arkham666
New Member
I stumbled across this forum while looking for a noir spiderman costume to wear for halloween this year. I was very impressed with joshspiderman23's creation and joined up to contact him about how to go about making one of my own. We've since been in regular contact and with his help I'm almost there. So I'll take it from the top.
Mask version 1
At joshspiderman23's suggestion I acquired a black lycra mask face mask to use for this from a supplier on ebay. This cost me about £15
The aviator style biker goggles were also relatively easy to find on ebay and cost me £6.99 from Helmet_UK.
One problem I had with this set up is that when I breathed in the mask it steamed up the goggles. Josh suggested that when worn with a face shell and when the stitching was added to the mask this was no longer a problem.
The Sweater
I found this in a charity shop for £4. No problems there. There are also similar ones available on ebay if you have the time to search
The Biker Waistcoat
Ok as I was making this myself and have little to no experience making clothes I took it step by step. This began life as the kwik sew jeans jacket pattern which can e purchased on numerous websites or in sewing shops. Mine set me back £8.93 from sewessential.co.uk.
I first mounted the pattern onto sturdy paper and cut and pinned it together exactly as instructed. Th front has 3 panels and a pocket not necessary for the final piece but I followed the instructions to the letter to start.
Once assembled I (very carefully) put it on and was able to measure what I'd need extra to create the double breasted look and added the extra width to the front panels of the jacket. Then I took the paper mock apart but kept the front piece as a single panel.
Phase 2 was a mock made out of cheap fabric I bought at the market. Spent about £6 on 3 meters.
Phase 3 was creating the jacket from faux leather. It's now fully pinned together and just awaiting a day when I get access to my mums sewing machine. The faux leather cost £3.99 per meter and I purchased 2 meters so £7.98.
Mask version 2
Always be patient. When attempting to sew the stitched pattern into the lycra mask I damage it creating several holes which were to big and quite visible when the mask was stretched over my head. Faced with buying a new mask I decided to opt for a second approach. I new I'd have some spare leather so I figured why not try and make the mask out of it. The comic mask is made in two parts. A leather top and a fabric bottom. I found this pattern for an aviator style hood.
Now there was a lot of aches and pains making the top portion of the mask. Phase 1 just used a cut up tshirt. Using the pattern created a mask far too large which looked more like an executioners hood. I trimmed and cut and finally got this....
But remember kids leather isn't form fitting like cotton fabric and I had to resize the side panels several times to get it right. It's probably worth looking into how to measure your head and take correct measurements before making it. But it's done and looks fine now.
I also added a strap to the top portion to help pull it tight over my head to give it a better shape. It looks fine even without a face shell.
I then purchased a balaclava from a hiking store £3.99. I cut the top off and sewed it together.
A final note here as that as the balaclava material is more breathable than lycra there are no steaming issues with the goggles unless I exhale very hard through my nose.
And that's pretty much where I'm at now. My dad has also kindly cut a wooden spider symbol of the right size for me which I'll then use to create a mould to make a silicone spider for the back. So I need to sew the jacket together and that's really the work done. I just need black leather gloves, some brown combat trousers and the boots (though I already have some boots they're just not quite as high.)
Mask version 1
At joshspiderman23's suggestion I acquired a black lycra mask face mask to use for this from a supplier on ebay. This cost me about £15
The aviator style biker goggles were also relatively easy to find on ebay and cost me £6.99 from Helmet_UK.
One problem I had with this set up is that when I breathed in the mask it steamed up the goggles. Josh suggested that when worn with a face shell and when the stitching was added to the mask this was no longer a problem.
The Sweater
I found this in a charity shop for £4. No problems there. There are also similar ones available on ebay if you have the time to search
The Biker Waistcoat
Ok as I was making this myself and have little to no experience making clothes I took it step by step. This began life as the kwik sew jeans jacket pattern which can e purchased on numerous websites or in sewing shops. Mine set me back £8.93 from sewessential.co.uk.
I first mounted the pattern onto sturdy paper and cut and pinned it together exactly as instructed. Th front has 3 panels and a pocket not necessary for the final piece but I followed the instructions to the letter to start.
Once assembled I (very carefully) put it on and was able to measure what I'd need extra to create the double breasted look and added the extra width to the front panels of the jacket. Then I took the paper mock apart but kept the front piece as a single panel.
Phase 2 was a mock made out of cheap fabric I bought at the market. Spent about £6 on 3 meters.
Phase 3 was creating the jacket from faux leather. It's now fully pinned together and just awaiting a day when I get access to my mums sewing machine. The faux leather cost £3.99 per meter and I purchased 2 meters so £7.98.
Mask version 2
Always be patient. When attempting to sew the stitched pattern into the lycra mask I damage it creating several holes which were to big and quite visible when the mask was stretched over my head. Faced with buying a new mask I decided to opt for a second approach. I new I'd have some spare leather so I figured why not try and make the mask out of it. The comic mask is made in two parts. A leather top and a fabric bottom. I found this pattern for an aviator style hood.
Now there was a lot of aches and pains making the top portion of the mask. Phase 1 just used a cut up tshirt. Using the pattern created a mask far too large which looked more like an executioners hood. I trimmed and cut and finally got this....
But remember kids leather isn't form fitting like cotton fabric and I had to resize the side panels several times to get it right. It's probably worth looking into how to measure your head and take correct measurements before making it. But it's done and looks fine now.
I also added a strap to the top portion to help pull it tight over my head to give it a better shape. It looks fine even without a face shell.
I then purchased a balaclava from a hiking store £3.99. I cut the top off and sewed it together.
A final note here as that as the balaclava material is more breathable than lycra there are no steaming issues with the goggles unless I exhale very hard through my nose.
And that's pretty much where I'm at now. My dad has also kindly cut a wooden spider symbol of the right size for me which I'll then use to create a mould to make a silicone spider for the back. So I need to sew the jacket together and that's really the work done. I just need black leather gloves, some brown combat trousers and the boots (though I already have some boots they're just not quite as high.)
