17th July 2011: Catsuit In stage pics of the Catsuit progress. Since the fabric hood looked bumpy it was left out of the final costume and I opted to just wear the front mask part. I quite like the look with just the wig - it is tempting to cosplay like Selina just got back home and has removed the Cowl.
8th July 2011: claws finished Finished claws were then glued onto the gloves whilst wearing them to help position them exactly right, using Evostick Impact contact adhesive.
These are the finished gloves with claws attached.
8th July 2011: claws progress claws painted with acrylic silver paint.
8th July 2011: claws progress The claws were then glued onto a set of false nails with cyanoacrylate (superglue).
8th July 2011: claws I made my claws up today. Material is some thick perspex which I rescued out of a skip. First drew my pattern shapes in cardboard then put masking tape on the perspex and traced around the shapes. I cut the rough shapes out with hacksaw and then filed them down to the lines with metal working files. Once the profile shapes were cut I then filed them down into sharp pointy claws.
8th July 2011: mask Since the fabric cowl really wasnt working out I decided to just go with the face mask, along with the wig it actually looks close to the comic art somehow. I added some cat ears quickly. They are just cardboard cutouts glued on and covered with the same fabric. At least it definitely says Catwoman.
6th July 2011: cowl issues! No pics of this. Good, cuz it really isnt looking like I wanted. The solid front part looks nice and smooth, but the cloth hood part is just not sitting smooth over the wig underneath. And the wig is not bunching out from the back properly but seems more like a pony tail. Funny thing is it all looks better with just the front mask part on. Tempting to just wear it like this - if time runs out I may have to. Wondering if I should start a new cowl - one that covers the head...
10th August 2010: Catsuit construction 2 Having made the top part to fit closely I then grabbed more of the spare material and attched it on with tack stitching. I had the split seam at the back held together by the zipper temporarily tack stitched in place. So I started pulling the fabric tight and taking up all the slack with safety pins where the seams would be placed, eg down the side of the leg. I then marked along these pin lines with a pen to show where the seams would be, and then carefully cut the excess fabric off. Then I had to take some of the pins out to get the rough garment off. After a few more alterations to take in any more slack and to get the fabric to lie nicely in the curve of the back and across the bum the rough was nearly finished. (lots of taking it off, adjusting, pinning it back on etc). I finished the rough off by measuring and marking 1/2 inch from the pin lines for seam allowance, and trimmed the escess fabric down. This forms the finished rough pattern.
Now with all shapes and seams marked I diss-assembled the rough into its seperate parts. Then lay these pattern pieces onto the proper purple costume fabric, pinned and cut new streach lycra pieces out. Then I tack sewed sewed the new purple lycra pieces together and tried it on for a first fit. The costume still needed adjustments to get it crease free, and I found the lycra tricky to machine sew. It had the nasty habbit of puckering up underneath and I wasn't aware of it until the whole seam was finished - which meant unpicking it ALL the way back to the pucker and re-sewing it..Tedious! To overcome this - now I sew about every 6 inches (15cms) and stop! to have a peek underneath and check everything is still going ok ;)
10th August 2010: Catsuit construction 1 Here are some WIP pictures I took during construction of the catsuit.
This is how I made the catsuit (and also how I make a lot of my costumes)
I started off by making myself a pattern 'rough'. The rough is what it says, it is made out of any spare material lying around. Normally you should try to match fabric types eg use spare lycra if making a lycra costume etc.
So - to start I took some spare material (this yellow stuff) and started cutting the shapes to cover my dress form, just because it is easier to do it on a dress form (or a duct tape dummy) if you have that option. Basically getting the shapes down and lining up where seams need to be across the shoulders etc. The seams are pinned first and then the rough is taken off the dress form and lightly tack stitched by hand.
Pic shows the rough being 'tried on' the dress form again to make sure it still fits well.
The placement of my seamlines here was my attempt at trying to make the whole catsuit as seamless as possible yet still fit closely around the bust. (like the comic artwork). I wish the idea worked better on the finished catsuit - I might try another version with different seam placement...
6th July 2010: cowl progress Hood pattern 'rough' on wig stand ..shows it better.
3rd July 2010: cowl progress Started making a pattern for the hood part out of some spare material.
I figured the hood would probably have two seams running front to back from the face mask part, along the same lines where the cat ears will be placed later.
(Hood pattern is face down in the pic)
3rd July 2010: cowl progress Here is the view from the front.. Im really pleased how it is looking so far. :)
3rd July 2010: cowl progress Next I cut lots of slits around the eyeholes and round parts to enable the fabric to be streatched round and glued onto the inside of the mask. This worked really nicely and gave nice clean lines at all the turnovers.
I then trimmed off all the excess material. I have left an allowance around the outside of the mask. This will be used to sew the hood part onto.
Here is the view from the back so far..
3rd July 2010: cowl progress Next I started covering the mask with my costume fabric. The start point is crucial even though the fabric is streatchy ..I figured the start point had to be the bridge of the nose.
So I applied some Evostick Impact contact adhesive sparingly onto the mask and smeared it evenly using a lollipop stick so it was just a stickey surface. Then I streatched the lycra fabric over it and held in place until the glue dried. It worked without the glue seaping through to the good side of the fabric.
Moving outwrds from the centre I worked in small patches glueing the fabric onto the mask. Eventually the whole mask was covered, with no wrinkles.
3rd July 2010: Cowl progress Now working on the cowl..
I decided to make the mask part of my cowl firm so the eye shapes will not distort and so the mask will sit snug around my nose.
So I have made the front mask part by glueing two pieces of paper card which has been bent around the contours of my face and then stuck together with PVA glue. To get it to bend around my forehead I still had to cut some darts out because of the complex curves goin on.
The resulting surface after this was not smooth and round so I layered some filler/PVA mix on the forehead part. When it had dried I sanded it smooth and round.
23rd June 2010: Boot toppings Ta-Da! One nifty pair of fitted thigh high boots. ^_^
23rd June 2010: Boot toppings Step 3 - lay boot topping flat, mark along the tack stitching with chalk, pin the fabric either side so it cant move, then remove tack stitching and run through sewing machne along the marked seamline.
If you are handsewing only then dont unpick the tack stitching, just go over it more closely to make a good strong seam.
Trim excess from seam. Turn fabric back the right way round and slip shoes into the bottoms.
Finally streatch the fabric over the soles and glue in place with Evostick. Trim excess fabric off when dry.
23rd June 2010: Boot toppings Step 2 - using black streatch lycra, (turned inside out), pin up the back seam snugly fitted around leg and shoe. I like to use safety pins for this part. Then tack stitch it all.
23rd June 2010: Boot toppings I know this might be like telling granny how to suck eggs for some but it might be usefull to others who havent seen how to go about making boot toppings yet..
Here are wip pics how I made my thigh highs.
Step 1 - My donor shoes. Cheap off eBy. Colour doesnt matter cuz they are going to be completely covered.. So long as they are comfy and a good fit.
ryaoki - 1st August 2009 SEXY MCBRUMMIE lookin awsome as usual budd
Anonymous - 1st August 2009 Awesome. Though I do expect you to enter expo via the ceiling when wearing this!
Ranma1-2 - 1st August 2009
Thanks guys ^_^
Ailsa-chan, you must be joking!..I'm high enough just on these heels. =P
No thanks - 1st August 2009
Looking great hun,regardless of these messy seams that i can't see!
Looking foward to seeing this one finished too C:
will you have the whip? ;3
Ranma1-2 - 1st August 2009
Thanks Charlotte. Narr trust me the seams are untidy in real life ^^. The Lycra material keeps puckering under the sewing machine presser foot.
Oh yes already have a whip. ^_^
FairyPorchQueen - 1st August 2009 Looking goooooooooooood!
Ranma1-2 - 2nd August 2009 Thanks Athena. Us Gotham City 'bad' girls gotta team up for some pics sometime. ;)
FairyPorchQueen - 2nd August 2009 Thanks ;) ohhhh we so have to it would be puuuuurrrrfect! hehe. Def gotta get one of us cattys together woop.
Captain_Marvelous - 2nd August 2009 Awesome! I love classic CW you look really good so far, this has to be for DC group :) I didnt think this many people liked DC stuff, specially on a Cosplay site thats mainly grounded in anime :)
Ranma1-2 - 2nd August 2009
Yep planned for the DC group. :)
Anime might be the mainstay of cosplay but there are so many other things that are really exciting to do also.
No thanks - 3rd August 2009
Ah yeah, Lycra is a bit of a pain OTL *just broke my sewing machien more trying*
xD
And woot for whip! <3 :D
Manga Girl - 9th August 2009 I <3 Catwoman! The costume looks fantastic! Really looking forward to seeing it :D
Ranma1-2 - 10th August 2009 Thanks Manga Girl. ^^
Sillabub - 19th August 2009
Have I told you how intensely jealous I am of your legs?! XD
Thanks for the comment on Ginrei too :)
Ranma1-2 - 20th August 2009 Personally I think my legs are a lil on the skinny side ^__^ I like yours better. Shall we swap? =P
Captain_Marvelous - 23rd March 2010 Do this :) please do this :) we need you in the DC group ^,^
Ranma1-2 - 23rd March 2010 Ok the date is in..LFCC it is. :D
ryaoki - 23rd June 2010 i love the tutorial man, i really need help with boot covers atm and this helps alot, i stil think we should have a cosplay day sometime!
ryaoki - 23rd June 2010 oh possibly, if your going to the thought double cosplay thing in brum we can do some cosplay there bud! get on with our own thing in the corner LOL
Captain_Marvelous - 23rd June 2010 Meow! does this sudden boot making means your doing this for LFCC? :P
jaks-kingdom-dwarf - 23rd June 2010 This is awsome i love it :D
Ranma1-2 - 23rd June 2010
Reiss - Oh Im glad if it helps. :)
tbh I was put off the Brum cosplay event - I looked at the website and it seemed to be saying "This is for young people". So I dont want to crash that party and upset the organisers. But we can still go out up town sometime.
Ryuk - Actually the boots were done a while ago, I just hadnt uploaded the wip pictures. So I put them in to help anyone who wants to see how I put them together.
But I have got back to work on the Catwoman cos, working on the cowl at the mo ..I want to make sure I have a finished costume this time (!) So what Im doing is finish Catwoman as she is nearly complete. Then I will work on Star Saphire. If SS gets finished as well Im stuck for choice, but since Gracey is doing her Star Saphire for LFCC I dunno..Im feeling Catwoman. Is that ok?
I can always do Star Saphire another time - when you are doing Green Lantern again maybe.. XD
jaks-kingdom-dwarf - Thanks :)
Amy-Lou - 23rd June 2010
Spread the magic of boot covers!
I love this version of Catwoman, you are going to look great!
Captain_Marvelous - 23rd June 2010 Oct expo me and Faye are doing Hal Jordan and Arisia *Green Lanterns* :) shame really :) you would have looked really imposing on stage :P rawr! but catwomans is gonna look rad! yeah I made sure I had captain marvel finished before I did superman.
Ranma1-2 - 23rd June 2010 Amy-Lou - lol, yeah boot toppings rule :P Also they are Cheap XD
Ranma1-2 - 23rd June 2010 Ryuk - Nawwww. :/
ryaoki - 29th June 2010
GRAND MASTER STEYVEEEEEEEE
I NEEDYOUR BRAINS.... or just a tutorial(full one) on how you made your booty covers THERE AMAAZINGGGGGGGGGGGG
Ranma1-2 - 29th June 2010
Ok. ^_^
Thigh boot toppings, tutorial..
1. First off I used streatch lycra. 4 way streatch is the best - if you can, get it. If you can't.. make sure you use the fabric with its streatchiness going width ways around the shape of your leg.
2. Put your donor shoes on. I also put some sellotape temporarily around the stilletto heels to protect the fabric during the process cuz the my heels had rough edges where the hard plastic had worn..
3. Turn the fabric inside out so the good side is against you and wrap it around your leg so the seam will be at the back.
4. Start pinning down the rear seam using safety pins. Streatch the material just enough to look smooth and wrinkle free on your leg. Continue pinning all the way down the back of the leg and shoe heel, then pull the fabric around the foot and pin it up the inside of the heel and under the arch too. But don't pin under the sole, leave that open for now..
5. Ease your foot out of the shoe and remove your leg out of the pinned boot topping. The shoe will be left behind inside the topping, partially trapped at the heel.
- LEAVE the topping still inside out, until step 15 -
6. Now with the topping free of your body it is possible to turn the shoe out through the bottom hole which is still left in the sole (thats why you don't pin the sole). The stilleto heel will slide out easily by rolling whole the shoe forward.
7. With the shoe now removed, lay the topping fabric flat and draw a chalk seam line accuratey following the line made by the safety pins.
8. Tack stitch along this line, removing the safety pins as you go.
9. Now we are ready for a test fit.. Replace the shoe back through the bottom hole by threading the stilletto heel around and into its position first and then pushing the rest of the shoe up. This should be like simply a reverse of how you removed the shoe..
10. Try the boot toppings on again to make sure it fits snugly everywhere. Make any adjustments if is neccesary.
Note: Depending how much streatch your lycra has the problem area will be the ankle, but take it gently and it should have enough streatch for your foot to ease around the narrowest part and into the shoe.
11. Test fitting over, Remove boot topping off your leg as before.
12. Remove shoe from topping as before..
13. Now we are sure of the correct fit we can make the main back seam permenant. If you wish to leave the tack stitching in then just go over it with the sewing machine.. But for neatness I used dress pins to pin along both sides of the tacked seam line so I could then unpick the tack stitching, and then run it through the sewing machine.
14. With the main rear seam now complete trim off the excess, leaving just a small seam allowance.
15. - Now it is Time to turn the topping the right way around -
16. With the topping the right around and the good side now on the outside, replace the shoe through the bottom hole as you did before, sliding the heel in first and rolling ths shoe into position.
17. Pull the fabric over the sole for a dry run to make sure everything is still looking good to go to the final glueing stage.
18. Using Evostick adhesive apply glue sparingly onto a short length (eg 5cm) of the side of the shoe sole, streatch the fabric over and hold in position whilst the glue dries. Work your way in small sections until the toppings are glued all around the outer edges of the sole.
Note: Before glueing make sure to clean off any polish from the surface of the shoe where glue is to be applied, white spirit should remove it effectively.
Note: My donor shoes had at least 1cm platform sole so it was easy to glue onto. If your sole is very thin you will have to either glue onto the lower edge of the shoe itself and trim, or otherwise you will have to fix the fabric on the bottom of the sole - (I personally don't like the idea of fixing the fabric onto the bottom of the soles because of the slip hazzard.)
19. Trim off the excess material which is overhanging from the edges of the soles.
20. Try the new thighboots on for size. Then turnover the tops and hem them as desired.
Hope that explains. If you have any questions though just ask..
ryaoki - 29th June 2010 i actually love you.... that is all
Ranma1-2 - 29th June 2010
Oh good sounds like you can run with your project now.. ^_^
Sad note folks.. I can't actually make it LFCC :( (Dayum, double booked with holiday!!) - so not sure when Catwoman will debut now..
Fables - 6th July 2010
You sir, have broken a young girls heart ;__;
When you decide on a new debut for Catwoman you have to tell me and Luke so we can be there! <3
Ranma1-2 - 7th July 2010
Awww sorry. :/ I really wanted to be there with you..I even tried sweet talking baby into missing a day out of our holiday.. but no use. Instead I'm coming up to Thought bubble Con and no double booking this time! I'm guessing you will all preferr to see Star Saphire if she is finished though. If she is not ready then I will do Catwoman. Or I might do Catwoman for Memorabilia..
Cheer up babes, we WILL meet up someday, and you will still have a Fab time at LFCC cuz of everyone else thats going. :)
GraceyDarling - 14th July 2010 amazing tutorial so helpful i need to try this out! such a shame you cant come to lfcc, hopefully ill get to meet you at expo! x
Ranma1-2 - 14th July 2010
Yes likewise, I hope to meet you at Expo Gracey ^_^
The boot topping tutorial above has now been re edited containing the wip pictures, in the Articles section if you want to have a look. I love Cos Island community for sharing and helping one another, so I'm glad people find my lil bits helpful too. :)
Captain_Marvelous - 3rd October 2010 I shall equip this costume to my batman when its done!
Ranma1-2 - 3rd October 2010 You know I have sharp claws!? Better make sure you use your 'claws-proof' version Batsuit. :P - Catwoman is so fickle, she just CAN'T be trusted. Oh and watch out for her whip too. :D
Captain_Marvelous - 3rd October 2010 Hahah she can be trusted now :P ever since Zatanna didddled with her mind XD she is all heroic and person saving now lol she is less than happy about it :P but batman is to dead to do anything about it...but not for long :P
Anonymous - 23rd April 2011 My goodness, your journal is the most helpful thing ever!
Ranma1-2 - 25th April 2011 Thanks r0cket. I hoped they would help people. :)
DrunkleyCP - 17th June 2011 Can't wait to see this!!! And to meet u finally :-D
Ranma1-2 - 18th June 2011
The costume is a bit rough up close - seams are really untidy..so I was hoping to do a re-make. Thats if I have enough time. Otherwise I will have to wear it as is. Oh and I need to make claws for gloves...
Yep hope to meet you at LFCC. :)
FuriePhoenix - 6th July 2011 progress looks great (even if you say the seams are untidy!) Hope to see this in person at LFCC!
Ranma1-2 - 6th July 2011
FuriePhoenix - I have been steadily unpicking and then resewing all the bad bits - where fabric had creased over and sewed togehter that way. Had to completely remove the zip as it was the worst problem area. So the costume will pass close inspection. ^_^
Also working on the claws.
If you are there on Sat you should defo get to see it. Come and say hi. :)
WarriorTeddy - 6th July 2011 Looks very good, will keep an eye out for you on Saturday. Oh and I hope the cowl works out
Ranma1-2 - 8th July 2011 Thanks. Hmmm cowl hasnt worked out actually.. I will be wearing just the front piece like a mask instead because it looks better like that for some reason. At least the costume is wearable, and I have some time to work on it tomorrow too - I think finish the claws.. maybe add some cat ears to the mask..
Wyrdsister - 11th July 2011 Loved Catwoman! I got a crappy pic if you want it, congrats on the win too :)
Ranma1-2 - 11th July 2011
Thanks. :) Pic - yeeeeees please..I havent got any pics from the show at all yet.
Soooo nice to meet you again and thanks for the lovely hugs ^_^
Wyrdsister - 11th July 2011 I love lovely hugs, so it's no hardship! PM me your email and send it you! It's not great though!
Newdles - 11th July 2011
Saw you in this on Saturday - awesome stuff! My mum says you should eat more though :-P
Great costume!!!
Ranma1-2 - 11th July 2011
Wyrdsister - Ok will PM ^_^
Newdles - Thank you. My mum says the same..I tried eating more - honestly, nothing happens. :)
Inuyoku - 11th July 2011 Gutted I didn't see this at lfcc, don't know how I didn't manage to run into you! You looked great in all the pics I've seen though!
Ranma1-2 - 11th July 2011 Inuyoku - Aww shame I didnt see you on Sat at LFCC :( I did catch Ryan and Grace near the masquerade stage. Mainly I was hanging around near the back of the hall where there was a lot of space, which was good for photos. Although it was swealtering ..even in just a thin layer of lycra! Im sure Catwoman will return.. :)
JustPeachy - 11th July 2011 I wish I had seen this in person!! You look amazing and I love the detail of the claws :D
Ranma1-2 - 11th July 2011 kawaii_princess - Thanks. Yep claws were my favourite part too cuz they kinda work when you flick them out. Great for posing in pics too. :)
DuskatNight - 11th July 2011 Catwomaaaann. <3 It looks awesome! You really pulled it off well!
Eloraborealis - 11th July 2011 You looked absolutely amazing, as always! :D
Nomes - 11th July 2011 Well done in the masquerade. I'm not suprised you placed. This is amazing.
Ranma1-2 - 11th July 2011 Thanks guys. ^_^
Athora.x - 11th July 2011
I saw you on stage at lfcc, you looked SO amazing and hot!!
i was trying to look out for you all weekend i couldn't find you! D': I've always wanted to meet you! xD xxxx
Ranma1-2 - 11th July 2011
Thanks Athora.x ^_^
Aww maybe next time. I think London Expo in Oct is next event for me.
Wyrdsister - 11th July 2011 I had no doubt you'd place either! You rock :)
Anonymous - 12th July 2011 Superb work!
Ranma1-2 - 13th July 2011
Aww thank you guys. ^_^
Now I have some pics I can see how the entire cosplay looked.. I think my makeup wasnt brill..but then I was rushing and the lighting inside was pretty bad. I need to do some serious makeup sessions to build up my speed and figure what works best.
Quinzel - 13th July 2011 Saw you in the masquerade on Sat - you looked fantastic :). This came together really well.
Ranma1-2 - 13th July 2011 Thanks Quinzel. :)
Captain_Marvelous - 13th July 2011 THIS! is how its done!
Sephirayne - 13th July 2011 Wow! You looked amazing in this. Loved the claws.
FusionRose - 13th July 2011 You make such an awesome catwoman! Gorgeous <3 x.
Lozzie - 13th July 2011 absolutely bloody gorgeous as usual!!!
Ranma1-2 - 14th July 2011 Aww you guys ^_^ Thanks for the lovely comments.
Anime_Angel - 14th July 2011
woh you did well on that one^__^ the Claws are legendary, you should make commisions because you do make great stuff like that^__^
also you coming to Manchester Expo? I'll be a Gothic lolita there^_^
Zelda - 17th July 2011 You looked absolutely stunning. . and dat butt <3
Ranma1-2 - 17th July 2011 Thanks Tif. ^_^
Captain_Marvelous - 21st October 2011 And this batmans upset I dont have a sexy catwoman :(
Ranma1-2 - 22nd October 2011 Awww. .. no Catwoman in the group!? This isnt right..
Ranma1-2 - 25th October 2011 Ok its a definite now. Catwoman will be on the prowl Sunday am with you guys. (pm I have to swap for masqeurade cos)
Captain_Marvelous - 25th October 2011 Batmans going to be on the hunt! XD we have a mini group now! ivy, penguin, quinn and isley!
Manga Girl - 25th October 2011 I really missed seeing this at LFCC so I can't wait to see it this weekend!! :D
Ranma1-2 - 26th October 2011
Yeah Batman group ftw. :D
Harriett hope you ctach me this time then. :P
DrunkleyCP - 2nd November 2011 Was awesome finally getting to meet you :) Love this!!!
Anonymous - 5th November 2011
I saw you at expo too!
You looked amazing, it's really rare to see someone do the purple Catwoman & you rocked it 8D
Ranma1-2 - 5th November 2011 Aww thanks. :)
Anonymous - 5th March 2012
hay, sorry to spam and I dunno if you're planning on doing this costume (which is epic btw!!! the purple suit was always my fav version of miss Cat) to May expo but there's a Batman/DC meet up on Saturday and it'd be awesome if you could come??
http://www.cosplayisland.co.uk/forum?c=showthread&ThreadID=7143
if you know anyone else that might be going that'd be interested please direct them to the forum post. Thanks!