Laughing Beauty - Metal Gear Solid 4

I was planning on completing MGS4 Raiden for Comic Con 2011, but when Konami asked me to judge their cosplay contest, I put that project down to make something I could judge in.  I chose to do Laughing Beauty because I already had usable fabric on hand, it would be something comfortable enough to judge in, and it was a costume I was already planning on doing in the future. 

This costume was made with wet look spandex and 4-way stretch vinyl.  I rush ordered custom stamps to put on all the white text and barcode detailing.  For more information on the sewing aspect, check out this blog entry.

I only had about 3 or 4 work days, so there are a number of things that were incomplete or need to be redone.  In the future, I plan on making the correct gloves, styling the wig better, and maybe even tinting the dark grey fabric to make the contrast more drastic.  Also, while all the white text is there, it isn't as clean as I'd like and I plan on redoing it.  For the time crunch, I am happy with it!

Photos by Eric Ng and Mike Rollerson

Making Bodysuits

I get a number of questions on making bodysuits with stretchy materials, so I thought I'd write up a little guide.

1. Make sure you use a stretch stitch!  It allows the seams to stretch without the thread breaking, and it isn't distracting as a top stitch if needed.  Here's my favorite stitch to use:

2. Always use 4-way stretch fabric on every part of the suit!  If you don't some parts could be too tight once fitted, or wrinkle strangely.  Also keep in mind that when sewing a lot of foam pieces on top of a base suit, the suit may become tighter.

3. Invest in a walking foot.  It moves the top and bottom pieces of fabric together, which reduces puckering in stretchy fabrics and vinyl.  It also is fine to use on non-stretch fabrics.

4. For a pattern, I use a zentai suit that I took apart.  If you use this method, use a zentai suit that's a touch larger than needed in case the fabric you use isn't quite as stretchy.

5. If you want to use a mesh overlay, all you have to do is cut the mesh out of the same pattern.  Make sure it's 4-way stretch, or you may not be able to put on your suit!  If you want, you can sew the edges of the mesh and spandex together before putting the suit together, but I find it's not usually necessary.

6.Before adding anything on top of your base suit, make sure you fit it first.

7. If you want raised/padded portions such as on the Old Snake costume, all you need to do is cut the same size of a thin piece of foam and fabric to cover it with, and just top stitch the fabric around the foam onto the suit.  Make sure the fabric is pulled tight!  If you do the reverse of this (foam and fabric on the inside of the suit) you can make a really clean looking muscle suit.  I use the thinnest green foam found at JoAnn's.

Swimsuit Selvaria

I made this costume for Anime Conji 2011. Swimsuit cosplay isn't my normal thing, but the convention is so small and is just hanging out with friends, so I didn't want to wear anything too complicated or uncomfortable. It worked out perfectly and I was able to comfortably wear it the whole day, except for needing a light jacket at night.

This is obviously nothing spectacular construction-wise. It's essentially a heavily modified bikini with an added bolero, and a holster which only made it into one photo because the knife and gun made it too heavy to walk around in.