Practice English Speaking&Listening with: FULL EPISODE | Cosplay Con Crunch Challenge Episode 4: Conquering the Barbarian's Fanny Pack
- Welcome to the "Con Crunch Challenge,"
where we ask cosplayers to work under a tight timeframe
to get their cosplays ready.
You'll see all their tips and tricks
to getting it done and still making it awesome.
- This is kind of gruesome to watch.
- I'm Cheryl Sleboda, and in this episode,
we meet Cassie.
- Hi, my name is Cassie,
and I am a cosplayer from Denver, Colorado.
- Who has only two hours to attack her barbarian belt.
- I accidentally cosplayed in 2011
before I knew it was a thing.
But to be more specific, I started cosplaying in 2015.
My favorite cosplay, currently, is the Mord-Sith
I made for 2018 Denver Pop Culture Con.
The second favorite would be Belastung.
I've been getting into OC's,
and Belastung is an original concept cosplay
I made from my D&D character.
For today's challenge,
I'm going to be making
a Viking barbarian utility belt.
- Welcome Cassie, to the set of Con Crunch Challenge.
How this works here, on the set, we give you two hours
to complete your project.
There will be two opportunities for you to cry for help,
which I will tell you about in just a few minutes.
But first, we need for you to shop for your supplies.
Are you ready for the challenge?
- Bring it on.
- Awesome.
Let's shop for your supplies.
- Alright.
The most difficult parts of my challenge today
will be working with faux fur.
It can be difficult.
It gets all over the place.
It's hard to cut accurately.
But, I will also be throwing in some weathering.
So, I think that you can disguise
any accidents with weathering.
Also, eyelets and grommets I've been doing
for several years now,
but they are the most frustrating things.
- Cassie, you have selected your items.
Are you ready for the "Con Crunch Challenge?"
- Absolutely, I'm ready.
- Awesome.
So, remember I said there were two opportunities
to cry for help?
Well, you can choose from either me
or our caller commentator, Cassidy, who you already know.
(group clapping) - Yeah!
- And are friends with so that's awesome.
I think we're getting ready to start.
Are you ready?
- Yeah, let's do it.
- Okay, let's put two hours on the clock
and go, go, go, go, go!
- All right.
Right now, I'm laying out some faux leather.
Cut some patterns out.
This is the back of the pouch where the base is going on.
Pack belt.
Cry for help?
- Uh-oh.
Already?
Wow.
- I have never used
a Singer heavy duty sewing machine before.
- Oh, okay, alright.
- The step I would need assistance with
is getting that going.
- Okay, so this is the spool pin right here.
Go ahead and set this like this
to go ahead and get your bobbin set up.
Or, oh look, there's one already.
- Oh, I just stuffed it in there.
- Yeah, that's good, okay.
- But just kidding, I...
I can't see where you clasped the thread on.
- Ah, gotcha, okay.
Snap it in there
and then you just wing it around.
Yep, just like that.
And there's like one little slot there.
And now you're ready to go ahead and thread it.
- Well.
- You have to thread it through the needle.
- (sighs) That's true, okay.
- Thank you. - Yup.
- That's that Con Crunch pressure they talk about.
- I know, right? (laughs)
- Wow, it's so different from mine.
- Uh huh, okay, you should be good to go.
- Sweet, thank you very much.
- All right, you're very welcome.
- What did you make your pattern pieces out of?
- This is a Jim N' Nick's BBQ bag.
(laughs)
- So it's like up-cycling?
- It is up-cycling.
- Absolutely.
- She cuts so carefully, I like it.
- I think it's important that you don't have raw fabric
on the underside, but if it's a serious crunch,
I mean, no one is really going to see the back.
- That's true.
- Mhmm.
(percussive drum music)
- Ooh!
- Oh, uh oh.
- Oh, no.
- Oh no.
- Another one of those.
(laughs)
- The felt is the inside lining of the pouch.
- Okay.
- It gives it a lot of structure
so it doesn't just hang there like a limp noodle.
- No limp noodles allowed.
- No limp noodles here.
(laughs)
(percussive drum music)
- So, I am going to make this have multiple pouches.
I want to have options so I can keep my ID
and a credit card on hand.
Easy access.
So that is what I am cutting now.
(percussive drum music)
- Ooh, bustin' out the faux fur.
- Yup. (snorts)
- Yep, yep.
- That'll happen, all up in the nostrils.
- How do you normally cut your faux fur?
- So, what I will do is pick a spot
that I think will look really cool
and I will brush it away.
I usually, opt to cut
a little on the large side.
You don't want to destroy too much of the length.
- That's also called the pile.
- The pile, yes.
- I always cut my faux fur from the back.
- Me too.
- Mm-hmm.
(sighs)
- She's just going for it.
- Yep. I can be sneaky.
(percussive drum music)
Oh, woo!
- Oh yeah.
- Oh my, oh. (laughs)
- I have three cats.
I'm pretty used to the fur.
- Oh, it's coming over here.
- It's getting in my coffee.
- I know. (laughs)
- We'll look like we have our cats attacked us.
(percussive drum music)
- So, Cassie, tell me about the costume
that this, pouch is going to go with.
- It's primarily a barbarian style costume.
Not necessarily inspired by any character.
More so inspired by lots of characters.
- So it's definitely an original character design?
- It is, yeah.
I really like the raw look of barbarians.
The reason I chose this challenge, the utility belt,
is because a lot of times when you're making costumes
you don't consider sewing pockets into them.
So, I've personally found it's good to have
a utility belt or a pouch
or a belt pouch, hip pouch, what have you.
So you can have your wallet, your phone, your keys.
You don't want to lose any of that at the Con,
or at the festival.
Okay, so, I just finished getting
all of the pieces cut out for the pouch itself.
I need to create the cut for the belt next.
Loves to cling to the table.
- Yeah, static.
- I'm trying to figure out if I can come around.
- Yeah. - Okay.
- She's using the edge of the table as a straight edge.
- I'm so smart.
- Mm-hmm.
- So, you're not measuring the width
of the belt at all, you're just eyeballing it?
- I am, yeah.
So I usually can eyeball about three to four inches.
Since I'm still, a cosplay newb,
I don't, I don't have a lot in my collection yet
in the way of tools, so.
I've had to kind of just make do,
with what I have, and don't have.
(playful orchestral music)
- How did you first come up with your pouch pattern?
- So, I use a lot of, the historical patterns
from like Simplicity and Butterick.
It's Butterick, right?
Yeah, Butterick. - Yeah.
- And I've made enough of those
to kind of like, understand the main structures
of a pouch and I decided that I just wanted to start
coming up with my own patterns,
so I've deviated from theirs.
But you know, essentially using
what I've learned from theirs.
- Oh, what's in there?
- I think your D&D dice.
- What?
- Let's roll for--
- (laughs) We're going to roll a D 20 here.
- [Both] 19.
- Okay, that means they're crunches.
- You'd better make a,
make a note for me which dice that was, so I can.
- Oh, this is--
- Save it for my next campaign.
(playful orchestral music)
- Okay, so yeah.
I have all the pieces cut out
and it's good to start sewing.
- Good, because you have an hour and 35 minutes.
- Awesome, okay.
Yeah, so go ahead and gather everything I need.
Keep it close by.
- So, she keeps her pattern pieces
pinned to each of the pieces.
- Go ahead and do, start with the belt,
the longer piece first.
What we're going to do is sew it inside out
and then flip it.
It's amazing how different some of these machines can be.
(sewing machine running)
- Well, she got to the sewing part.
So that's a good sign, yeah.
- Could do it pretty fast, yeah.
(sewing machine running)
- There it is, one hour and 30 minutes.
(sewing machine jams)
- This machine be crazy.
(laughs)
- But I like it.
I think I'm finally figuring it out.
Yeah. - Oh, yes.
- It took me a second and you'll see me reaching
for that invisible foot control lever.
- The foot lever. - Ah, yes.
- Yeah, mine's like, on a different spot,
so I keep reaching for it.
- So, you take a lot of these to the Ren Fair?
- I do, yeah, that's my main go-to
when it comes to costuming, still.
I've only just been getting into
the comic cons and such.
(percussive drum music)
- Ah, yes, the flipping part.
- Yes, this can be difficult.
It helps if you have a really long stick.
Yeah, there's a, these won't be, uh,
Yeah, this is good.
(percussive drum music)
- [Cheryl] She's almost there.
- [Cassidy] Kind of looks like a large earthworm, love it.
(all laughing)
- It's one of those where you can say
"We've all been here." (laughs)
- The longer it is, the more difficult.
- It is to turn, yeah. (laughs)
- Yay!
- I keep thinking she gets there to the end,
and then celebrate.
- Yep. - I think she did.
- It's good enough.
- Good enough.
- Ah, that's the Con Cruncher. (laughs)
- So, now are you stitching the end closed,
or are you top stitching?
- I am top stitching.
(sewing machine running)
- This is one of the nice things about barbarians is,
if it's a little off, chances are,
it will look like it was meant to be.
(sewing machine roaring)
- Whoops.
- Ooh.
- Needle break?
- No, it just fell out.
I think it was a little loose.
- Ooh.
- Okay.
All right then.
- Okay, we'll work it out some.
- Yup. (laughs)
- Unclinch my hands.
(percussive drum music)
So, are you going to move on to the pouch next?
- Yes, I'm going to go ahead and get the front
of the pouch done.
Not the back part, but the front.
(sewing machine roaring)
- So, you have one hour and 15 minutes left.
- All right, thank you for that update.
(laughs)
- Oh, the fur.
- This is a fluffy fur.
- It is a fluffy fur.
- It may pose a problem, but we'll get it done.
(snappy horn music)
All right, yup.
Moving on.
- Okay.
- Oh, okay.
- Oh, I'm getting on.
- We're going to save that piece.
We're going to save that piece.
This is the gusset.
So, this it the piece that's going to go, uh,
in between the pouch back and pouch front.
- Give you, give you some more room.
- It's right here.
- The side and the bottom piece.
- Mm-hmm, so, that would be--
(fun groovy music)
- I hope everyone watching realizes that yes,
our spit is in our costumes.
(both laughing)
- This is, this proving to be, a funny,
a funny situation with the miss-sized felt.
- She's even lining the gusset, is what she's doing.
- Mm-hmm, yup. - The felt.
- Yeah, there's felt inside the gusset as well.
- There's still fur.
- There's still remnants.
(sewing machine pops)
- That'll do.
- All right, so we've got the front lined.
- The front is done.
- The gusset lined.
- And now we're going to go ahead and do the part
that will be hanging on your hip.
(sewing machine running)
I am trying to get...do this in a way
where I won't have to do a lot of extra trimming.
And I like the pattern size.
So there's not much seam allowance needed.
(sewing machine running)
You leave a hole just big enough to flip this.
- Ah, okay.
But she just reached right in and grabbed it out.
That was quick.
(smacks fabric)
- Shake it, good measure.
(laughs)
- Give it a shake.
- This part is going to be hidden later,
so you really don't even have to worry about
sealing it off yet,
because that's where the belt's going to attach.
- Oh, wait, you have one hour.
You're down to one hour.
- One hour.
(laughs)
- Excellent.
(sewing machine running)
- You can hear it going through the multiple layers.
- Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.
(sewing machine running)
- The first hour was mostly cutting out pattern pieces,
- Right.
- Carefully cutting out the fur that we're going to use.
- And there's still weathering to come.
- There's still weathering, and attaching it all together.
Then grommetting.
- Yes.
- Now, what's this piece here?
- This is the, credit card/ID piecing again.
(sewing machine whirring)
This is going to be the flap for,
for the ID so it doesn't, you know, slip out.
- My instinct would be to press all these seams.
- I know.
- If you have more than two hours,
you absolutely can press the seams.
- Oh, that's part of the crunch. (laughs)
- Honestly, what you'd want to do is have clips on...
down all these as well.
(cymbal crescendo)
I love putting things into existence
that didn't exist before.
Getting to look at a pile of materials that you give life to
is a really awesome experience.
I personally love the cosplay community.
I've only had my cosplay Instagram account
for two years now.
And when I first came to Colorado,
I didn't know a lot of people.
I think that it's opened up
a lot of opportunities for me
and I've made some lifelong friends already.
I've met people online from around the world.
Australia, Germany, places like Florida here,
that I've never been to.
The cosplay community
is such an overwhelmingly positive, supportive community.
There's all walks of life in it and I,
I just feel very welcome, yeah.
(cymbal crescendo)
Just might be getting used to this machine.
- Oh oh oh!
I like how she's choosing everything
except that faux fur piece.
- Right now, I'm attaching the gusset
to the front of the pouch.
(funky drum music)
And there are strings everywhere.
In this instance, it's because I've managed to
yank more string than necessary out
when I am cutting it from the machine.
- And so, this is a pretty complex curve.
- It is, yes.
You want clips for this.
This is a difficult spot to do without clips.
(sewing machine running)
- So, Cassie, you have 51 minutes left.
Are you feeling okay on timing?
- I think so.
My brain is saying, "It's probably okay".
But something could happen.
Something could go wrong again
and I could lose a little bit of time.
But I think I'm safe for now.
This is where it could get tricky too,
because I have to make sure all the edges met up.
Once you take this out and flip it,
because if you missed a spot, you're going to want to--
- This is one of those make or break spots.
- Okay, we didn't miss anything.
- Oh, yeah we did.
Yup, just kidding.
Yes, we're good.
All right, so.
This is the next tricky part.
- I think we should get a closer look. (laughs)
- Yeah.
- So, you'll be zigzagging this
directly onto that back base?
- Oh, okay. - Yes.
♪ I love round edges. ♪
♪ They're so fun! ♪
- I did make this one a little too big.
But what I could do is just pull this over.
- Nice. - Yeah.
- We just want to make sure we leave room
for the pocket later.
- 45 minutes left, 45 minutes.
- I personally think that the zigzag stitch adds
to some of that historical look.
I think that it also contains this really well.
Because you're going back and forth on top of the...
Directly over where the gusset meets the base.
- So now we're pinning the credit card pouch?
- Yes.
- And does it...
It gets a flap also?
- It does, I wasn't going to zigzag this one
but I think I will.
- So our other cosplayers have named the machine.
What would you name this machine?
- Am I allowed to know what the other names were?
- Ah!
- Oh, not until after you tell us.
(laughs)
- Um, "Puncture".
(laughs loudly)
- Oh, I like it, it's edgy.
- That is.
- Did not give myself enough allowance here.
I messed up the back.
But that's okay.
You just go with it because a lot of the times
when these things happen and you're at the Con or the fair,
you're probably the only person who notices.
You go back to normal.
(percussive drum music)
- I think she's not even going to use...
Maybe she's not even going to use the felt.
- Yep. Yep.
- Ah ha oh.
- Because what she's decided is that the fur is very thick.
(all laughing)
- In the third person.
- Yeah!
- It doesn't need the back.
Now, what I like to do when I was sewing fur onto things,
is make my stitch extra long.
And then if any of that fur gets caught
down in the stitch, you can brush it out
and it'll slip out of that wider stitch, easy.
(percussive drum music)
- Oh, punch a hole?
- That's an enormous hole puncher!
That's some serious hardware. (laughs)
- It doesn't get in there quite enough.
(hole puncher clicks)
- Wow, all right, let's take a look at this thing.
You can almost, like, work out with this thing. (laughs)
- Yeah, because I'm a--
- You got a handshake real nice.
- Oh, she's, oh, sorry. (laughs)
- It's got a punch, and also my punch and my crunch.
- Oh, it sets your grommets too.
(grommet tool clicks loudly)
- Listen to that.
It's very satisfying.
(funky drum music)
- And what are you threading it through?
- This is a wooden toggle.
Bring it down in, and give it a good knot.
Okay.
- It's self-measured.
- (laughs) Yup.
- Scientific self-measure.
(sewing machine running)
(scissors snip loudly)
(laughs)
- A little off, but that's okay.
- It happened pretty fast.
- Yeah, that did, went faster than I thought.
- A buckle?
Oh, oh, oh.
(gasping)
- She's getting wild with it.
- What did...
Wait, what just happened?
Oh, my gosh!
- I figured that was coming off at some point.
- So, tell us why you made that decision.
- Why'd you do that?
- Oh, no, that was the plan all the long.
- That was the plan? - What?
- I was just was tricking you.
Cry for help!
- Oh, okay.
(laughs)
- Will you please open my paint?
- Oh, duh. - Ah!
- I noticed it was sealed earlier,
and that's going to be a problem.
- (laughs) She gave you a difficult job, too.
- Thank you very much.
- You're welcome, you have 21 minutes.
- Excellent.
Oh, we've got, everything's moving out the way.
- Ooh, what's that?
- What are these?
- So, what I've brought with me are some, uh,
different types of powders that you can use
for your weathering effect.
So yeah, this is acrylic paint.
You want to use a little bit of brown,
a little bit of black.
what I like to do is just go wild on this
and get the edges.
- Oh, wow!
- Whenever I run out of those hair powders,
I refill them with stuff like charcoal powder.
- Huh?
- In this one specifically there is charcoal,
cinnamon, ginger, and flour.
- Like, the spices?
- Yup. - Really?
- Yup.
- Huh.
- It just gets that color that I really like.
- This is pretty cool.
- While it's wet, that's a good time to go ahead
and start tossing some of this on there.
Yup, get in that cinnamon.
(laughs)
- Come on, you've got to get your hands in there.
- I don't know about that.
- (laughs loudly) And then I like to go ahead
and weather the underside of where you're going to be.
- Oh, like the part of your belt that folds over?
- The part you put through the rings
because it will be visible
and if you don't remember to weather that side,
you'll just have a weird, clean flip spot.
Okay, and I want to add a little bit of a lighter one.
I need to spray seal.
- What about hairspray?
- Hairspray works.
Hairspray absolutely works.
Got to get that matte look going.
- Oh, so it's like...
- Oh, oh, oh, messed up fur.
- I'm going to go ahead and just, like,
paint some of these edges underneath.
- Oh, whew, look at that.
This, like, completely transformed in the last 10 minutes.
- It gets all that powder you put on there to stick nicely.
- Three minutes, 30 seconds.
- Pretty much done at this point.
- Oh.
- Yup.
- Wait, what?
- You're good? - You're done?
- We're done.
(cheering)
- Nice.
- Wow, Cassie, you did it.
You met the Con Crunch Challenge.
- High fives?
High five!
- Ah, I'm going to pass.
- I will pass as well.
(laughs loudly)
But you did it, congratulations, I'm very excited.
How do you feel about your project?
- I feel really good.
You know, there's a couple
of mistakes in there but I...
I don't shy away from mistakes,
especially when it's a weathered project like this.
I think it builds character to the piece
and yeah, I'm really happy with it.
(cymbal crescendo)
- Cassie, congratulations
on completing the Con Crunch Challenge.
(cheering)
- Thank you.
- You did it.
- Yeah! (laughs)
- So, to congratulate you
on winning, in time, and finishing
in the two hours,
you're going to get a fabulous prize pack
from RNK Distributing and Sew Much Cosplay.
And a $300 gift certificate from Singer Sewing.
- What!
- And they are, going to be sending that to you.
So very exciting.
- That is amazing, I can't believe it.
(laughs)
Seriously though, thank you.
- Congratulations, well earned.
- Yeah. - Thank you.
- And thank you again for being part of the challenge.
- I love being paid to be stressed.
(all laughing)
(funky upbeat music)
