Hit-Girl costume build ( Kick-Ass )

[Bigdaddy]

I'm editing this post to enter the 2012 costume contest

My daughter wanted to be Hit-girl this year, I was going to get an off the shelf costume but luckily I found the RPF while seaching the web! This is my 1st attempt to put together a costume myself that replicates a film. Previously I've done costumes that are more generic like "Troll" or "Dark Elf" that allow more "artistic license". The biggest challenge was probably time, I work in farming so this is a VERY busy time of year, maintaining accuracy was mostly challenged by money, as hit-girl's base suit is pretty expensive to purchase or make from leather (next year! ) The aspect I'm proudest of is probably the kilt,finding the right tartan in real wool, it was tempting to just cut the skirt short, my daughter would have been happy with that, but I really wanted to try making it, and I think it turned out great. (despite the dark dye job :facepalm) The only advice I can offer is if you need tips, search the RPF!!!:lol
Thanks for looking and good luck everyone, Happy Halloween! :cheers


I am new to the forum (any forum lol) and looking for some advice from more experienced costumers. I am building a Hit-girl costume for my daughter this year. I have the components together but the skirt is the tough part for me. I found a vintage women’s skirt, 100% Pendleton wool in the Drummond Grey tartan. Now I have to dye it purple before making alterations, however I have never dyed anything before and am concerned I am going to ruin it! I was going to go with Rit dye as it is widely available, but it comes in powder and liquid, also because I’m dealing with wool there is a shrinkage (I was in the POOL! LOL) factor to consider. I’m also debating whether to alter the skirt, or attempt to take it apart and rebuild it into a kilt, it’s a little more than twice as long as needed, so I could split and splice to get a piece that goes around her waist twice plus some. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks everybody.

 

[Maeloke]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

You know, if you're willing to do stuff like structural alterations, you may be better off just starting with fresh fabric in the right color. At the point you're spending hours hemming and dying a vintage piece, you might be better off just making a new one.

Just a thought, of course...

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

I checked into it and the correct tartan is not available in purple, also a peice of real wool in drummond grey is pretty pricey, well over $150 with shipping and would still need dyeing, as well as sewing the pleats in and hemming the kilt. So I assumed I'd have hours invested, but I have more time than money at this point!

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

This is a pic of the skirt I'm working with

 

[Freya Willia]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Rit dye is probably fine but if I were you I'd just use silk dye. The color you see diluted is exactly the stain/hue you will get. Wool is a protein fiber so it should work. Dye it, rinse, iron a couple of times, it should set fine.

Edit: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/10503535-AA.shtml?lnav=dyes.html

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Thanks Freya, can the silk stain be used with a cold water? I have seen the result of my sister washing a sweater in hot and it came out toddler size!

 

[MaulWalker]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Check Dharma Trading Dharma Trading Co. Homepage for silk dyes and cold water dyeing instructions. Wool shrinks when it is subject to wide temperature changes. Gradual temperature changes help prevent shrinking.

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Thanks MaulWalker, I think I'll dye the skirt 1st, and if there is shrinkage, I can still adjust the skirt size for her, if I don't get much shrinkage then I'll proceed with disassembly and construct the kilt.
P.S. Love you signature line!

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

some accessories before making any alterations

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

The pistols, holsters, suspenders and pistol belt. The suspendes are LC-1, I don't know if they are exact, but I couldn't detect any difference from the screen shots I have. The pistols are full scale air soft 9mm style, the exact HK and Sig she used in the film were just too pricey for this year! . The holsters are not Bianchi, but have removable flaps and come pretty close, and they are ambi (wich means i get one for my 1911 after halloween :lol ).I start working on dying the skirt tomorrow.

 

[TREADEC]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Hi
I made a Hit girl costume for my daughter, and am quite proud of how it turned out,

here's a few pics, if you want advice on any parts lmk.

This is me in my Kick Ass alongside my daughter.....

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Great work Treadec, you both look awsome! Did you make her jacket and pants? Knuckle dusters are illeagal in my state so I'll either make them from foam (yuk) or cross the stateline to get some. How about the buckle? I am planning on using leather paint for the HG, but I don't have a pattern for it so I'll make one on graph paper before I start painting.
P.S. My daughter wants you to tell your daughter she looks COOL!

 

[TREADEC]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Great work Treadec, you both look awsome! Did you make her jacket and pants? Knuckle dusters are illeagal in my state so I'll either make them from foam (yuk) or cross the stateline to get some. How about the buckle? I am planning on using leather paint for the HG, but I don't have a pattern for it so I'll make one on graph paper before I start painting.
P.S. My daughter wants you to tell your daughter she looks COOL!

Thanks mate, Danielle get lots of good comments to her costume, The Jacket, pants and cape i used from the Cosplay items sold on ebay, it was passable to other groups i'm a part of in the UK, Though after a few troops the pants did tend to tear/rip SO we went to our local fabric shops. Luckily we found some identical vinyl dark purple, my wife has now made new pants from, they have better stretch to so allow for kneeling/squatting/bending down and sitting.

My wife made these...

Knuckle dusters are illigal in my country too, soo i made these from MDF wood, then used silver spray paint, look pretty real but have hardly no weight to her belt


The buckle was a challenge at first, I found a set of 3 photo frame 5 1/2 inch X 3 incch size with a brass surround, glass cover.Used black card over grey card to give the HG letters made them look 3D.

You can also see in the pic below i used baby pink vinyl material for the belt 3inch wide, i used plumbers tube for the pipe bomb, with 22mm end caps pushed on, primed grey sprayed pink gloss, same vinyl used for the pouches and black thread to copy stitching, connected to the belt with brass paper clips, Used ties to attach the pipe bombs to the back of the utility belt a clasp to the end of the belt to finish off...

Grenade was from ebay 99p makes sounds when pressed primed grey sprayed light yellow added the correct lettering with number decals.

Also for small detail i found these for the zipper as Hit Girl has one on her jacket, i used only the three ball bit not the whole zip. these were from ebay too.

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

The Jacket will go unmodified so she can use it for other than costuming, the boots aren't spot on but are much more affordable, . The brown leather is raw material for belt pouches. I'm finishing the kilt today will post pics tonight.

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Its been a crazy couple of days getting done in time for trick or treat but we made it! :lol ! I'm posting the rest of the build for the costume contest. The kilt went pretty well, but this was my 1st time dying fabric and it came out darker than I wanted it to, I cosidered trying to lighten it with a weak bleach wash, but didn't want to damage the wool. The 1st pic in my thread is of the skirt unaltered. I havent had my sewing machine out in 8 years so my skills are "rusty"
The 1st pic is the skirt after dying and being cut to length, we counted the stripes on the tartan to get the length right I then opened the side seam on both the skirt and the cutoff, removed the bottom hem, aligned the pattern and sewed them end to end. Pic 2 is the the pleats pinned in place. Pics 3 and 4 are after I sewed the pleats then used the discarded hem to make a thin waistband, the unpleated skirt front with existing button hole ends up as the front apron.

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

Heres the pouches I did, made from purse grade cowhide, I had the leather on hand, but my hole punch broke, so all the sewing had to be done with a hammer, awl and wood block, the lacing is black nylon shoe lace the raw leather pic is posted earlier in the thread

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

I was planning on cutting the knuckle dusters from plywood and painting them, but I walked into a store a few days before the deadline and found these foam can coolers by a stroke of luck. I cut the foam handles off and painted the front with silver paint I had on hand. They are a little bulkier than the real thing but have the added benefit of being a useable prop for my daughter.
I cut the end of the belt off and inserted the cut off into the buckle (making it non-functional) and super glued it in place, rough cut and applied " H G " decals and filled in with black leather paint, then accented with silver. The closure is heavy duty velcro.
The retractable knife didn't have a sheath so I sewed one from some black buckskin, using a discarded piece of the belt for the inside to stiffen it, then added a snap.
The elbow and knee pads (pic earlier in this thread) had the excess foam cut off, decals sanded, painted over and were then gorilla taped around the edges. Then I sewed elastic lacing through the face of the plates and around the back, to reduce the appearance of straps.

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Newbie Hit-girl build, I'm dyeing!! HELP!!

The tubes are 1/2" PVC pipe, cut to 4", painted with krylon "ballet slipper", the grenade I started with was an airsoft reloader, but the same day I found the knuckledusters, I found a toy grenade with sound effects like the one TREADEC used, I painted it up, but left the pin out so she could use the sound effects while in costume .
I had a broken plastic oar from a defunct rubber raft, it unscrews in the middle, so I got a couple cheap pirate swords, removed the handles, trimmed the plastic tangs a bit, inserted them in the plastic shafts and secured with gorilla tape. It made for a safe, playable and affordable prop, which she enjoyed spinning while trick-or-treating .
The mask I made from black buckskin several years ago for a catwoman costume, she took it upon herself to replace the tie with black leather, turned it suede side out, and folded the "ear" tabs under.

 

[Bigdaddy]

Re: Bigdaddy's 2012 Halloween Costume Contest Entry

Some pics of her suiting up for trick-or-treat, I told her a lot of people might not know who Hit-girl was but the 1st house we went to, the guy opened the door and called his wife over to see Hit-girl! Totally made her night! Posting in the Gallery and proof pic when she is done with school today (she's home schooled, like Mindy! :lol )

 

[PrimoOptimoso]

Re: Bigdaddy's 2012 Halloween Costume Contest Entry

Nice! I did big daddy and hit-girl with my daughter a couple years ago and everybody enjoyed it =0)