Civil War Wanda Maximoff

Those look great Helena! My store-bought boots don't have the straps detail, but I'll probably do spats like you were considering I also havent bothered with the detail on the leggings, I'm just using store bought for now and I'll focus my attention to detail on the corset and coat

Those look super close! I like that you found some with the straps.

I wonder if the lacing not the front of the corset may be elastic - you know like a thick red hair elastic.

I feel like using elastic would make it bunchy? I imagine it's either thin leather cord or some kind of silk cord.

It doesn't look like leather to me. On the close up shots you can see the 'weave'. I would say a silk cord.

This is going to be a long post but I hope it will help someone else in working out this costume.


First things first - this is going to seem a bit sad - but I had a bit of a slow, wet weekend, so, being stuck indoors, I decided I would identify every frame of the movie which featured Scarlet Witch's Leipzig Airport Battle costume. In total there were 1,428 frames which was precisely 59.5 seconds at a rate of 24 frames per second. That is all that you ever see of this costume in Captain America Civil War - less than a minute of on-screen time. However, it is still an amazing costume and I am hoping to help my partner in cosplay crime to put it together for the 2017 Convention Season.

I always start off with a lot of research and thinking about how the costume will go together given the materials that it is made of. Particularly when working with leather it is important to get it right the first time as once it is sewn it isn't going to be able to be unpicked.

As I said, I started by checking the movie version frame by frame. Below is a table of the frames in which the costume appears.

EDIT: When I originally inserted the text below it was a TAB delineated table type thingy. Upon posting it just runs it all together, so if you want to use it you might have to copy and paste it into a word processor.

Start time Frame Finish time Frame Total frame(s) Features
01:31:49 02 01:35:51 11 58 Skirts
01:32:05 11 01:32:08 06 68 Upper jacket, upper corset
01:32:10 23 01:32:12 08 34 Shoulders
01:32:22 15 01:32:23 05 15 Distance shot of front
01:32:26 23 01:32:28 04 32 Bottom of rear skirt
01:32:30 11 01:32:31 05 19 Suede side panel; front of jacket
01:32:31 06 01:32:32 15 34 Upper back of jacket from waist
01:32:32 16 01:32:33 04 13 Under sleeve; right hand rings; texture
01:34:09 19 01:34:13 02 80 Complete costume front and side
01:34:14 12 01:34:18 17 102 Complete costume (obscured)
01:34:18 18 01:34:20 10 41 Complete costume from side (distant)
01:34:21 23 01:34:23 17 43 Skirts
01:34:26 17 01:34:28 14 45 Long partly obscured view
01:34:30 16 01:34:33 07 64 Rear oblique view
01:34:33 08 01:34:35 19 60 Complete costume from front (distant)
01:34:51 20 01:34:54 12 65 Top of jacket; obscured
01:35:02 07 01:35:03 21 39 Skirts; distant shot
01:35:12 16 01:35:14 05 38 Skirts; distant shot
01:35:27 18 01:35:28 16 23 Three quarter front view
01:35:48 06 01:35:48 22 17 Back of jacket; back of sleeve cap
01:35:52 01 01:35:54 02 50 Close up of entire jacket front
01:36:10 21 01:36:11 12 16 Close up of top of jacket; top of corset
01:36:11 13 01:36:12 16 33 Under right sleeve; back of jacket (best view of “Waistband”)
01:41:10 21 01:41:12 08 36 Top half jacket
01:41:12 09 01:41:13 23 49 Back shoulders; sleeves
01:41:42 06 01:41:43 16 35 Top of corset
01:41:46 10 01:41:47 11 26 Back of costume (distant)
01:41:48 16 01:41:49 09 18 Sleeve under forearm slash (best); corset; gloves
01:41:49 10 01:41:50 08 23 Sleeve cap; glove;
01:43:56 17 01:43:59 24 80 Distance shot
01:44:00 01 01:44:01 06 30 Collar; shoulder; texture (closest)
01:44:02 07 01:44:05 24 90 Collar; shoulder; texture (closest)
01:44:28 18 01:44:30 21 52 Upper jacket; upper corset
1,428
(59.5 seconds)

Pretty sad way to spend half a day but it is a great resource. I have used it many times already.

THE JACKET
I believe the jacket is made of all leather (no surprises there I suppose). There is clearly an embossed or printed leather, a suede and a plain leather.

I would really like to use something very close to the embossed leather on the screen used version. Knowing full well that my chances of finding anything like it are pretty close to nil, I am thinking that I might try having a plate with a pattern of my own design 3D printed and I could press the pattern into the leather. I have come up with a pattern and would like to invite anyone to critique it and suggest improvements. It is the best I have been able to come up with given the resolution of the image I have.





I have put together some basic diagrams to help me understand the construction of the jacket.

SKIRTS
First there are the skirts. I know there has been a bit of discussion about this and so here is my take on it. The front panels seem easy enough, however, the back panels are very full, so therefore most likely pleated. I am thinking that the back skirts are probably in two parts with a spit up the middle at the back - at least that is what it looks like in the promo pictures and the movie stills. So I have come up with a basic construction idea which uses folds instead of sewn seams wherever possible. This should make the inside of the skirt as neat as it can be and hopefully should help to make it billow about when running. I am pretty sure there is a turn-back, an under pleat and another turn-back between the side and the rear back skirt panels on each side, but I am not sure if there is a turn-back and an under pleat at the very back skirt vent (I am not sure what the correct terminology is for these things as I am a completely self taught costume maker). I have put two construction diagrams below with both versions. I thought it would be great to do it as two pieces only with no seams but the pattern would not be square so I figure it has to be done as two pieces of leather with the pattern squared on each of the rear skirts. I hope this is making sense. If it isn't feel free to ask questions.





The bottom of the skirts pieces are not hemmed. That is OK because it is leather and doesn't need to be. The bottom of the skirt actually will look much sharper without a hem but those skirt pieces will require very careful cutting to make sure they look right.

Are the rear skirts lined? Maybe. I am going to line them in the same material the corset is made of. The lining however is not sewn to the bottom of the skirt panels. It will be hemmed and will just float from the waistband being tacked to the seams at the bottom just to hold it in place. If you have ever owned a long leather coat you will probably have noticed that the lining often doesn't attach at the bottom.

BODICE
The bodice is pretty straight forward except that there is a dart running vertically from the waistband which you may not have noticed. There is also a triangular panel which runs from the shoulder to the side seam which works a bit like a princess seam. That panel along with the dart makes room for the bust.




The front of the jacket is dead strait and vertical from the bottom of the front skirt to the waistband. I know this because there is no seam. There is simply a fold in the leather to form the edge of the opening and, as folds are usually straight the edge of the jacket must be. The folded leather then turns back to make a facing section before the lining starts. I have created a basic image to show the way the leather will be cut to create the outer shell of the bodice, skirt and waistband to make the turned back facing.




SLEEVES
The sleeves are a mess of different leathers sewn together. On the shoulder there is a panel of suede. At the back of this there is a panel of plain leather attached with four lines of top stitching running vertically down it. There is the ribbed elbow section but that doesn't go all the way around because on the inside of the sleeve is a section of suede which runs all the way from the wrist to the armpit. Something I have noticed about this section is that it is slashed into five strips. I reckon that these five strips are attached to a section of elastic so that Elizabeth Olsen can flap her arms about madly without bending the leather out of shape. Because of the elastic the arms always stay tight. Because of the need for mobility there is also a gusset sewn into the arm pit. Because of the fairly rigid nature of leather, if you lift your arm above your head the whole side of the jacket will lift up as well, but the gusset remedies that problem (see: 1:32:32, frames 22-24, and; 1:32:33, frames 1-4; for plenty of gusset action).



CORSET
I haven't really thought about the corset yet. That looks pretty straight forward. I will probably close it in the back with a zipper and a hook and eye. It doesn't look boned to me and, as has already been suggested here, I will probably make it out of silk and coutil. I agree that the cord is not leather and is not elastic, as I initially suggested above.

I have to stress that none of my illustrations are patterns. They are just really rough construction diagrams which allow me to work out how many elements there are, how they may be attached to each other, the order they may be assembled, where the top stitching goes, etc. The next step will be to make a mock-up based on the dimensions of the eventual wearer.

If anyone would like to discuss any of the stuff here I would be more than happy to be informed and corrected.

One other thing. I have started on a pattern for Scarlet Witch's mitts. I haven't made a mock-up yet so totally speculative. I haven't marked any seam allowance but that is going to be very narrow (less than 3mm in most cases) however the notches indicate folds. I imagine the straps on the back of the hand will have to be folded and glued as there is no stitching on them. This may be a good start for anyone who is trying to make a pattern for mitts.


I haven't found any evidence in the movies for the "palm pad" which just top stitches onto the palm and thumb piece after they have been sewn together, so there is no need to include it. However, I feel this extra piece of leather on the palm will make the mitt feel more robust.

Whew! You've put a lot of thought into this! I like the skirt pattern, though.

Would anyone mind posting high-res reference photos of her rings?

seaia13 said:

Would anyone mind posting high-res reference photos of her rings?

Click to expand...

I've made a post on the previous page regarding her rings There's a high res photo of all of the rings she wear with her Lagos outfit, and a lower res photo of her left hand ring with her Avengers uniform. The only other clearly visible ring with her Avengers uniform other than the picture I posted is her double ring she wears with the Lagos outfit too, worn on her right ring finger

It's not 100% screen accurate, but for a newbie I'm pretty chuffed with how my corset turned out! Excuse the crappy phone picture.



The fabric looks more red-orange under the lights, but it's more pink in daylight.

I think that you can be proud of yourself, especially if that is your first time making a corset.

Goldhawk said:

I think that you can be proud of yourself, especially if that is your first time making a corset.

Click to expand...

It is, in fact! Thank you!

kurisuchie2kimi said:

It's not 100% screen accurate, but for a newbie I'm pretty chuffed with how my corset turned out! Excuse the crappy phone picture.

View attachment 709318

The fabric looks more red-orange under the lights, but it's more pink in daylight.

Click to expand...

That looks amazing, actually.

And all that work is super impressive, Enfant. I can't wait to see your progress, I bet your costume will turn out awesome.

HelenaInvictus said:

That looks amazing, actually.

And all that work is super impressive, Enfant. I can't wait to see your progress, I bet your costume will turn out awesome.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much Helena! That means a lot

Hi I haven't posted an update on this topic for a while but as I have got a mention I will do so now.

Have been making slow progress but have also been working on a comic book version with my daughter. Our Mark I Scarlet Witch made an appearance at Comic Con Sydney late last year and with it she won the Marvel Cosplay Competition. That was pretty cool but it could have been better so we have been working on a Mark II of the classic costume.

I developed this way I transferring paper patterns into Illustrator just using an iPhone and a paper grid. That is working really well and you can see the results below.

I have purchased the leather for the Leipzig Airport costume and started on a pattern but as it isn’t needed until June I haven’t made a proper start on it yet.

One thing I would like to mention is whether you think the Leipzig costume is more maroon in the movie than it is in real life because of the colour grading? Someone else has mentioned how Iron Man’s armour is much more maroon in Civil War than it is in the other films.

The first picture is my daughter with Major Sam who won the 2016 International Cosplay contest.

I think it is, but it isn't too far off the real life color of the costume - Civil War, and Marvel's other more recent films, are color graded a lot darker/greyer than the early Iron Man films (great video on youtube about Marvel's color grading - check it out)

I think if you're looking for an accurate color of the leather for her jacket, anywhere between the ranges of the two pictures below would be classed as accurate. I think if it's maroon with pink tones, instead of orange/red tones, you should be on the right track


(definitely color graded from a featurette to look more pink)


(behind the scenes, minimal grading, I think)

Anywhere between those color ranges.

Ooh I like your method of pattern transferring.

The color seems pretty true to maroon, especially given all of the exhibit pics and accounting for bad lighting/flash etc. I'd never thought about the undertones, but you're right. I'd lean towards pink. Mine, because of the netting overlay, are more orange cast and it bugs me.

kurisuchie2kimi said:

I think it is, but it isn't too far off the real life color of the costume - Civil War, and Marvel's other more recent films, are color graded a lot darker/greyer than the early Iron Man films (great video on youtube about Marvel's color grading - check it out)

I think if you're looking for an accurate color of the leather for her jacket, anywhere between the ranges of the two pictures below would be classed as accurate. I think if it's maroon with pink tones, instead of orange/red tones, you should be on the right track

View attachment 710323
(definitely color graded from a featurette to look more pink)

View attachment 710324
(behind the scenes, minimal grading, I think)

Anywhere between those color ranges.

Click to expand...

They are great pics. The thing that gets me most (besides the fact that the colour of my leather is all wrong - lucky my supplier is cheap) is just how fitted the waist is. I have been thinking that I will probably put some horizontal boning in the waist band so that the jacket will stay closed and a little more figure hugging without using clips or buttons.

HelenaInvictus said:

Ooh I like your method of pattern transferring.

The color seems pretty true to maroon, especially given all of the exhibit pics and accounting for bad lighting/flash etc. I'd never thought about the undertones, but you're right. I'd lean towards pink. Mine, because of the netting overlay, are more orange cast and it bugs me.

Click to expand...

What does anyone think of Pantone 201 as a good colour match for the plain (non patterned and non suede) leather? That would be the leather on the waistband and the shoulder caps.



or maybe Pantone 202.

Regarding how fitted the waist is - I think they DO use snap fasteners/poppers to attach the jacket to the corset. I have the Hot Toys figure, and they're pretty screen accurate with their figure, and that's what they have attaching the jacket to the corset to give it that fitted look. Also as an added note (which is how I knew to do it for mine) they have a zip in the back of the corset, so that solves the age old question of "Lizzie how did you get into this fricken thing" haha

As for color, I'd actually say Pantone 202, the other one seems a bit too pink to me.