Maker Fishmeal

2025 is the first year in 11 - my entire time as a cosplayer - that I haven't finished a cosplay. I'm so so SO proud of the fabric book (and of book four, which I'm writing right now), and I did make a lot of little pieces for it (even outside of the words and photography). I have no regrets!! But I'm also looking forward to a year where I can focus on catching up with my WIP pile and really getting back to some projects I miss a whole lot 💚 Here are my goals for 2026: ⭐ Finish book four ⭐ Finish the costume required for book four ⭐ Release the fabric book ⭐ Make significant progress on SWAIN! Happy new year; I can't wait to share more actual costume crafting soon(ish lol). Love, Annye / Maker Fishmeal PS All photographers are tagged <3

I wrote an encyclopedia lol. ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN fabrics and other materials 42 full tutorials 530 photographs 50 guest artists 272 pages (and it’s hardcover!) 86,546 words Coming March 30, 2026 ☺☺☺☺

I am PASSIONATE about glue 😅 My one piece of advice for new cosplayers is to make intentional choices about your adhesives - it'll make your cons more fun AND it'll make your costumes prettier 😊⁠ ⁠ In case you want the tl;dr at the beginning, I use:⁠ ⭐ ⁠contact cement 99% of the time⁠ ⭐ ⁠super glue only for very small details (eg googly eyes) and in my repair kit⁠ ⭐ ⁠specialty products (PVC, wood, fabric glue) only for their specific materials⁠ ⭐ ⁠hot glue as a detailer, NOT AS GLUE⁠ ⁠ And of course - half of these are toxic to breathe. Make sure you get and wear THE CORRECT lung protection while using them! ⁠ Finallyyyy here are the details:⁠ ⁠ Contact cement⁠ ✔️ very strong hold⁠ ✔️ sandable⁠ ❌ toxic⁠ ❌ slow to apply⁠ ❌ cannot reposition after placement⁠ ⭐ ⁠use unless you have a reason not to!⁠ ⭐ especially good on foam and pleather⁠ ⁠ Super glue⁠ ✔️ fairly strong hold⁠ ✔️ quick to apply⁠ ❌ brittle / will break⁠ ⭐ great for small details which aren’t under strain and for emergency glue⁠ ⁠ Hot glue⁠ ✔️ quick and easy to apply⁠ ❌ fairly weak hold⁠ ❌ melts with car or body heat⁠ ❌ takes up space (not a clean seam)⁠ ⭐ great for filling a gap or creating raised detailing... but not as glue⁠ ⁠ E6000⁠ ✔️ the better super glue!⁠ ✔️ fairly quick to apply⁠ ✔️ strong hold⁠ ✔️ very versatile⁠ ❌ toxic⁠ ⭐ great when contact cement is not a good option (for example on smooth surfaces like glass and metal)⁠ ⁠ PVC and wood glue⁠ ✔️ permanent hold⁠ ❌ not versatile⁠ ❌ PVC glue is toxic ⁠ ⭐ VASTLY better than contact cement when bonding two pieces of PVC or wood⁠ ⁠ iron-on fabric adhesive⁠ ✔️ fairly strong hold⁠ ✔️ eliminates seams⁠ ❌ not versatile⁠ ⭐ great for bonding fabric when sewing is not desired or possible ⁠ ⁠ 2 part epoxy⁠ ✔️ incredibly strong hold⁠ ❌ difficult to use⁠ ❌ messy and wasteful⁠ ❌ takes up space⁠ ❌ toxic⁠ ⭐ great for bonding attachments and connections which will be under strain⁠ ⁠ #cosplaytutorial #cosplayhowto #cosplaywip #cosplayguide #cosplayprogress #cosplaytip #foamsmith #evafoam #foamsmithing #craftingtutorial #makingtutorial

Cosplayers said “craft around and find out” and absolutely took over h+h Americas + the Fiber & Fabric Craft Festival 🌙✨ From cosplayers to sponsors, vendors, and the cosplay-curious… y’all made these last 2 weekends feel like a midnight sun fever dream 🪡💥 Congrats to all the winners (IG tag limits are my greatest enemy lol). Thank you for supporting the crafting community and making cosplay impossible to ignore 💖 See you at the next one ✌️ #Cosplay #Cosplayer #CosplayCommunity #CosplayContest #cosplaylife

The cosplay contest at h+h Americas absolutely leveled up this year 🔥 So much talent, craftsmanship, and creativity on that stage. Y’all made judging painfully difficult 😭 Huge congrats to all the winners — and thank you to everyone who showed up, challenged themselves, and brought their A-game. Watching this community grow bigger and stronger every year is honestly incredible ❤️ Thanks to my fellow judges Sebastian from @famorecutlery and @makerfishmeal Thanks to all the sponsors for making this show possible year after year! ✂️ Famore Cutlery 🧵 @designsinmachineembroidery 📕 @fanpoweredpress 🪡 @janomeamerica 🌸 @olisohome 🧵 @wonderfilspecialtythread 🪡 @valdani_threads ✨️ @cherrywoodfabrics ⭐️ @hobbsbatting #CosplayCostume #cosplaycontest #sewing #diy #cosplay

A very special message to our cosplay contestants at h+h! We are SEW excited to see you and admire your craft! ❤️ Thanks for all your support! @famorecutlery @makerfishmeal @olisohome @hhamericas @fanpoweredpress @designsinmachineembroidery @cherrywoodfabrics @valdani_threads @janomecosplay @janomeamerica #cosplay #cosplaycontest #diy #sewing #CosplayCostume

The Cosplay Fashion Competition this year will BE INCREDIBLE! Get ready to see all the crafstmanship and talent from every artist on stage at @hhamericas ✨ Thursday, May 7th 🎊 3 PM - 4 PM ～Cosplay Contest 💃 4 PM - 5 PM ～Meet the Makers Mixer 🌸 Main Stage Featured judges: @mjasmine.design @makerfishmeal and Sebastian from @famorecutlery Special thanks to all our sponsors! 💖 See y'all there! #cosplay #diy #sewing #handmade #cosplaycostume

✨ The Fiber + Fabric Craft Festival is HERE! ✨ Come find me + @makerfishmeal at the @quiltersquest booth 📍#917 💖🧵 We’re both teaching classes all weekend — so if you’ve ever wanted to level up your cosplay, sewing, or crafting skills, this is your sign 👀✨ AND don’t miss the 🛍 Cosplay Shop Crawl with @the_casey_renee + @makerfishmeal — expect shopping, chaos, cosplay secrets, and probably enabling 😎💸 There’s also a full Cosplay Display area featuring some incredible builds… and you might recognize a few of the costumes on display 😉 Huge thank you to @fiberfabriccraftfest for showing love to the cosplay maker community 💕 #cosplay #CosplayCostume #diy #sewing cosplaymaker

Friends! I'm teaching at @fiberfabriccraftfest next month and I want to see you there! I'll be teaching two of my favorite classes - patterning foam shoe covers and cute can cozy - plus speaking (on the main stage ahhh!) about the structure of fabric and how it can inform how we make (especially those of us who work with unconventional materials). Please do check out the f+F website if you're at all interested. It's going to be an incredible event with spectacular classes and other content! Gorgeous perfect wonderful graphics by @coffeelocks

You're invited! I'm having a party to celebrate my new baby, and I'd love if you could join me! I'll have snacks, drinks, books, and a little talk to go over some of the things I learned while writing the encyclopedia. Okay love ya bye! Annye / Maker Fishmeal

It's time for a giveaway! Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fabrics and Unconventional Materials is a massive collection of tutorials, tips, and information. It features over 100 materials (from conventional fabrics to weird ones, like EVA foam); each one is thoroughly covered for sewing mastery! To win an ebook copy of the encyclopedia: 1. Follow @berninausa or @bernetteusa 2. Follow @makerfishmeal 3. Comment on this post with your favorite sewing tool or quick tip! The winner will be announced Friday April 10 🙌🏻 Good luck!

Here's something special! A giveaway! We're so excited to be a stop on @makerfishmeal book tour for their Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fabrics and Unconventional Materials. This book is a BEAST with breakdowns on (probably*) every fabric ever, which is something the community has needed for a while**. There are 272 pages with full color photos and 42 tutorials that covers a wide range of topics, so no matter where you are in your costuming journey, you'll find this a helpful resource! If you want to win your own digital copy, you'll need to: 1. Follow @makerfishmeal (they do great work!) 2. Comment your favourite fabric fact, fabric crime, or fave fabric to work with! 3. If you share this post you'll get a second entry in the draw! We'll announce our winner on Monday! *If there's something missing, we couldn't find it! ** Satin is a weave, Silk is a fiber!!