As I type this introduction, I'm sat with a huge smile on my face because the Daredevil fabric just arrived and it looks beautiful (I know I already have the samples that I bought last week, but there's just something about having an enormous sheet of fabric laid out in front of you!😅) I can finally get started on this cosplay for real now!!
So as you know, I'm gonna be tackling the vest first because with projects like this, I prefer to start from the centre and work my way outwards. I knew that sewing by hand just wasn't going to work for this project - it would be incredibly slow and nowhere near as accurate as I need - so I was able to borrow my aunt's old sewing machine. I've never used a sewing machine in my life, so I had to watch a couple of YouTube tutorials, study the manual and spend a good few hours practising on scraps of fabric before I felt confident enough to move onto the actual suit.
Since almost every part of this suit is made from overlapping layers of fabric, rather than being sewn together at the seams, I'm going to be using a straight stitch - it's really simple but also super strong when used on flat pieces of fabric.
Since almost every part of this suit is made from overlapping layers of fabric, rather than being sewn together at the seams, I'm going to be using a straight stitch - it's really simple but also super strong when used on flat pieces of fabric.
Just to eliminate any chance of me screwing this up, I roughly painted my patterns so that I know which pieces need to be red, and which need to be black, before marking out the order in which the pieces will be layered on top of each other. Then, I began tracing each of the pieces onto fabric and cutting them out with a 10mm seam allowance.
I didn't really follow any order or plan when it came to putting everything together; I just started sewing whichever pieces of fabric fit together, like a really large and wearable jigsaw puzzle! 😁
For the abdominal area, I began by cutting out a large piece of red fabric that the armour plates will be mounted onto. After sewing up all of the edges to stop them from fraying - barring the top edge; this is what I’ll use to sew onto the chest - I began attaching the armour with contact cement. I initially tried fabric glue, but even after 48 hours the stuff hadn't just wasn't drying. 🤷♂️
(I'm still working out how best to recreate the black trim around the edges of the stomach, so I'm going to leave that for now and come back to it at a later time.)
Just like the abs, I decided to construct the chest by first using a large piece of fabric - creating a backing that everything else could be mounted onto. I first sewed this to the completed stomach, then used contact cement to attach the L-shaped armour.
The pecs were a little more challenging to attach while preserving their 3D shape. The first thing I did was glue the quarter circle-shaped pieces into place, then once the contact cement had fully set, I glued all of the edges.
The pecs were a little more challenging to attach while preserving their 3D shape. The first thing I did was glue the quarter circle-shaped pieces into place, then once the contact cement had fully set, I glued all of the edges.
With the armour and 3D shapes out of the way, assembling the rest of the vest was really easy! I just cut out each of the pieces, finished up the edges and sewed them into place.
The back of the vest involved more or less the same techniques, although it was much quicker and simpler than the front and I was able to get it finished within a couple of days! It's by no means perfect, or even symmetrical, but for my first time tailoring a garment I couldn't be happier!!
After sewing the two halves of the vest together via the shoulder straps, I sewed the zippers down either side and voila, the first part of my Daredevil cosplay is officially completed!!!
I’m so proud of how this cosplay is looking so far, I think I’ll tackle the undershirt next so that the upper half of the suit is finished before I move onto the lower half. (Side note: I was really worried that the fabric would be stiff and uncomfortable to wear due to its PVC backing, but this honestly doesn’t affect the suit as much as I thought it would. Of course, it’s not as flexible as a t-shirt or a cotton sweater, but I can still move freely in all directions!)
I'm sorry that this post ended up being so long - I just wanted to cover the entire vest in a single post and share my processes in as much detail as possible, in the hopes that they may help someone wanting to recreate this costume in the future.
Comments
Post a Comment