A Basic Costume First and foremost, the biggest part of designing a costume for your character is the character concept itself. Think of a basic theme for your character. For instance, a woodsy character would normally wear more earth tones as opposed to an eccentric gypsy who dresses in brighter colors. As a place to start, it's a good idea to figure out what the major color you want to represent your character should be, then add an accenting or contrast color. For the beginning LARPer, the most basic of all costume pieces are the tabbard and the cloak. For those who don't sew themselves, there are still options on making your own costuming with no sewing at all. To start off, the first piece you'll want is the tabbard. A tabbard is a long rectangle of cloth with a hole cut in the center to pass the head through with half of the material falling down the front and the other down the back. Think of a poncho. For no sewing at all, simply choose a material that doesn't fray when cut such as fleece or felt. Some other synthetic fabrics can have the edges fixed by simply running them through a flame and melting the edges slightly like a piece of ribbon would, but this also creates a bit of a scratchy edge. For measurements, you can either hold up a measuring tape straight across your body from shoulder to shoulder and decide how wide you want the piece to be or simply lay out your favorite shirt and measure across the top from shoulder to shoulder where the sleeve seams meet the shoulder. Once you have your width decided, simply hang a measuring tape from your shoulder down the front of your body to decide what length you want your tabbard to be. The traditional is about mid thigh. Once you have your measurements, cut a simple rectangle to your dimensions.To add some design flare, you may want to taper the ends in the front and back to a point or any other design that you think fits your character. Once you have your basic rectangle shape, fold it in half crosswise. Mark the fabric with a marker or something in the exact center of the material. (Make the mark somewhat small, but no worries because it will be cut off later.) Next, go into your kitchen and find a bowl that fits fairly well atop your head. Anything round that you can trace that makes a hole big enough to slip your head through will work. If it is a little small, this can be fixed later with the "keyhole" style of tabbard. Sometimes a small round waste basket will also work as long as it is clean. Wrapping the edge in masking tape will protect the traced item from a marker for tracing. Once you've found your object of choice to trace, place it in the exact center over your mark. This can be done by measuring out from the mark or from the edges of the cloth to the tracing object. Another option is to trace your circle onto a piece of newspaper first then fold it into fourths to find the center mark, then matching each center together before tracing. Once it is centered, trace the circle all the way around. Next, cut out the hole. It is often best to cut from the center of the circle out to the edge rather than trying to start on the edge itself with the scissors. Once you've finished your hole, try the tabbard on. If it fits well, you are finished. If the hole is a bit too small, then we add the keyhole cut. This is done simply by folding the tabbard in half lengthwise (opposite from before) and making a small cut down from the front and center of the neck hole. It's normally safe to start the cut with only 2 or three inches, making it longer if needed later. Keep trying the tabbard on and making adjustments until it fits well and comfortably. You now have the most basic tabbard. For those who can sew, you may want to hem the edges or add decorative trim. An insignia of some sort can be added to the chest for further customization. Add a belt or sash around the waist to hold tabbard in place. Alterations: You can also use different shapes for the neck hole, including an oval, diamond, cross, square or tattered edges.