Speed Build - Spider-Gwen and 616 Spider-Man

[TheDarkenedElf]

So I, like many other females of the comic-reading persuasion, have fallen for Spider-Gwen. My boyfriend had been wanting to redo his Spider-Man for a long time now, so we decided this was the perfect opportunity. The date we had picked was a bit further out, but then I realized with Free Comic Book Day coming up, there was no reason not to try! (I'm pretty good at speed sewing, if I do say so myself).

I'd collected most of the fabrics and extras a while back (and a recent shopping trip to Seattle found heavy duty fabrics for Pete), including correctly soled shoes and a decent enough backpack.
I decided to go with a heavy fabric called Scuba Knit for Gwen (and Spandura for Peter), because it'll give more comfort over long wear, and a little more support.


I started with the pattern that I'd picked up - it had a lot of the things I'd wanted, like raglan sleeves, and leggings. Luckily I also have a huge stash of red lycra that I can test on. I cut out the pieces as they were and began to make new markings.
(derp faces are kinda my thing)

Then I cut the new lines out, joined some old ones together, and I think I got a workable pattern.

Stupidly, I decided to try it on rightside out, which is great for the eyes but not as great for the pattern. Please excuse any puckering, since it was a mockup I didn't clip corners, or use my serger. The real version will also have (stretch) topstitching on any seam where two colors meet, and the zipper hole will be cut true to grain to avoid that puckering (and be invisible).


With a flat photo of the back for reference.
The hood will have horsehair in it, so it'll hold that flared shape. If it ends up being too much, I can still take it in before doing the webbing (which will be puffy paint).

I'll be patterning out Peter hopefully tomorrow or the next day (using his old Iron Spider as a starting point, since it's trashed anyway), and after that it'll be on to the real deal. The boyfriend is working on the faceshells (once he can get the printer to cooperate), and I have some wigs in case those go sideways on us.

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

Whew, sorry for the radio silence. Work's been keeping me busy, and all the progress wasn't (I felt) enough to warrant a new post.

But I got all the fabrics cut out (if you wanna see how the patterns lay out, you can see those here). I've been using stretch thread for basting and topstitching, and will be using it for all zippers and gloves

They aren't lying when they say "soft like yarn" - it's soft and stretchy, but also VERY fickle, I'll have to go back in after this deadline and rip out all the top stitching and redo it (once I figure out the problem), because while with just two layers it works fine, after I serge it it does this:

Ugh. Luckily, because it IS soft like yarn, it also doesn't show any sort of rippling where it bunches, and the top still looks nice. So it will have to do for now.




Next up will be sewing and attaching the sleeves, but that and work on Peter will start tomorrow.

 

[NOMAD202]

This looks fun, great work so far!

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

This looks fun, great work so far!

Thanks! I'm pretty excited for these - both fun and comfy!

Most of my day off today was spent helping a friend (she decided to join us for FCBD, and we put together most of an X-Men Evolution Rogue from thrift stores in a few hours), but I did get the glove zippers installed.

Invisible zippers installed on the inside of each lower arm, since there had to be a seam there anyway. I still have to create new bottoms and trim the tails, but that's easy.


My biggest tip for doing zippers on anything, but especially stretch, is Wash Away Wondertape. Use it to keep the zipper from sliding, or the fabric from stretching. I also pin overtop it, just for added safety. But it gets me the cleanest alignment.

I got Peter pinned (backside in the left picture, so the colors are off. Right side is truer color). I was going to start sewing him, but it's about time to hit the hay.


The faceshells are coming along, though. Need to get more cardboard.

 

[IronJoe]

Hey! I know you!



Awesome work on this, looking incredible already. I'm super jealous of your sewing skills. Where are you planning on going for FCBD? I'll be at Atomic Comics in Tacoma, not quite sure which costume yet.

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

Hey! I know you!



Awesome work on this, looking incredible already. I'm super jealous of your sewing skills. Where are you planning on going for FCBD? I'll be at Atomic Comics in Tacoma, not quite sure which costume yet.

Oh hey, I know you too!

Thanks so much!! Still a lot of work to do, but we're getting there. We're planning on Atomic, too! Not sure when we'll show up, but I suspect we'll stick around for a bit, lol. We're also doing the midnight showing of AoU (probably also in these), at the Lakewood AMC, if you're doing that one.

We spent a fair bit of time today trying to find splatter guards that weren't like $5 each, and I admit I played a bit more Pokemon Shuffle than I should have, so I'm less far along on Gwen than I'd like. But I did make leaps and bounds with Peter!

I also found out what's been going wrong with my machine to make the thread bunch. Since I DO love the stretch thread, I thought I'd share.


My machine has these little loops above the needle. The thread HAS to be in them for the tension to be correct.


Because of how soft and stretchy the thread is, it likes to either split, or jump track entirely. When this happens, pull it out a good 12" or so, snip it from the needle, rethread and restring through the loop, and continue. Bunching problem solved. And if you can get it as soon as it derails, you can avoid major tangles.

The Peter suit looks MUCH cleaner on the inside after discovering this.

I'll be going back at some point and also redoing Gwen's topstitching to solve that problem, now that I know what's wrong.




The suit looks... Silly. Significantly less silly on a person, but I didn't snap any photos of it worn yet. But flat it just makes me laugh. I am quite proud of all the seams lining up, and all the blue is topstitched where it meets red (I stitched onto the blue so that it would have something of interest, since the red will have webbing.)

Tomorrow, for real, Gwen's sewing will be done. Then come zippers, shoes, and webbing.



Edit: Hm. Not sure how to get rid of the thumbnails I tried to delete?? Anyway, one I was lucky I didn't hurt myself on a flying needle, the other I was showing a temporary fix if the thread jumps track entirely (not splits) you can just push it back in.

 

[The New Blood]

Oh hey, I know you too!

Thanks so much!! Still a lot of work to do, but we're getting there. We're planning on Atomic, too! Not sure when we'll show up, but I suspect we'll stick around for a bit, lol. We're also doing the midnight showing of AoU (probably also in these), at the Lakewood AMC, if you're doing that one.

We spent a fair bit of time today trying to find splatter guards that weren't like $5 each, and I admit I played a bit more Pokemon Shuffle than I should have, so I'm less far along on Gwen than I'd like. But I did make leaps and bounds with Peter!

I also found out what's been going wrong with my machine to make the thread bunch. Since I DO love the stretch thread, I thought I'd share.

View attachment 468644
My machine has these little loops above the needle. The thread HAS to be in them for the tension to be correct.

View attachment 468645View attachment 468648
Because of how soft and stretchy the thread is, it likes to either split, or jump track entirely. When this happens, pull it out a good 12" or so, snip it from the needle, rethread and restring through the loop, and continue. Bunching problem solved. And if you can get it as soon as it derails, you can avoid major tangles.

The Peter suit looks MUCH cleaner on the inside after discovering this.
View attachment 468646
I'll be going back at some point and also redoing Gwen's topstitching to solve that problem, now that I know what's wrong.



View attachment 468650View attachment 468643View attachment 468652View attachment 468651
The suit looks... Silly. Significantly less silly on a person, but I didn't snap any photos of it worn yet. But flat it just makes me laugh. I am quite proud of all the seams lining up, and all the blue is topstitched where it meets red (I stitched onto the blue so that it would have something of interest, since the red will have webbing.)

Tomorrow, for real, Gwen's sewing will be done. Then come zippers, shoes, and webbing.



Edit: Hm. Not sure how to get rid of the thumbnails I tried to delete?? Anyway, one I was lucky I didn't hurt myself on a flying needle, the other I was showing a temporary fix if the thread jumps track entirely (not splits) you can just push it back in.

Honestly that looks EPIC! Wish I could make a suit like that.

 

[JuJuBean]

Hey there! I love your work so far on Spidey and Gwen! You've got some mad sewing skills! :thumbsup

FYI - You can remove the thumbnails that you don't want attached anymore by going to "Settings" and selecting "Attachments". From there, you can pick the ones you want to get rid of and delete selected at the bottom of the page.

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

Thanks so much, guys!! Not gonna lie, I was a little worried people might not like it because it isn't a subdye, lol.

Gwen is caught up to Peter! Though I forgot to put the magnet in the hood. Whoops. That's an easy fix, though.

I used a separating zipper on one side of the hood to attach it to the collar. It hides fairly well, and will hold the hood down securely.


Speaking of the hood, I used horsehair to keep it flared


And one faceshell is fully taped! The other one is in progress, then we seal them/build them up a bit.

It looks a little large on me now, but I have 4 feet of hair to get under there, plus the Gwen wig on top, so it'll fit just right.

 

[Hazmat]

These look great, I love seeing suits that aren't sub dyed. How are planning on doing the webs?

 

[The New Blood]

View attachment 468656View attachment 468657
I got Peter pinned (backside in the left picture, so the colors are off. Right side is truer color). I was going to start sewing him, but it's about time to hit the hay.

Can you post a pic of the pattern you made for the red and blue suit? If you don't mind.

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

These look great, I love seeing suits that aren't sub dyed. How are planning on doing the webs?

I'm planning on puffy paint. I'm working up the motivation to go test on some scraps now, hah hah.

Can you post a pic of the pattern you made for the red and blue suit? If you don't mind.

I don't mind at all! I thought I'd linked to them earlier, but I can post them here
I couldn't fit the red collar in this layout, and cut it out separate. But that's just a rectangle, so it's easy. We used an old zentai suit I had as the original pattern for his Iron Spider years ago, but since that was falling apart I used that suit for this pattern.

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

I think the hardest part of these costumes is the shoes, hah hah. So, for Peter we're using Tai Chi shoes (we wanted the red sole). They're significantly easier to sew than Gwen.

I'm actually leaving the full shoe inside, so that it gives a little shape (and comfort). If we turn out not to like it, I can always cut it down. There's a little bit of black showing, but since all the red gets webbing, I'm not too concerned that the final product will be noticeable.
Gwen's shoes, being stiffer, are a bit harder to sew. I also have to add the toe cap so they have that chucks look, so that makes it more difficult, too. I already sewed this one down once, but didn't like all the extra room I'd left myself, so I'm redoing it.


I should be able to finish the shoes once I get home from work, and be able to add the zipper. Hopefully I'll be able to start the webbing as well, but it depends on how long mapping it out takes, I suppose (and how tired my hands are from the shoes).


But the pepakura faceshells are coming along swimmingly! We're modifying them just slightly so that they're slightly different from each other (for instance, mine has a pointier chin, and is more narrow)


For the shading around Gwen's eyes, we're hoping a friend of mine's airbrush will cooperate with this fabric (we'll test on scrap). Otherwise I have a few other ideas, but I really like the airbrushed idea best.

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

Whooo! Excluding the masks (which I still have to pattern), the suits are totally sewn!


I'm not totally happy with the Gwen shoes, so I'll be going back and redoing those at some point.


I'm still figuring out how I'm doing the front and back spiders. I'm debating between appliqueing them on (a little nervous about because of that stretch thread issue), or using something like craft foam with puffy paint on top? If anyone has suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.
He'll also be getting a (webbing) backpack at some point in the future, but not yet.

 

[IronJoe]

Fantastic!!


For the spiders, you might try doing a DIY urethane one from a template. There's a thread on here that explains how it's done, I haven't tried it but it seems doable. I'll see if I can find you a link. Excellent work so far, I can't wait to see them in person.

 

[JD of Asgard]

looking really good! I love Spider gwen.

As far as the spiders I know there's a few other Spiderman builds on this board and I think they use a template along with that 3-D paint from Micheal's. It gets it that raised look that you see in the movies.

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

Thanks guys! I'm looking into those options now!

So the webbing is... ugh, I'm not nearly as happy with painting things as I am with sewing things, hah hah. I've been testing on the Gwen underarm, because it's the easiest to replace if I hate it.
I think the room (basement) where I was doing it was just too cold.. I let the paint sit overnight but it was still wet. I've moved it upstairs and now I'm just hoping.

(Don't worry about the white, it's chalk and will wash out with just a little water).
I'm not totally happy with it? I feel it looks uneven and sloppy. While I can live with it for Gwen, I'm anxious about it for Peter, because his webbing stands out so much. My boyfriend is trying his hand at it on some more scrap. We'll see how this goes.

Edit: Sorry, my pictures keep breaking. :\

Also, the webbing is significantly better now that it is fully dry - the basement was just way too cold. I've also decided for the spiders on Peter I'm going to use Neoprene and handstitch it on (saw that in another thread that I didn't save, like an idiot)

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

So, the puffy paint, and therefore Gwen, is almost finished. I'm doing the last bits of her hood today, then I just have to trim the wig.

I like the second arm I did a LOT better. I realized, however, that I'll have to redo them anyway at a later date. I made the rookie mistake of not checking which way the webbing loops. Hers, like Spider-Man's, loops like a frowny face. Blugh.

The Peter webbing is.. Frankly, it's a disaster. I'm not sure how some of you folks can do it so cleanly.

Some of it went wobbly, which I tried to compensate for by making thicker lines, but that just... didn't work.
So, rather than scrap the entire suit (or even the entire top, which I was so proud the red was all one piece), I'm currently removing the collar, and will be removing the front panel where the webbing ends. I'll use that to cut a new piece and sew that panel back in, and cover the stitching with hopefully much cleaner webbing. Ugh.

His may not be done for FCBD. I'm trying to convince him that Lizard-Pete would also be a fun option, but he's still mulling that over (because really, who wants to be Lizard-Pete when they were planning on being Spider-Man?)


EDIT: UPDATE: I've figured out how I'm going to do the webbing. Painting has never been my forte, but fabric IS. So instead of painting the stupid things, I'm going to essentially applique them with neoprene, so it'll still have that raised look. I think we'll be back on track for FCBD (though I maaay pull an all nighter after we get back from AoU tonight to make a duct tape dressform for him).

 

[TheDarkenedElf]

Well, it didn't go quite as planned. We've decided that for the Spider-Man suit, we're using Neoprene to make the raised webbing, but cutting all of it out will be no quick process. We gave it the old college try, but it just didn't pan out. We like the idea, though, so we'll take our time with it and finish these soon.

Gwen DID get finished


Next up is finishing the mask, as well as cleaning the white and Scotchgarding it. I'll also fix the toecaps, and possibly redo the underarms.

 

[IronJoe]

Great work, the suit looks perfect! (I can't believe we didn't run into you at Atomic, bummer!)