Immobliss
New Member
I was recently commissioned to complete a Beast Boy Cosplay inspired partially by Teen Titans Go! and by the cosplayer Chris Villain. My client is a smaller individual and as I have never made a full body suit with such detail this was an exciting yet daunting endeavor.
My client wanted a body suit that merged these two designs:
My first order of business was finding 4 way stretch spandex/lycra. I located a seller on Amazon that offered high quality spandex/lycra blends for a fraction of what in state retailers were selling it at. Once I had the solid fabrics I was on the hunt for a decent stretch fishnet. To my dismay, I could not locate fishnet spandex or lycra or sheets that were not rigid fabrics. Finally I located a knit from Koshtex that had wide enough holes and enough give to be an acceptable medium.
Fabric aside I began my final hunt: a decent pattern. I had measured my client from head to toe (I even went so far to trace the outline of his body onto some muslin) but was not confident enough in my pattern drafting skills to start from scratch. After some hunting I found a unisex unitard pattern from Kwik Sew that presented amazing reviews and offered enough wiggle room for me to edit the drafts.
Once all materials were purchased (I will include a list of materials in this guide) I was set to begin. I started with tracing the proper pattern size onto Pattern-Ease so I did not have to cut the patterns.
Once my patterns were traced I proceeded with making the base body suit...
With the base complete I moved on to drafting the overlay (pink/black fishnet) for the suit. This was a bit tricky as the pattern is drafted for 2 or 3 way stretch fabric so I had to get creative. I used the trace out of my client's body to block out the pink spandex first...
Then I used the pink blocked out overlay to block out the fishnet. NOTE: Since the fishnet fabric was NOT a 4 way stretch I had to add an additional 3 inches around the pattern to account for seam allowance and stretch. If you are not an experienced seamstress/tailor please DO NOT put non-stretch fabrics on top of stretch. Combining these fabrics is difficult and tedious. Instead, try to find another stretch or increase the size of your pattern and use all non-stretch fabric.
Here is where I stand today... (I still need to add the collar and zipper...more on that later)
UPDATE and RESULT: After some trouble with the fishnet overlay my client decided to remove it and we stuck with the traditional beast boy design. Here is a photo of my client in his beast boy body suit....
Lessons learned:
- Unless it's four way stretch DO NOT use it on a body suit. Non-Stretch materials DO NOT mesh well with stretch materials.
- Encourage your client to TRY ON the costume. There were some areas that required tailoring due to changes in my client's anatomy.
- Use stretch thread OR a stretch stitch ONLY (I have a triangle stretch that allows for proper stretch - most sewing machine guides can offer advice with what stitch to use)
- Be patient. Body suits take time, dedication and patience.
- Test the stretch of the Spandez/Lycra. Some 4 stretch materials stretches more one way than another. This can affect fit so make sure you know which way you are cutting/sewing to accommodate this.
- Buy Pattern-Ease to trace your pattern onto. This helps you avoid cutting down your pattern to a size that you may not be able to use in the future AND it provides you with a stiffer, more effective pattern material.
Once I have more professional photos for this costume taken I will post them for reference (I am working out a photo session with Beast Boy and Raven).
I hope this helped!
My client wanted a body suit that merged these two designs:
My first order of business was finding 4 way stretch spandex/lycra. I located a seller on Amazon that offered high quality spandex/lycra blends for a fraction of what in state retailers were selling it at. Once I had the solid fabrics I was on the hunt for a decent stretch fishnet. To my dismay, I could not locate fishnet spandex or lycra or sheets that were not rigid fabrics. Finally I located a knit from Koshtex that had wide enough holes and enough give to be an acceptable medium.
Fabric aside I began my final hunt: a decent pattern. I had measured my client from head to toe (I even went so far to trace the outline of his body onto some muslin) but was not confident enough in my pattern drafting skills to start from scratch. After some hunting I found a unisex unitard pattern from Kwik Sew that presented amazing reviews and offered enough wiggle room for me to edit the drafts.
Once all materials were purchased (I will include a list of materials in this guide) I was set to begin. I started with tracing the proper pattern size onto Pattern-Ease so I did not have to cut the patterns.
Once my patterns were traced I proceeded with making the base body suit...
With the base complete I moved on to drafting the overlay (pink/black fishnet) for the suit. This was a bit tricky as the pattern is drafted for 2 or 3 way stretch fabric so I had to get creative. I used the trace out of my client's body to block out the pink spandex first...
Then I used the pink blocked out overlay to block out the fishnet. NOTE: Since the fishnet fabric was NOT a 4 way stretch I had to add an additional 3 inches around the pattern to account for seam allowance and stretch. If you are not an experienced seamstress/tailor please DO NOT put non-stretch fabrics on top of stretch. Combining these fabrics is difficult and tedious. Instead, try to find another stretch or increase the size of your pattern and use all non-stretch fabric.
Here is where I stand today... (I still need to add the collar and zipper...more on that later)
UPDATE and RESULT: After some trouble with the fishnet overlay my client decided to remove it and we stuck with the traditional beast boy design. Here is a photo of my client in his beast boy body suit....
Lessons learned:
- Unless it's four way stretch DO NOT use it on a body suit. Non-Stretch materials DO NOT mesh well with stretch materials.
- Encourage your client to TRY ON the costume. There were some areas that required tailoring due to changes in my client's anatomy.
- Use stretch thread OR a stretch stitch ONLY (I have a triangle stretch that allows for proper stretch - most sewing machine guides can offer advice with what stitch to use)
- Be patient. Body suits take time, dedication and patience.
- Test the stretch of the Spandez/Lycra. Some 4 stretch materials stretches more one way than another. This can affect fit so make sure you know which way you are cutting/sewing to accommodate this.
- Buy Pattern-Ease to trace your pattern onto. This helps you avoid cutting down your pattern to a size that you may not be able to use in the future AND it provides you with a stiffer, more effective pattern material.
Once I have more professional photos for this costume taken I will post them for reference (I am working out a photo session with Beast Boy and Raven).
I hope this helped!
Last edited:
