GlitchTech
Active Member
This year I fell in love with Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel. As I'm a blonde in the good Captain's general age range, I decided to tackle her iconic suit.
First, because I love the pictures too much not to showcase them - here are my finished photos alongside reference shots! All three photos and Photoshop skills on the middle photo by Shintaro Maeda of Shintaro Design. (The first photo was taken with magical devices called gels, and no Photoshop was used, per contest rules.)
Just for fun, I also got scanned with a 3D scanner, so here's a full 360 degree view of the costume!
Part I: The Bodysuit
I had help from a friend to draft the bodysuit pattern to my exact measurements, then took over the design process and meticulously measured out the details. Because of where the lines lie on the main pattern, some of the pieces are smaller than a finger, but well worth the effort. Each piece of the pattern was cut out and carefully labeled, including a directional arrow so I could match up the grain of the fabric precisely. I used a silver gel pen to mark all the pattern pieces on the back of the fabric, since using chalk would have required me to press on the spandex, which could have stretched it out of position. If you're curious about the materials I used, I have them all linked on my Pinterest. (Why this photo is upside down, only the internet gremlins know.)
Sewing the bodysuit was a challenge, because the spandex was very slightly ribbed on one side. It grabbed and wouldn't slide in one direction, but slipped easily going the opposite direction, so I had to pin it within an inch of its life. I used a walking foot and jersey needle to ease the way. The two things I'm the most proud of, sewing-wise, are the piping (I've never done piping on a costume before, and this is spandex piping, which is extra finicky!) and how smooth and straight the zipper ended up. Faced with sewing a stretch fabric to a non-stretch zipper, I had an epiphany. I grabbed some of the tearaway interfacing I use for my embroidery machine, sandwiched everything together, stitched it, and tore out the paper, and it's the prettiest darned spandex zipper I've ever made. I'll never use any other technique for it again. (Apologies again for the tilted photos, they were uploaded vertically, I swear...)
Another particular set of things to point out, if you'll excuse the pun, are the points on the star emblem. I had difficulty getting the angles at each point exactly right using the sewing machine, so I hand-stitched the points of every angle in the star.
Part II: The Gloves
The gloves were a big challenge compared to the suit. Not only did I have to be spot on with my seams regardless of the spandex ridges, I had to be very precise in the measurements I used to make the pattern, or the gloves would look floppy and sloppy or cut off my circulation. I started out by tracing my arm and worked from there; the gloves you see in the photos here are the third iteration of the pattern. (The other pieces in the photo below are the tops of the sleeves.)
Adding studs to the gloves posed a problem, because if the spandex stretched too much the studs would pop out, and the studs attached via prongs which could cause unsightly snags on the spandex. To make everything work I carefully attached the studs in the appropriate spots, then topstitched a piece of Peltex stabilizer not much wider than the studs to the inside of the glove. The Peltex keeps the spandex from stretching on the top side, and protects the other side of the glove (and my arm) from being scratched by the stud prongs.
Part III: The Pin
I'm rather proud of the pin, because I created it completely from scratch, starting with the 3D model. I'm not much of a 3D designer (unlike my husband, who creates crazy complex things), so it took me quite a long time to get it right, but the basic shape came out very nicely. I used drywall compound to smooth out the ridges, sanded everything smooth, spray painted it, and super glued a pin to the back.
Part IV: The Boots
The boots are ones that I found on clearance. However, the boots I bought were brown, not red! The original, unaltered boot is on the right side of the photo below. The boot on the left has been carefully scrubbed with cotton squares soaked in acetone to remove the finish and make the boots more receptive to paint. I used Nu-Life crimson spraypaint after carefully taping off the soles and zippers. I used the same studs on the boots as I did on the gloves, and glued dots of leather behind each stud on the inside of the boot to keep the stud prongs from damaging the legs of my suit.
Part V: Hair and Makeup
The only reason anyone will ever see me in makeup is if I'm getting married or I'm in costume, and I hired someone for my wedding makeup. Fortunately, I have friends who know what's what, so I was able to turn a bag of mysterious liquids and powders into a decent excuse for a photogenic superhero. Foundation, liquid eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, brow pencil, powder, blush, and lipstick were all things I had to practice applying a few times before I really got the hang of it.
I have very fine hair, so the "floof" of a flying superhero's hair took some work to achieve. I got my hair cut in layers to help, and also used a heat activated hair thickener that involved spritzing wet hair with product, flipping my head over, and blow drying my hair until it was difficult to stand up properly. Worth it in the long run, though!
Bloopers
When I first started planning this costume, I had grandiose ideas of building everything literally from the ground up, starting with my boots. I found a free 3D model of a shoe sole, then discovered an exciting 3D printing filament called Semiflex, which has the approximate elasticity of a shoe sole. I printed a mockup out of ABS (since the Semiflex is $52 per spool plus shipping, and each spool only has enough to print one sole), which allowed me to make sure it would fit my foot properly and provided a base to make a craft foam pattern for the leather I planned to use for the rest of the boot.
Since the mockup was a success, I hit up Tandy Leather for a couple of lovely bright red lambskins; I didn't want anything sturdier, since I would be hand stitching everything with a leather needle and didn't want to murder my wrists. However, this brilliant idea crashed and burned, because the lambskin I used wasn't strong enough to handle any strain at all, and ripped irreparably before I got a quarter of the way through my first boot. At least I hadn't printed my shoe soles yet, so I still have the Semiflex to play with in the future.
I also tried to make the gloves with leather, since I was buying it for the boots anyway and bought a pattern that should have worked. However, I had the same issue with the leather tearing, and the pattern was absolutely terrible. I'm ashamed to say that three lambs died for naught for me to make this costume.
Here, have some more shots from my photo shoot with Shintaro Design!
Finally, always remember - no one steals my flerken cat! (This photo taken by my husband Matt Schott.)
First, because I love the pictures too much not to showcase them - here are my finished photos alongside reference shots! All three photos and Photoshop skills on the middle photo by Shintaro Maeda of Shintaro Design. (The first photo was taken with magical devices called gels, and no Photoshop was used, per contest rules.)
Just for fun, I also got scanned with a 3D scanner, so here's a full 360 degree view of the costume!
Part I: The Bodysuit
I had help from a friend to draft the bodysuit pattern to my exact measurements, then took over the design process and meticulously measured out the details. Because of where the lines lie on the main pattern, some of the pieces are smaller than a finger, but well worth the effort. Each piece of the pattern was cut out and carefully labeled, including a directional arrow so I could match up the grain of the fabric precisely. I used a silver gel pen to mark all the pattern pieces on the back of the fabric, since using chalk would have required me to press on the spandex, which could have stretched it out of position. If you're curious about the materials I used, I have them all linked on my Pinterest. (Why this photo is upside down, only the internet gremlins know.)
Sewing the bodysuit was a challenge, because the spandex was very slightly ribbed on one side. It grabbed and wouldn't slide in one direction, but slipped easily going the opposite direction, so I had to pin it within an inch of its life. I used a walking foot and jersey needle to ease the way. The two things I'm the most proud of, sewing-wise, are the piping (I've never done piping on a costume before, and this is spandex piping, which is extra finicky!) and how smooth and straight the zipper ended up. Faced with sewing a stretch fabric to a non-stretch zipper, I had an epiphany. I grabbed some of the tearaway interfacing I use for my embroidery machine, sandwiched everything together, stitched it, and tore out the paper, and it's the prettiest darned spandex zipper I've ever made. I'll never use any other technique for it again. (Apologies again for the tilted photos, they were uploaded vertically, I swear...)
Another particular set of things to point out, if you'll excuse the pun, are the points on the star emblem. I had difficulty getting the angles at each point exactly right using the sewing machine, so I hand-stitched the points of every angle in the star.
Part II: The Gloves
The gloves were a big challenge compared to the suit. Not only did I have to be spot on with my seams regardless of the spandex ridges, I had to be very precise in the measurements I used to make the pattern, or the gloves would look floppy and sloppy or cut off my circulation. I started out by tracing my arm and worked from there; the gloves you see in the photos here are the third iteration of the pattern. (The other pieces in the photo below are the tops of the sleeves.)
Adding studs to the gloves posed a problem, because if the spandex stretched too much the studs would pop out, and the studs attached via prongs which could cause unsightly snags on the spandex. To make everything work I carefully attached the studs in the appropriate spots, then topstitched a piece of Peltex stabilizer not much wider than the studs to the inside of the glove. The Peltex keeps the spandex from stretching on the top side, and protects the other side of the glove (and my arm) from being scratched by the stud prongs.
Part III: The Pin
I'm rather proud of the pin, because I created it completely from scratch, starting with the 3D model. I'm not much of a 3D designer (unlike my husband, who creates crazy complex things), so it took me quite a long time to get it right, but the basic shape came out very nicely. I used drywall compound to smooth out the ridges, sanded everything smooth, spray painted it, and super glued a pin to the back.
Part IV: The Boots
The boots are ones that I found on clearance. However, the boots I bought were brown, not red! The original, unaltered boot is on the right side of the photo below. The boot on the left has been carefully scrubbed with cotton squares soaked in acetone to remove the finish and make the boots more receptive to paint. I used Nu-Life crimson spraypaint after carefully taping off the soles and zippers. I used the same studs on the boots as I did on the gloves, and glued dots of leather behind each stud on the inside of the boot to keep the stud prongs from damaging the legs of my suit.
Part V: Hair and Makeup
The only reason anyone will ever see me in makeup is if I'm getting married or I'm in costume, and I hired someone for my wedding makeup. Fortunately, I have friends who know what's what, so I was able to turn a bag of mysterious liquids and powders into a decent excuse for a photogenic superhero. Foundation, liquid eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, brow pencil, powder, blush, and lipstick were all things I had to practice applying a few times before I really got the hang of it.
I have very fine hair, so the "floof" of a flying superhero's hair took some work to achieve. I got my hair cut in layers to help, and also used a heat activated hair thickener that involved spritzing wet hair with product, flipping my head over, and blow drying my hair until it was difficult to stand up properly. Worth it in the long run, though!
Bloopers
When I first started planning this costume, I had grandiose ideas of building everything literally from the ground up, starting with my boots. I found a free 3D model of a shoe sole, then discovered an exciting 3D printing filament called Semiflex, which has the approximate elasticity of a shoe sole. I printed a mockup out of ABS (since the Semiflex is $52 per spool plus shipping, and each spool only has enough to print one sole), which allowed me to make sure it would fit my foot properly and provided a base to make a craft foam pattern for the leather I planned to use for the rest of the boot.
Since the mockup was a success, I hit up Tandy Leather for a couple of lovely bright red lambskins; I didn't want anything sturdier, since I would be hand stitching everything with a leather needle and didn't want to murder my wrists. However, this brilliant idea crashed and burned, because the lambskin I used wasn't strong enough to handle any strain at all, and ripped irreparably before I got a quarter of the way through my first boot. At least I hadn't printed my shoe soles yet, so I still have the Semiflex to play with in the future.
I also tried to make the gloves with leather, since I was buying it for the boots anyway and bought a pattern that should have worked. However, I had the same issue with the leather tearing, and the pattern was absolutely terrible. I'm ashamed to say that three lambs died for naught for me to make this costume.
Here, have some more shots from my photo shoot with Shintaro Design!
Finally, always remember - no one steals my flerken cat! (This photo taken by my husband Matt Schott.)
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