all in one blog post and link the appropriate posts for images.

I'm grateful for both the indepth stuff and the aesthetic stuff. Sometimes, I'm just spent and I don't have the brain space for much more than pretty visuals and music.

I enjoy Clusterfrock too! I think I found her because of the Pass the Notion video. Do you have any favorites of the smaller creators you'd recommend?

Oh, there's definitely a place for the aesthetic videos, I just wish they weren't *all* mostly aesthetic.

Some of the smaller creators that I like are Costume and Conservation, who does a mix of sewing content and looking at old fashion magazines/clothing that's in her collection (I think she's a historic costume student or academic), Charity Calvin Armstead is a fashion professor who posted a few of the videos that she filmed for her students looking at vintage and antique clothing to youtube, Michelle Fitzgerald has filmed a fantastic video on assembling a Pretty Housemaid style corset as well as how to draft stays using the arc method.

Not costuming, but *very* helpful with sewing information and tricks on how to do fiddly things like french seaming seams with in-seam pockets is Kittenish Behaviour.

[popmypopcorn]

Historical Pattern Reviews 1700-1919 fb group is very informative and friendly, lots of talented reenactors and eye-candy! They share all the information how a pattern went together, what alterings they had to make due to vague description, or lack of pictures. You can also ask if a pattern is worth your money and time.