A shipment arrived, we cut the wrap, and seven new fabrics decided to live here. They have the particular glamour of things that did not exist on the site last week and now do. Dragon Con is this week — a charming thought, if you already have a costume in a suitcase. New York Comic Con is October 8–11. Halloween is October 31. The calendar, as usual, has opinions. The cloth is just happy to be invited.
Two snakeskins, because one personality was not enough
Iridescent black snakeskin foil spandex is four-way knit with a holographic scale that changes its mind under gallery light. It wants to be leggings, a little dress, or something you wear when the room is dim and you are not. The print is doing the character work. You are only asked to sew a reasonable block and not overthink the cape.
Iridescent blue/purple snakeskin is the sibling who brought oil-slick instead of midnight. Same stretch, same foil face, a different argument with the lighting. If black feels like a villain origin story and you were hoping for a slightly friendlier myth, this is the other drawer.
Brown, in two moods
Espresso 2-way stretch faux leather is the brown of a good jacket: a little give across the body, enough structure to look like you meant it. Vests, skirts, the sort of piece you put on over a knit and suddenly the outfit has a plot. It is not the same animal as vinyl, and it will thank you for noticing.
Dark brown stretch PVC is the glossier cousin — four-way, high shine, the one that moves when you do. Sleeves, a fitted panel, a trouser that has to sit down and then stand up again. If the espresso leather is a blazer at lunch, this is the same color after the lights come on.
Pink, white, and a little theater
Pink metallic foil spandex and white metallic foil spandex showed up like they had been waiting in the hallway. Four-way, light, the sort of cloth that becomes a top or gloves or a small, gleaming idea over a long weekend. White will confess every stitch. Pink is a more forgiving correspondent. Neither of them is vinyl, and both will be insulted if you take a hot iron to them as if they were.
And then there is the purple that is not quite a fabric
Purple frosted translucent vinyl is .15mm of “what if a window wanted to be a garment.” It is a membrane: overlays, little see-through panels, a prop that needs to glow instead of drape. It will not happily become a catsuit, and it would like that on the record. If you have never sewn TPU, a swatch is a very small, very wise first date.
What the next few weeks are doing
If you are headed to Atlanta, the interesting problem is already in the suitcase. A repair kit is more useful than a bolt that cannot catch a plane. If you are home, Labor Day weekend is a suspiciously empty table with a sewing machine on it. October still contains New York Comic Con and Halloween, which is either a comfort or a dare, depending on how the muslin went.
The new rolls are here if you want to wander through them. Patterns, if you like that sort of thing, live on the custom-fit page. We wrote a longer note last week about starting the next costume after a con — it is here — for anyone who enjoys a calendar with footnotes.
Come look. The snakeskin is already making friends with the light.
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