Astonishing Wolverine

[spartacus1]

Here is some progress on my Wolverine Cosplay. I'm taking inspiration from the Captain America and Daredevil costumes. I'm using yellow Cordura fabric, Black Cordura fabric (used for the little shoulder pad and below the third tiger stripe…hard to see in pics), and black jumbo spandex for the upper sides/arm.

I'm going to be adding chest and ab parts just to give it a little flair, without it, I think it looks too plain. I may have went a little too thick on the foam for the stripes and all the armor padding I will be adding. I'm using 5mm. I probably should have stayed at 2mm, but I really wanted it to pop. If it was thinner, the yellow on yellow would be barely noticeable. Right now, I only have one chest piece on, just to show what it will look like (with the other piece, it looks like an X!!). In fact, you really have to look close at the sleeve to see the black cordura over the foam for a shoulder/delt guard.

I really want to give a shout out to Sean (SMPdesigns). I've been annoying him via private message getting helpful hints and tips, as this is the first time I've ever sewed.

Anyhow, are there any suggestions for alterations/changes? What do you all think of the general idea?

 

[BPStoyle]

This looks awesome!

 

[jimbob1986]

Looking forward to seeing this come together, and interested to know what cowl option you'll be going with? I'm thinking about having a go at the Wolverine cowl from JFCustoms thread, not 100% on what material to use though.

 

[spartacus1]

Here are the pants:


Here are some of the accessories:

 

[spartacus1]

I haven't decided on cowl yet.

I have a tactical belt. I'm debating on whether or not to add the X logo to it.

Right now, I hit a wall. I'm getting frustrated with these padded pieces. They aren't lining up right. I'm not sure how it looks.

 

[cavedwellar]

I think it's looking great, keep going.

 

[spartacus1]

Thanks for the kind words. I did a little more work on it. Added some of the ab parts. I was still discouraged, so I decided to suit up! Here is the pic:



After all this, I'm still not fully satisfied. I'm considering tearing all the padding off (chest, abs, and tiger stripes), and re-doing it in 2mm foam instead of 5mm. The 5mm may "pop" a little more, but its bulky and doesn't contour to the body very well. Its stiff. On the good side, it is actually functional. You could punch me and it would barely be felt!

But I think the 2mm would be better overall. It would be easier to work with. Should be easier with the sewing machine. And should mold around the body a little better.

What do you all think? Keep going with 5mm? Or start over with 2mm? Time is not a factor, I just want it to look right. Which would be best?

 

[SMP Designs]

Hey man! Got your message and I think it's looking great so far. As to your question about the foam, I'd use both and decide where best to use them.

For things like the shoulders, the stripes on the sides and small areas that take a lot of movement, the 2mm is probably the best option. It'll give you the effect, but still have enough flexibility to work with your body. Plus, fo smaller and more detailed parts, it just works better because it's not so bulky. It makes for a very streamlined look.

For the larger areas - especially ones that you are going to cover individually and then add onto the suit (eg: your chest pieces) - I think the 5mm is a good choice. It gives you the more bulked out look of heavier armor plating and has more dimension. You might want to shape it a little with a heat gun and then use a spray mount or contact cement to cover it with your fabric. Just be aware that, the more you shape it, the more difficult the fabric will be (especially something like Cordura) to mold around it. So, find a happy medium.

Using both thicknesses in different areas will also add more interest and dimensional levels to the suit overall. You could also experiment with creating pads by using layers of 2mm cut to either build up certain areas of a single pad or making dimensional edging or details within the pad that you can stitch through with your zipper/cording foot.

You're totally on the right track and this is going to be amazing! Cheers!

 

[Peek73]

I actually like the 5mm foam myself. I think it gives it that Comic look myself. Love the build so far. I am going to harp on you a bit though.... YOU NEED SOME HAIR ON THOSE ARMS MAN.... Keep up the good work Man O....

Thanks for the kind words. I did a little more work on it. Added some of the ab parts. I was still discouraged, so I decided to suit up! Here is the pic:

View attachment 469742

After all this, I'm still not fully satisfied. I'm considering tearing all the padding off (chest, abs, and tiger stripes), and re-doing it in 2mm foam instead of 5mm. The 5mm may "pop" a little more, but its bulky and doesn't contour to the body very well. Its stiff. On the good side, it is actually functional. You could punch me and it would barely be felt!

But I think the 2mm would be better overall. It would be easier to work with. Should be easier with the sewing machine. And should mold around the body a little better.

What do you all think? Keep going with 5mm? Or start over with 2mm? Time is not a factor, I just want it to look right. Which would be best?

 

[spartacus1]

I will work on growing out that arm hair

I decided to strip off all the padding and re-do it. Here is the new design for front and back. All of it besides the upper X-parts (for chest and lats) are 2mm foam. The X is 5mm.

I laid out the pieces on the front to see what it looks like. Before I actually attach them, I'm considering removing the accents under the chest. Thoughts?

 

[ZukutoSkyKiller]

That's really awesome dude!

 

[spartacus1]

Not much of an update, but I added the armor pieces to front and back. Obviously, classic Wolverine doesn't have any padding in these areas. Unfortunately, leaving these areas completely blank left it looking very plain. I wanted to go for an "MCU" inspired outfit and decided to add muscle based padding (looking at the new Daredevil and Captain America costumes). I went through a couple different concepts for the pieces and settled on this. I think this version is subtle enough not to distract from the core concept. I then tried different thicknesses of foam. The final versions are 2mm for all the pieces except for the chest and upper back, which are 5mm. And finally, I struggled with how to attach them. First, I tried wrapping the foam in the fabric and sewing through the edge of the foam. It looked like the pieces were just stuck on. It looked tacky and I didn't like it. Second, it was suggested that I add the padding UNDER the base layer so the padding would stick up. I tried that, but it looked like I was attempting to wear a muscle suit. I still wanted some sort of lines on the jacket to break up the monotonous yellow. So what I did: I made tabs on each edge of the pieces. Enough for it to go down the side (5mm for the 5mm and 2mm for the 2mm) and added 10mm of material to each side. I folded 5mm under, making a 5mm tab. I then used a Zipperfoot on the sewing machine and lined it up with the foam, going right along the foam which highlights the depth.

I really liked how this turned out. If I were to do it again though, I would make the tab measurements a little different, leaving more material to run under the piece. Since the material was exactly lined up with the edge of the foam, I don't think the thread went through the bottom fabric layer. Also, I would have moved them a bit (3/8") away from the zipper. Sewing that edge was rather difficult. I even broke off a tooth of the zipper. It still works just fine and you wouldn't notice unless you looked at the zipper closely.

Any thoughts on the armor design or how it was attached? Was it even necessary? Should I have stuck with comic-verse Wolverine and left it blank?

To finish this project, I just need to attach the stripes (using the same method as the armor pieces) and work on some shoulder padding (since comic Wolverine has the big shoulder guards, I want to have some sort of padding over the shoulder).

By the way, a note to Sean (SMP): Prior to this entry, I was totally using the zipper foot wrong! Had to watch some youtube videos and I found out to line the thicker part under the actual foot. I was running it along the side, like a normal presser foot. Guess this whole sewing thing is a learning curve! Now I completely understand why your tutorial promoted the use of this particular type of presser foot! It is magical when dealing with different thicknesses!

 

[jimbob1986]

It's looking good, imo you definitely made the right choice removing the accents from under the chest.

I'd be interested to see how it looked with the tabs black, I'm sure this would be a pain to achieve though as they're already stitched on.

Looking forward to more updates.

 

[spartacus1]

Thanks for the input! ……I hope I can find a cowl solution that looks as good as yours is! For some reason, when I did a prototype of the JFCustom, it didn't have the awesome angles yours does. And yours seems to fit perfectly around the eyes. How's your vision in it? Mine didn't quite align and any movement shifted the mask over the eyes. I thought about trimming more around the eyes, but then it would look more like a captain america helmet with fins...

 

[jimbob1986]

Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it so far as it's been a while since I tried pepping anything. Tbh I was just lucky the standard scaling worked well with the proportions of my face, although it is prone to moving around a little with sudden movements. Blinking is also a slight issue haha, I have quite long eye lashes and they occasionally catch the cowl. I'm sure padding the brow/forehead a little could cure both issues though. Vision is actually really good, some peripheral missing but not enough to cause a problem.

 

[spartacus1]

Nearly there! I added all the stripes (except for left shoulder). Right now, I'm fiddling with the shoulder armor. In the comics, Wolverine has the very pronounced shoulder guard (in blue), so I wanted to have some sort of padding there. I made it 5mm foam. Its hard to distinguish in the above picture. I thought the difference in fabric would show it off more (Cordura on Jumbo Spandex), but I guess black on black is hard to see. The padding is about 4.5" tall and 7" wide to wrap around the entire delt muscle.

I'm getting excited on how this is turning out. After tonight, all will be done except for the cowl. And possibly the belt buckle piece, if I decide to add it. I'm not sure because I think the X on the chest is enough. No reason to add another X on the belt.

Anyhow, any critiques before I finish up with the other shoulder?

 

[spartacus1]

I modified the shoulder/sleeve a bit. I shortened the sleeve quite a bit. Wolverine is always showing off those arms. Guess I have to hit the gym. The shoulder padding actually extends past the sleeve a bit.

Have to do the other side. Then finish up with some edge stitching on all the pieces and call it done!

I want to thank everyone in this thread for keeping me motivated to continue this project! I've had to re-do pieces 100 times and it gets frustrating to rip the parts off and start over, but I'm getting happier with how this is turning out.

 

[brandomack]

That's looking great!

 

[jimbob1986]

Looking really good, can't wait to see it finished and worn.

 

[spartacus1]

Well I'm about done pestering you all with this project! Still need to do some clean-up work stitching some parts. Gotta work on the cowl. Going to try a few different options. Considering adding a 3D printed X to the belt buckle.

Anyhow, this is my first project, and its almost done to completion! Thanks all for following this thread. Even those that simply clicked "Like"! I'm very picky about things and would have given up at many points in this project if it weren't for you all!

If anyone has any comments or critiques, please let me know so I can either go back and make some alterations or fix it in future projects! Also, if anyone has any questions about materials, parts, or the process, I'm more than willing to answer.

And I know I've mentioned it before, but again, a big shout out and thank you to Sean at SMPDesigns. This whole sewing thing has been interesting, and he's helped me over some hurdles! Hopefully one day I'll be at his level!