Rumpelstiltskin from OUAT - Updating jacket and boots with leather!!

Re: Rumpelstiltskin Costume - Once Upon a Time

When you get the costume done, you should send a pic to the designer & show him! I'm sure he'd be happy to see his work is appreciated so much.
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin Costume - Once Upon a Time

I feel like suggesting that you look at women's shoes. Which could be problematic if your guy has big feet (The size conversion is 1.5-2 sizes up, so if he wears a 10 mens, he'd wear a 11.5-12 womens). Those shots look like Carlyle has some tiny dogs and that shape almost looks like a stylized granny boot, so it's a distinct possibility.

It also looks like a lot of his leather is synthetic. But could just be lighting.

We did indeed have to go with womens boots. Also luckily my guy does have small feet (he's a size 9 in mens) and the last pair that they had and were on sale were womens 10.5. It was like fate.

Also according to the designer the leggings are alligator or crocodile skin so I wouldn't be surprised if the rest is true leather as well. Same goes with the collar on his coat which looks like it needs to be wet molded leather and the arms on his under vest. You can see the pieces running down his arm are most definitely alligator/crocodile tails with those pointy ridges on top. I've yet to see any pleather replica fabric that accurate.

Funnily enough I actually really enjoy the costumes. Some of them are a bit on the extreme/silly side but some of them I absolutely adore. I feel like the design is trying to figure out what works and what doesn't since it's in the first year. If you look at some of the extras in the background there is some stunning costumes there. And I find about half of the queens costume to be quite impressive and fun. I do have an issue with some of the hairstyles in fairytale land. Some of them have a bit to much "prom hair" going on. The updoes get a bit juvenile and to "perfect" looking. I love everyone's hair and look in the real world though.
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin Costume - Once Upon a Time

It might be easier and less expensive to get some thin tooling leather and tool the scales and scutes in. For the vest panels, it'd just be a matter of transferring the scale pattern (you could play with the sliders of a stained glass filter in Photoshop to get a very similar pattern) and cutting along the lines with a swivel knife.

The gloves might be a little trickier, but I'll bet you could get one really thin piece for backing, cut a matching piece slightly wider, and carve in the lines that separate the scales. Then run a thin stripe of contact cement up the center of the flesh side of the carved piece, and fold it together to make the ridge of scutes. Rewet the leather, use a bone folder to press down one side of each section of the ridge so the scutes are rasied on one side and then glue the whole thing down to your backing piece so the ridge doesn't pull apart when it's laced on.

It's lots of work, but it might be easier than sourcing the exact scale pattern you need. It would also be a way to guarantee a good color match by dying and finishing the pieces yourself.
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin Costume - Once Upon a Time

MY SHOES ARE HEEEEEEEERREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!! It's been a really stressful day lol and these were a nice little present! Also, side note, they smell amazing and they're super soft.

Here they are with their cuff flipped up like Rumple has:

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Front view:

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Front and Back:

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Closeup of what I thought were lacing holes but was actually saddle stitching:

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And with the buckle undone so you can see the tongue underneath:

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And obligatory photo of me wearing them because I'm that excited:

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Hopefully for anyone who attempts this costume and decides to try and go all out on the shoes or have them made or just wants to get as close as possible can use these photos to help. I know they're just shoes and most everyone else will never notice but to me they're now my fav part of the whole costume ahhahaha!
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin Costume - Once Upon a Time

That is just sooo damn cool. Congrats on such a great little treasure!!

Shylaah
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin Costume - Once Upon a Time

Gwah!!! So excited to see this come together! It's build like what I know yours is going to be that totally inspire me!
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin Costume - Once Upon a Time

So the next step I'm going to take is the collar and the coat. Right now I'm focusing mainly on the collar but there are elements of his shirt and collar that I wanted to point out to others in case it's helpful. Unfortunately the pictures are pretty much non existent for Rumple right now for this outfit so I have to use different pics for each detail. So LOTS of pics coming up.....sooooorrrryyy......BUT! They were really helpful to me so hopefully they will be helpful to others attempting this.

First off:
He wears elements of all his outfits in different orders. I'm going to stick with trying to be as accurate as possible to the Cinderella storyline version. Which means his shirt is just the basic red with a high collar.

Rumpelstiltskin-rumpelstiltskin-mr-gold-27041725-2000-1329.jpg


Some of the other photos I'm using for his jacket are from the episode about Prince Charming and his background because they're the only shots of Rumple during the day time where I can get a good look at his collar and jacket. Sort of. But you'll notice he has a different shirt. It's red and mottled with gold. This image also shows that his collar has the gator ridges down the bottom.............lots of curse words later I still haven't decided what to do about that. I just can't afford all that alligator skin lol. I may try and wet mold some ridges in there. We shall see.

1x06-The-Shepherd-rumpelstiltskin-mr-gold-27434854-1280-720.jpg


This photo shows some of the shirt collar detail that I found interesting for that particular shirt and also some info on the collar that I thought might or might not be accurate. If anyone looks at the photo and thinks that my comments or observations are off please let me know. I'm not super familiar with working with leather so it could be something completely different.

**Edit** I just realized the most obvious reason is because you want the print to show on both sides. Im dumb lol. But I still hold true to my gusset statement on the 2nd photo.

1x06-The-Shepherd-rumpelstiltskin-mr-gold-27435111-1280-720-1.jpg


1x06-The-Shepherd-rumpelstiltskin-mr-gold-27435199-1280-720-1.jpg


These next two shots so the side and back of the collar. It seems that the collar needs to be from leather that is thin enough to double up so you see the print on both sides and also so it can be handstitched down onto the jacket.

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1x06-The-Shepherd-rumpelstiltskin-mr-gold-27435113-1280-720.jpg


From the back it looks like the collar is actually cut up the back and then rough stitched together. There may even be another gusset at top to form a V or it may just be the molding and creasing of the leather.
Wish the photo was better in focus lol.

1x06-The-Shepherd-rumpelstiltskin-mr-gold-27435014-1280-720.jpg


So this is my research on the collar. Hopefully tomorrow I'm going to go and buy the leather and then I'll start working it in whenever I have a free moment. This is definitely going to be a bit of a slower going project at the immediate moment but once I get some work finished off I should be able to focus more on this solely.

Also hopefully nobody minds the fact that I'm putting all my research into this build thread. You have to start somewhere and I tend to find that the research is what decides whether or not your costume goes from being average to amazing. It's easy to slap something together that seems impressive and another to actually go slow and take the time to ACTUALLY make your costume impressive. Just my 2 cents on how I go about creating items.

Oh and in case anyone is wondering, this is where I'm getting the images from:
1x06- The Shepherd - Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold Image (27435306) - Fanpop

Hopefully it's all good that I'm using them here.
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

So I'm looking up crocodile skins for the collar on the jacket. I was originally going to use printed cowhide buuuuut now with those ridges we may just try the actual gator skin.

Problem.

Where do I find undyed gator skins with the tails included since I need the ridges?

Can I wet mold gator skin in order to create that stand up collar? Do I need to wet mold it or will glue and the two hides glued together do it for me?

I've never worked with an exotic leather before so I'm completely out of my waters. I don't want to buy two skins only to find out I can't use them.

Oh and if I can't buy undyed will I be able to darken an already dyed skin?

If someone could help that would be amazing!!!!! This is something that I really need to think about.
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

:|

i admire you.

sort of.

I admire your dedication as an artist to accuracy and as a person to dedicate those finances to this bad boy! it's going to look INCREDIBLE! also admire your ability to take up what is, to me, a terrifying new skill. YOU GO GIRL!!!!! i just became 10000000000x more interested in watching you!


i said 'sort of' 'cause i'm one of those hypocritical animal people. i love animals but i eat steak. i own leather shoes and a jacket but i won't touch anything exotic...or anything i don't eat. but mainly, i'm just freaking terrified of running scissors through the skin of a creature. EEEEEEEEK!!! GAH.

I'll be sticking with $15/m textured vinyl for my boys. >_>

Depending on HOW financially invested you are in it... you can get a full hide with the horned back like his here... that's actually one of the cheapest ones on ebay...

gwah... i think i'm going to faint. @_@
 
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Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

Lol I'm actually right there with you on the animal thing. I really don't like working with leather and I won't go near furs. Maybe it's hypocritical but I'm kinda like........crocodiles aren't cuddly so I don't feel asssssss bad but I still feel pretty bad. I also feel bad about cows and leather. But this costume is just impossible to do as accurate as possible without it having those ridges and that texture. I'm stuck in this weird conundrum of what to do. I figure the difficult of acheiving the shape with an exotic skin may help me sway my decision.

And we would need 2 of those hides so I know that I'm not that financially invested lol. $700 is a lot for just the collar. I'm hoping maybe I can piece some together or just use an already dyed smaller hide for $150 and get two of those.

On the upside I found this brilliant faux leather for the body part of the vest. I'm going to order a sample to confirm the coloring as I don't want it to be silver. It looks black in the photo but the term alloy means silver soooooo I'm a bit worried about that. But the red tinge in the cracks is dead on as is the pattern!

Lithium Alloy
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

The way I see it, people eat a LOT of beef. Not making leather would be a waste of the leftovers. As far as lambskin goes, though, you've got me there. I have no justification for that, except that lambskin is amazing.

I'd be happy to help with any leather questions you want to throw my way.
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

The way I see it, people eat a LOT of beef. Not making leather would be a waste of the leftovers. As far as lambskin goes, though, you've got me there. I have no justification for that, except that lambskin is amazing.

I'd be happy to help with any leather questions you want to throw my way.

My main concern is do you think that collar has been wet molded, partially wet molded or just stiffened with some glue on the other side since it's two hides with wrong sides together.

Since it's alligator skin is alligator skin safe to wet mold? I've read that alligator skin can be damaged with water so I'm unsure.

And do you think that if I bought a pre dyed skin that I would be able to go over it with a darker dye or would it not take?

For example what if I bought this hide right here:

Genuine Caiman Horn Back Skin Red and Black L
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

I can't say for sure when it comes to alligator, but most leather hides are chrome tanned, which means they won't take incredibly well to wet-forming. That being said, if somebody at a Tandy, etc. tells you it's absolutely impossible, you can't just take their word for it. You would most likely be able to form that hide a bit, if it's done right. You'll want to pick up some leather weld. So you cut the hide open where those gussets will be inserted and you sew them in to the outside and the facing separately. Depending on the thickness of the hide, you may have to hand sew it, but your machine might work. That alone should get it to basically the correct shape, but if you want it to have a little bit more flare you can soak those parts in cool water and gently pull them as they dry, so as not to break your stitching. Depending on the hide, the results will vary. To get them to hold their shape, cover the wrong sides of both pieces with a coat of leather weld, slap them together, and then work it from one end around with your hands so that it's shaped how you want it. When the leather weld dries, it adds some stiffness and holds those pieces exactly where you want them. Another way to describe it is kind of like when you pull two pieces of fabric through a machine, one more than the other, to make them curl in one direction. You'd basically be doing that with glue instead of thread.

Let me know if I did a crap job of explaining that and I'll see if I can't do better when I'm more awake. Also, if there are any scraps of that hide you don't want or need for the project, I'd be happy to take them off your hands.

Oh, and as for the dying, a little bit of acetone will strip any leather finish and allow you to add more dye to it. In this case though you might just want to try hitting it with some black shoe polish. And lastly, from the looks of things you're going to need 3 gator skins, one for each side (gussets stolen from the removed outer edge at the shoulders), and one for the inside facing, cut in half down the middle. I would recommend you drop by Sav-Mor Leather under the 10 freeway if you haven't already. It looks like a soup kitchen from the outside, but they're by far the best place to buy leather hides.
 
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Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

Whether or not you can safely wet shape the hides is probably going to depend on where you get them. Ask your vendor, and if they can't answer your questions about the product find another vendor! There's a lot to be said for knowing exactly what you're buying, and exotics can vary in quality and process almost as much as cowhide. I've heard good things about OstrichMarket.com, but I've never bought from them so salt to taste.

From the pictures it looks as if they're using the complex curves of the hide to help define the shape of the collar. See how the outside edges of the hides are scalloped in at the top of the coat's shoulders (you can see it in the 5th picture in your last post) to form a narrow yoke that comes to a point? I think that cut defines where the gator's hind leg was cut out, and they use part of the other hind leg to form the curved back of the collar. If you follow the stitch up the center of the yoke, you can just make out what looks like a split where they stitched in a triangular bit to flatten out the curve past where it would fold down on a regular coat. You may find that once you've lined up the hides and laid them properly, you can do what little shaping needs to be done in the front as you cement the liner to the inside of the collar pieces without having to wet them.
 
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Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

Awesome! That's sort of what I was thinking as well! And I'll definitely try out that acetone for stripping the coating in order to redye it a bit. Like I mentioned, hopefully I'll just need to buy a reddish skin and then get something like shoe polish or the like and go over it to darken the edges and a little bit in the middle.

I've also contacted the company that was mentioned above so I'll see what they come back with in a reply. I'll have to check out the sav mor leather place as well.
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

So quick update. I got the samples in finally for the vest. I was a little sad because the whole piece will be more alligator looking allover as opposed to just the little boxes like in his vest but overall I still think it's the best I'm going to find. Also the pleather is a liiiiiiiiiitle bit to dark dark brown/black as opposed to black black. With the reddish "trenches" as well that doesn't help the color. I have the sample next to another black croc pleather sample for the leg coverings and the blacks are just to different. I think I'll take some vinyl shoe dye and rub it over the pleather and see if it takes and helps darken it a bit while leaving the "trenches" that still really nice reddish color.

I took the photo outdoors to give a true representation of the color and then put it next to him so you can compare and see the similarities and differences. But honestly I've looked everywhere and unless you want to spend over $1000 to $2000 alone on croc leather for all aspects of his costume then something somewhere has got to give. At least for this year lol!

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Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

Loving this build and your research so far! Those samples look great!
 
Re: Rumpelstiltskin- NEED LEATHERWORKING HELP!!-PIC HEAVY!!

Does anyone know where I would find Rumpelstiltskin gold shirt he wore in "Hat Trick"?
 
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