Hey there everyone!
I was just thinking back to E3 and how many fantastic costumes and kit I saw while I was exploring Anvil. It lead me to think about how many people actually create their own pieces from scratch or alter already existing pieces they bought from stores!
What do you all find yourselves doing more often? Buying kit and altering it, creating kit from scratch or just buying kit and using it as it comes? 
If you have the skills most of the time what you can make is far more cost effective, and generally fits the setting and you better than anything bought.
Of course then you end up making for others tooā¦
Everything bar my boots and underwear I made, and my character has party outfits, nightwear and swimming stuff courtesy of player events also.
Bit of a mixā¦
I started out buying pre-made kit from the traders, supplemented it with charity shop stuff I could (clumsily) alterā¦ I bought kit for one character, or commissioned it from those skilled enough to make it, and altered and tweaked it again.
These days Iām married to a skilled needleworker who makes my kit from scratch
Mine is a mix. I tend to make one or two of my top layers to have something thatās unique, with charity shop, or normal stuff underneath. 
After fifteen years of LRP, I still cannot set in sleeves so itās t-tunics or sleeveless tunics for me! One day Iāll have to be brave and give it a goā¦
For me itās either buy or make from scratch, but thatās not been deliberate, just how itās worked out. I have tended to buy trousers but make tunics and other layers for the most part so far. The making comes from a combination of a limited budget and a genuine enjoyment of the design and crafting. Plus it actually boosts my in-field confidence, knowing that I canāt encounter anyone dressed exactly like me. Trousers donāt get seen much though and seem like a faff to sew with my very basic skills, so I have a couple of pairs from charity shops and some larp-specific ones that were a present.
Gloves and cloaks I have bought so far. Planning to try making myself a wool cloak for e1 2023 though. Same goes for leather goods and armour but will probably start with altering stuff I have already, to save money.
Accessories are a mix of bought and made thus far. I struggle with the design side so made stuff gets dismantled a lot. But Iāve spotted a few things in charity shops when Iāve got lucky and so far they are worn as-bought.
Echoing ābit of a mixā
The bits of stuff which are super identifiable to my character and group, Iāve made. (As are my cloaks, because I couldnāt find any that I wanted when I started building Tiresias)
My base layers are all store bought and gently modified (lots of them were white cotton tunics thrown into the wash with a Dylon dye pod).
I have plans for the Long Dark for reworking a hecking chunk of stuff, now that I know what to expect from an average year in Anvil and player eventsā¦but time and money have been significant limiters to doing this during the year so far.
Also a mix. My trousers and shirts are bought from various reenactment stores. My outer layers (cassock, hood, cloak) my wife made for me. Leather pieces such as gloves and belt are all from Darkblade.
For me itās also a mix. Iāve been fortunate enough to have access to a sewing machine and a bunch of cheap fabric shops for most of my larping adventure (career just seemed the wrong word there you know)
so most of my soft kit (trousers tunics cloaks and overcoats) have all been home made. Not necessarily for the asthetics( though that has played a part as my skills have improved )but primarily due to cost as I was very much on minimum wage when I started larping.
That said there are some thing I just donāt have the skill or time to make and for that charity shops, eBay and re-enactment /larp vendors come in. After all who has time to make a chainmail hauberk ,leather gaiters (so many buckles) vambraces,steel wrap around greaves and a handbag!?
Not to mention occasionally you come across a bargain at das shoppe or online that you just canāt pass up and it sneaks into your kit. Itās why I have at least 4 tunics I didnāt make for monstering and when Iām just sick of wool.
Iām Geoffrey aboveās skilled needleworker - I make my own kit, and his, and our kids. Making kit is a big part of my fun!
I regularly make clothes for myself and family in real life, too, so Iām probably a little bit of an outlier.
Being extremely poor i scavenge, fix, upgrade and make nearly all my kit these days, with significant credit to my wifeās sewing
Between my boyfriend and I, itās a mix. Trousers and dresses are bought, shirts are half and half, doublets, coats, cotes and cloaks are all made. Pretty much all of our belt pouches and tags are home sewn too
I make the important pieces or those you canāt easily buy off the peg (my doublets, my cape, etc.) to supplement the shop-bought basics (leggings, shirts, etc.) and the parts which need special skills or construction (like boots and armour) but that never stops me from accessorising.
I have always held that 90% of any outfit can be quite simple and generic as long as that last 10% is made up of stand-out items and you have the right accessories or props. The ideal is to slowly transition to hand-made items as time and skill and budget permit, but thatās not a process you need to rush.
My first ever event, I had two items I had made - a sleeveless doublet and a half-cape over my left shoulder - but one of the first comments I heard as I walked across the OOC camping area was āyou can tell heās Leagueā and that alone made the week of sewing worth it. Neither one was perfect, but they were iconic pieces that made the Primark leggings and generic pirate shirt just work.
Mixed.
I have mundane shop bought stuff that just had that fantasy vibe to it, I also bought stuff from actual LARP retailers, and I also have custom made items. I also do some sewing, so if the cloak is generic, I personalise it by adding (or removing) some trim.
Story about the cloak, I bought it in green even though I was Freeborn, because it was still within the palette, but it was too plain. So I added some sequin trim to swing it further towards the Brass Coast. Then I died, and I used the cloak (as it was, with its sparkly trim) as a generic travelling garment outside of LARP. Now Iām joining Navarr, so Iāve removed the sequin trim, and will be adding something more Navarr to it during the Dark. I do try to make my alterations reversible, but some alterations are irreversible, such as dyeing a garment.
I did that too, mundane shop item that has a fantasy vibe, Iāve dyed it to fit in with Navarr.
I can make from patterns, but as I often run into the problem of not being able to accurately measure myself (the duct tape body double didnāt work for me) it tends to be enormous and sloppy looking. 