Doctor Doom Costume WIP (first post on RPF)

Hey everyone!

So I am building a Doctor Doom costume for my boyfriend. So far I've 3D printed the mask and its still in the works (needs voice modulator, a way to wear it, and a clear coat)
I'm fairly new to the costume world. I've never shown anyone my work online. So here is the progress pics of the mask:


I got the file from Thingiverse here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:886812

Many thanks to the maker of this file, its magnificent!

The list goes on to what I need to do next. Here is why I need help.

QUESTION:

What pattern should I use for the cloak? I'm having trouble finding one that works. And how do I mold the hood to have that iconic look?
REFERENCE PICS:


I would like it to have a cowl/hood but I'm lost at how to accomplish this.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Peryton

When I did Doom, I used a two layer hood and cloak. The added weight and stiffness of the seams allowed the hood to maintain a pretty natural drape. We used a patch of velcro on the very top of the helmet and one in the hood to hold it in place.

Something to remember is that when you attach the cloak, make sure there are attachment points on the front of the chest and at the base of the neck in the back. If you don't support the weight of the cloak in the center of the back it will try to pull the hood down and make it lose shape. It will also be an actual "pain in the neck"!

Psicorp7 said:

When I did Doom, I used a two layer hood and cloak. The added weight and stiffness of the seams allowed the hood to maintain a pretty natural drape. We used a patch of velcro on the very top of the helmet and one in the hood to hold it in place.

Something to remember is that when you attach the cloak, make sure there are attachment points on the front of the chest and at the base of the neck in the back. If you don't support the weight of the cloak in the center of the back it will try to pull the hood down and make it lose shape. It will also be an actual "pain in the neck"!

Click to expand...

Thank you so much! I would have never thought of that.
I will have to do that since I will be using some heavy material.

Love the detail on the rivets on the mask, looking forward to seeing the completed product

When my Doom got to the point of doing up the fabric parts, the tunic cape and hood were all done in a suit weight with a light suede lining. It was heave, but the draping was perfect as was the flow and life to the cape, which was a basic 3/4 circle pattern modified with two front lengths that attached to the tunic with sewn on velcro and held the medallions and chains on those same lengths via button snaps. The hood was based off a simple tube pattern and given a kind of collar that also snapped on to the tunic at the neck and was somewhat hidden. The weight of all the fabric gave the hood its own life and I didnt need to use a wire or anything to let it keep its shape, I just let everything drape naturally.

I recently completed my Doctor Doom costume, and will post more details later if you like. I need to rebuild a lot of it, and intend to document my progress in my own thread but that won't be for a couple of months yet...

For the hood I used a "Red Riding Hood" pattern I found online:
https://www.fleecefun.com/red-riding-hood-cape-pattern.html

I didn't use a pattern for the cape, and just eyeballed it based on how much material I had, how much coverage I wanted and basically what I thought looked good. It came out an odd shape when laid flat but looked good when worn.

I had never done any sewing before doing this, so between my research and my mother's advice, I settled on a fairly tricky solution (and forgive me for not knowing the technical terms here)... I hemmed the cape, which was 2 layer of fabric at the neck and shoulders, and cut a hole for my head to poke through. I then folded the edges of the neck hole in on themselves and inserted the edges of the hood's neck hole and sewed it all shut on a machine. It was a cumbersome method but it came out nice.

I used a £4/m white fabric from Ikea and dyed it. It frayed like nobody's business but I managed to save it... just!

I also remixed that same mask model from Thingiverse to improve the rivets... feel free to check it out:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2358769

Hey - tried to reply to this thread last night but it looks like it didn't take...

Anyway, hopefully I'm not too late to the party to offer some help; I recently completed my Doctor Doom costume and might be able to offer some advice. I actually plan to rebuild all the armour as my next project, since a lot of it tore or fell off on the dance floor (the costume was for our wedding vow renewal ceremony - there may have been alcohol involved - Doom getting down to Sister Sledge was a sight to behold).

Anyway, for the hood I used a red riding hood pattern I found online. I didn't follow the instructions fully, and I didn't use the cape portion, but the template for the hood was ideal for what I wanted:
https://www.fleecefun.com/red-riding-hood-cape-pattern.html

For the cape portion of the cloak, I actually went 'full mantle'. Not sure if that's the correct term, but it's what it was called in City of Heroes, so there's that. Basically the front of the cape, when not gathered and pinned down, came across my chest. The portion which went across my chest, over the shoulders and to the bottom of my shoulder blades was a single layer and the rest was 2 layers for added weight. I cut a hole big enough for my head to poke through in the single layer and sewed the hood into that. It was a real pain but it worked out pretty nice; I'm not very experienced with a sewing machine, so I found it quite tricky to sew the hood on in a circle, with all that cape fabric having to pass through the throw (I think that's the term?) of the machine.

For the shape of the cape, I basically eyeballed it. I didn't have enough fabric to do a 3/4 circle as suggested above (although that would have been my ideal at the time) so I just draped it over myself and figured out the line, factoring in how and where I wanted to attach the chest roundels. In my case I used the roundels to attach the cloak to the tabard, so they were functionally legit but it also meant I needed the fabric to gather in a perhaps unconventional way to get the look I was after. I ended up with a shape which looked odd when laid out flat but hung pretty nicely when worn.

On a side note, I actually used the same mask model on Thingiverse, but I remixed it to improve the rivets. Feel free to take a look (I go into more detail on the mask post-processing there):
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2358769

I do intend to fully document my build at some stage, but my wife and I are currently in the process of moving house so there isn't much time spare to do so. In any case, here's a photo of my in the full costume, moments before heading to the hotel lobby to join the masses: