RHS seamstress hones her craft

Junior Lela von Buelow has a passion for sewing fantasy dresses and competes in different cosplay contests.

“I mostly do costumes, but I do occasional special occasion dresses like I did one last year for fall, I did one for my birthday, but mostly I do Halloween costumes but to the next extent I do them myself and they’re kinda like extra I’d say,” Buelow said.

One year Von Buelow didn’t feel like going out and buying a dress, so she started pursuing the dress making hobby.

“I am not really sure actually. I think one year I was like I want to make my own costume and then I made it and then next year I was like I want to remake that costume because I can make it better and I kinda just spiraled down from there like a yearly tradition,” Buelow said.

Buelow uses the dresses she makes for special events that she attends.

“I show off my dresses, I go and cosplay at like the Los Angeles Comic Con which I am hoping to go to and the SacAnime one, but I do try to enter the contests that they have there so like the masquerades at SacAnime,” Buelow said.

Being that dresses take a while to make Von Buelow finds a way to get her work done.

“It’s actually kinda like a process to make a dress because I first like find the inspiration and if there is a certain pattern I need to use I need to find that certain pattern and If I don’t have the pattern I have to draw the pattern which can take up to a week because it’s so different,” Buelow said. “I have to drape it on myself and a mannequin so and then I have to make sure it fits me and then I have to put it on the right fabric and then cause there are so many layers that go into a single thing that it takes a bit for each layer.”

Buelow constantly is coming up with ways, patterns and styles to make all of her dresses unique.

“I also do embroidery with my machine I recently got. I’ve only done smaller things , I’ve done some things for my dresses, but I have done like shirts and stuff for my club,” Buelow said.