The next stage in my Daredevil odyssey: the sleeves!
Whilst I waited for the black thread that I'd ordered to arrive, I started working on the red portions of the sleeves. You know the routine by now... cut the patterns out of fabric, fold and finish the edges, then sew the pieces together. The black stripe is layered behind the red fabric, so I could also sew this into place.
After a day's wait, my thread arrived and I could assemble the bottom halves of the sleeves (including the 5 inch wrist zips!)
The elbow pads were a little trickier and took a lot more patience when trying to finish the curved seams! Once done, however, I pinned them into place and sewed them onto the back of the forearms. Not exactly my neatest work, but I'm happy with the results nonetheless.
I then sewed the top and bottom halves of the sleeves together. You'll notice that I left a 10mm seam allowance along the tops and down the sides to help with assembly.
After lining the sleeves with cotton, I folded them over and sewed along the side seam before turning them inside out with GREAT DIFFICULTY!!
At this point, I realised my mistake - there is absolutely no 'give' in this fabric whatsoever! I can't move my elbows!😠To rectify this, I had to buy some spandex and replace the back of the elbows. I'm kind of annoyed that it sacrifices the textured look of the canvas, but at least I can actually move in the suit now!
At this point, I realised my mistake - there is absolutely no 'give' in this fabric whatsoever! I can't move my elbows!😠To rectify this, I had to buy some spandex and replace the back of the elbows. I'm kind of annoyed that it sacrifices the textured look of the canvas, but at least I can actually move in the suit now!
When it came to attaching the sleeves to the undershirt, I soon realised that this would've been much easier if the pieces were still flat! After inserting the sleeve's top seam into the arm hole (lining up the black bicep stripe with the black shoulder stripe) I hot glued the sleeve into place.
Don't look at me like that - that's right, I see you rolling your eyes! But I actually have a valid(ish) excuse for using such a primitive method of attachment. Since the sleeves and vest have already been assembled into their rounded, 3D shapes, I couldn't figure out how to feed them through the sewing machine and I knew that hot glue would be a heck of a lot stronger than if I tried to sew it by hand (not to mention quicker and less rage-inducing.)
And now - aside from the belt, neck and helmet - the top half of this cosplay is complete! I'll most likely move onto the trousers next, so that the main bulk of the suit is finished before I turn my attention onto the smaller accessories.
I must admit, the sleeves aren't exactly the most comfortable things to wear but I don't mind too much because that was to be expected - I'm not making a t-shirt here, this is a superhero costume so I guess some comfort/flexibility has to be sacrificed for accuracy. 🤷♂️
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