Egon's Spider-man costume. NEW PHOTOS! Nov 2, 2014,

[Egon Spengler]

Well, I've got a Orhadar print on the way from Fabricondemand, but while waiting for it I've decided to look into what it might take to sew the suit myself.

First off, you don't need a serger to sew this suit. I've looked into it a bit and found this great video on sewing Lycra.

Jalie Sewing Techniques - Sewing Stretch Fabrics without a Serger - YouTube

I then went out and bought a very small sample size of 4 way stretch lycra fabric from Hancock Fabrics. I've been practicing what the video shows today and I'm actually getting pretty good. It's really simple so far.

I've even bought some of these Ball Point needles.

They do not damage or break knit fibers.

I'll admit though that while practicing today I've only been using the standard machine needle and it seems to work fine. I don't notice much damage to the fabric.

I've also bought one of these, that I may or may not use as a face shell. I'll need to remove all the blue sections from the mask before use.



Now, maybe I'll change my mind when I get my print, but so far sewing with Lycra doesn't seem anywhere near as scary as it felt like to me before.

Hope this info helps. I'll be updating this topic as time goes on.

 

[mrodhawks]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

Intresting, which print did you get from him? I think the face shell would be to round for the head.

 

[Web_Slinger]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

Please can we have this Stuck at the top of the page, this is one of the most handy posts i've come across for sewing spandex.

Also are you going to be showing your progress of sewing the suit together? would be so helpful for people who are looking to sew there own suits.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

mrodhawks: I got the same one Lunarman got, but with a little shading modification in the upper thigh area. The mask in the photo I posted looks way more round than the one I actually purchased, plus there's a lot of give to the mask itself. I think some others have used the same mask for a cheap shell before. If I don't like how it looks, I'll just toss the shell

Web_Slinger: Thanks for the Stuck recommendation. I'm glad I could help! I highly recommend people just give this a try if hey have a sewing machine. Theres a lot of advice on how to do this online and I'm just giving a bit of what I think is going to work for me. Going to the local fabric store, getting some of the same fabric type and just practicing sewing with it over a day or two has helped me become more confident that I can sew this thing myself. I figure I can always change my mind, but at first I should give it a try before I decide to shell out cash to get it sewn.

Oh! Yes I do plan on posting my progress once my print arrives. I've never done this before and I'd like to share my experience with others in the same boat.

 

[fun4spidey]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

Thanks bro

 

[Justover6]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

I've heard ball point needles do break the fabric. Not as badly as regular ones. I've heard Stretch Needles are way to go as they're meant for stretch fabrics like spandex and well other stretch fabrics. I've been looking into sewing these suits up myself as well. I think what you're doing is great.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

Jovonbeck: No problem!

Justover6: I might look into those needles! Thanks!

I just got all my pieces of the pattern cut out days ago and would like to start sewing things together this weekend. I'm actually pretty shocked by the huge lack of sewing progress pics online. Everyone talks about the patterns, but no one discusses, with photos, how the pieces are sewn together. I know that there are reference pictures pointing out how the pattern itself goes together, but I'm talking about actual work in progress pics. I'm hoping to provide that here.

One thing I have noticed is it's a bit of a pain to try to pin the fabrics together for me, so I'm thinking I might just roughly hand sew the pieces together, then go along with the sewing machine and remove the hand stitches afterward.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Spiderman neck/ mask. How do you sew it? Can't figure this out. No search helps.

I have searched this forum and superhero hype and other related forums for an actual answer but haven't found one. I know that you sew the () area together, but when I do I get this weird ripple where the chin should be. I know how the rest of the mask goes together. It's the neck/chin area I'm having a problem with. I have plenty of images showing where things need to be sewn, but they aren't helping me figure out how to sew the chin/neck area without bulking up and wrinkling weird on the chin. Does anyone have any advice on how the neck area is supposed to be sewn that prevents this? I have Orhadar's Spider-man print.

 

[Lunaman]

Re: Spiderman neck/ mask. How do you sew it? Can't figure this out. No search helps.

If it's wrinkling up weird, you're using the wrong tension settings on your machine. Did you just ask this question on the Gunhead Designs facebook page?

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Spiderman neck/ mask. How do you sew it? Can't figure this out. No search helps.

Yeah I asked but he hasn't made his own before and directed me back to the rpf.

The problem is when I sew it, it ends up like this


V
|

The v is the weird way the chin puckers. Sewing the () shut is no problem, but toward the "face" it does this weird pucker. Maybe I'm just not sewing the seam placement properly?

Once I get to where the arrow is pointing, the whole thing goes weird.

 

[Lunaman]

Re: Spiderman neck/ mask. How do you sew it? Can't figure this out. No search helps.

Well you're always going to get a tiny pucker at the end of the seam, but it lays flat once the suit is worn. Just make sure the transition is smooth. I'll upload a picture of mine in a few minutes.

That's a great looking pattern, by the way, combination of the ASM2 and Raimi aesthetics.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Spiderman neck/ mask. How do you sew it? Can't figure this out. No search helps.

Thanks for the help!
This isn't actually the pattern I got. I actually got the same type you did. Yours looks amazing!But yeah this pattern is cool too. I used this example as the lines are the same as the prints we have, but clearer on the smaller image for using it as an example.

 

[Lunaman]

Re: Spiderman neck/ mask. How do you sew it? Can't figure this out. No search helps.

Thanks for the help!
This isn't actually the pattern I got. I actually got the same type you did. Yours looks amazing!But yeah this pattern is cool too. I used this example as the lines are the same as the prints we have, but clearer on the smaller image for using it as an example.

No worries, and thanks for the compliment! My phone's still being finicky about uploading the photos, but I'll edit them into this post when they're ready. Basically it shows how you want the end of the seam to meet the fabric edge at a gentle angle, like a tangent line coming off of a curve.

Long-awaited edit: Here are the pictures of the inside, and then the outside of that seam.

example of a line tangent to a curve.
http://www.analyzemath.com/calculus/applications/linear_1.gif

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Spiderman neck/ mask. How do you sew it? Can't figure this out. No search helps.

Thanks for the diagram. Yeah, that makes sense. Looking forward to seeing the photos too! I'm trying to do this myself, and any help I can get would be really appreciated!


Excellent! Thank you!

On top of your help, I figured out something else I was doing wrong. I was trying to sew ONLY the black weblines together, instead of merging the seams together at the top point. You've been a huge help! Thanks!

 

[Lunaman]

Re: Spiderman neck/ mask. How do you sew it? Can't figure this out. No search helps.

Thanks for the diagram. Yeah, that makes sense. Looking forward to seeing the photos too! I'm trying to do this myself, and any help I can get would be really appreciated!


Excellent! Thank you!

On top of your help, I figured out something else I was doing wrong. I was trying to sew ONLY the black weblines together, instead of merging the seams together at the top point. You've been a huge help! Thanks!

Oh well, there you go! Glad you got what you needed. Cheers.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

Well everyone, I finally have some progress and advice for everyone. This is my absolute first time sewing spandex/lycra. Keep that in mind when you notice the stitching isn't perfect and in a lot of places it looks sloppy. I'm doing my best and learning as I go. Now for my progress and advice.

After cutting out almost all the pattern pieces (I still need to cut out additional hand parts), I decided to start with the extra mask that came with the print as practice for the main suit. Below is the front of the mask.


After cutting out the patterns, I traced the seam lines from the front, through the fabric in pencil onto the back of the pattern piece. I'm doing this with ALL the pattern pieces to make it easier for placing the seams together.


To make sure every thing lined up and would not slide out of place while machine sewing the fabric together, I sewed along the seam lines by hand.


Below you can see the seam looks good already, just hand sewn. Eventually the hand stitching will be removed.


Using the zig zag stitch on my machine, I ran a line of stitching down next to the straight seam line/ hand stitching. I removed the hand stitching afterward and then stitched a straight seam over the line I had earlier traced out.


Here is a photo of my mask so far, stretched by hand with the help of my wife, over my cheap store bought face shell.

I hope this little bit of progress encourages a lot of you to try this on your own I can't say it isn't frustrating sometimes, but it is a good learning experience.


I'm going to continue updating this topic, showing both my progress and discussing my mistakes. Don't be afraid to take out seams with a seam ripper. I've had very little damage done as a result of removing any badly sewn seams. Practice on the white scrap fabric to get a feel of what it's like to sew it before you move on to the spider fabric.

 

[mrodhawks]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

Very awesome. Keep it up. Im sure plenty of people are learning from this.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

Thanks! I will be doing more work on the mask this weekend. The only thing that seams odd about the extra mask pattern of me is that some of it goes significantly lower on some pieces than on others, and if I were to try to force it all to line up perfectly on the bottom, it seems like it would just pucker up and curl over. I really do hope this is helping and inspiring others.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.

Well, it isn't perfect but it's coming along well. Worked more on the mask today. Still need to add the final back pieces together. It's a bit difficult to get the seams to match up perfectly, but Lunaman's marker idea should cover that pretty well.

If it looks a bit weird, it's because I'm wearing one of those cheap toy Spidey masks under it. I still need to sand down the thing. I'm not sure I'm going to use it at all honestly as it feels like it's too small for my head. I do like how it rounds out the nose area though. I'm wondering if I can just attach some fabric under the mask to get the same result.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Egon's Spider-man dye sub project, and some sewing advice for all.


I know it isn't a huge update, but my mask is pretty much finished and that's a big deal for me. It isn't perfectly sewn, it's my first time making ANYTHING with spandex myself and I think I've done a great job for a first timer. Here is my mostly finished Spider-man mask. I need to fix the seams with black Pigma Micron permanent markers. It's not really easy to get the seams to look right without going over them like that. Thanks to Lunaman for his topic on the rpf for this tip! I'm also going to add a zipper to the back as well. Also as you can see in these pictures, there are some weird puckering areas I'm going to go back seam rip and sew again. This hasn't been easy for me, but I'll say this. Having this extra mask to work on helped boost my confidence level when it comes to sewing the entire costume myself. The mask has been a real challenge for me and even if it, and the entire costume doesn't turn out looking like a pro did it, I'll know that I put in the time to do my best and I'll feel so much more satisfied with the costume, than if I had just paid for someone to make it for me. There's nothing wrong with paying for someone to sew something for you, but I get more satisfaction out of doing things myself when I can.


Managed to sew up the sides of the Spider-man suit's upper body. Going to have an invisible zipper running up the back, but can't sew that right now since I don't have one available to put on. Plus I still need to sew the legs up. I actually think I'll have most of the body of the costume finished sometime today. Might be getting ahead of myself on that though. The hands I know are going to be a huge pain.. Not looking forward to that at all.

I feel like I'm leveling up my costuming skills by doing this costume myself. Feels good, man.