Mei Cosplay Tutorial: Belt Accessory (Overwatch; Chang'e Skin)

It's been a very busy week so I'm only going to go over how I made Mei's belt this week. I didn't get as many progress pictures as I'd like, but I did record most of it. I will eventually make a speed run on how to make it as well. So here goes!

I started off by making a template out of paper for the very front of it. As you can see in this photo, my template is about the width of a piece of paper. I didn't make a full scale template since the design on her belt just repeats all the way around. Once I was happy with it, I measured my waist, then added 5 inches to it. This will be for the closure in the back. I went with industrial strength Velcro to close mine, but you can also do snaps or magnets if you so choose. Copy the outline of your template, and extend it as long as you need it to be.

I made the base out of eva foam and use craft foam to do the elevated details. Cut out all the small pieces you need for the belt, then glue them down. I prefer contact cement whenever attaching eva foam or craft foam together. It has a much strong bond. But you can hot glue, mod podge, or really just about any kind of glue.

 From here, you can go one of two paths. You can use foam to add the edge detail, then seal and paint the whole thing. Or you can cover it all in fabric. I went with the fabric method because I was worried the paint would/could crack under the stress of being bent and/or it could eventually rub off onto my outfit. By using fabric to cover it, it stays flexible and no worries of bleeding! So for this, I simple used a spray adhesive to glue down the fabric. I did it in parts, little by little since the adhesive dries pretty quick. But no worries, if it dries before you press the fabric down, you can reapply and continue! If the glue isn't fully cured, you can also pull the fabric up and reposition if need be. You want to make sure the fabric is flat and smooth with no wrinkles! When you press down on the fabric, you want to press it into all the groves created from the craft foam. Starting to look cool, right?? As a side note, your fabric should have some stretch to it to make this simpler. You can probably get away with a non-stretch fabric, but I wouldn't recommend it. It wont end up being as smooth.

Sadly past this point (minus the rope thing) is when I was in con crunch time and didn't get any progress pictures because I worked on it at the hotel (yay go me!). I was also limited to the few paints I had brought with me which is why I ended up using a darker purple instead of a brownish-purple-ish color (or whatever you want to call the color of the back drop of the belt). I simply used some acrylic paint to get that second color for the background of the belt. I wasn't worried about anything cracking as it's absorbed into the fabric (versus sitting on foam). After that dried, I folded over some light blue fabric and (in a huge rush) hot glued it to the rim of the belt. Once that was done, I glued my Velcro to the edges and made sure it fit. Yay!

To make the cap piece for the rope accessory, I made it out of eva foam and then covered it in black worbla (only for extra stability). You don't need to cover it in worbla but I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to bend or get squished when I sat down. Since I was in a rush, I only made one for each end of the rope. I use wood filler to fill in any gaps or to smooth out imperfections. Then cover it plasti-dip and finally spray paint and sealer.

For the rope, I used a round insulation foam. You can find this at any hard ware store with the plumbing. Its usually black and his a slit in it (so you can wrap it around a pipe). This stuff is super flexible and cheap! I started off with closing off the foam (pull the plastic part that protects the adhesive and close it to make it one piece). Then I sewed a tube with my fabric the same width of the foam, turned it inside out, and carefully covered the foam piece. If you did it correctly, it'll fit perfectly! After that, I sewed another piece together and simply wrapped it around the whole piece. I put a tad of glue on the back side under the part that's wrapped around to help hold it in place. You can choose to glue the whole thing down if you want instead of sewing the tubes. I just feel like it's a lot cleaner over all this way.

Before securing the pieces together, I tied some string to the end of the "rope" piece and ran it through the hole at the top of the cap. Then I hot glued the "rope" into the cap piece. I tied a few knots as close to the hole of the cap as I could, then tied it to a small metal lanyard hook. On the back of the belt, I hand sewed a small loop with strong button thread (though I will probably go back and do it out of ribbon or something a bit more sturdy). This lets me hook the rope onto the belt when needed but can be separated for easy transport and storage.

And there you have it, the belt accessory! I haven't done the pouch yet. But I will do a separate write up for it when I do. I'm sad that this was super rushed but for doing it in a few hours, it came out pretty well. I will probably end up remaking it at some point. Overall I will still do the same method for everything, I will just take the time to make it neater and more precise (and use less hot glue lol). Hope you enjoyed!

~Serenity

Mei Cosplay Tutorial: Cuffs (Overwatch; Chang'e Skin)

To finish the shirt completely, we have to make the cuffs now.

 

The cuffs are pretty simple. I patterned out a basic shape using some paper. Then, I cut it out of fabric (allowing for seam allowance) and sewed the outer edge and sides together. Turn it right side out and iron it flat, giving your edges a crisper look. To give it stability, I cut out a piece of craft foam slightly smaller than the fabric.

Slide the craft foam into the cuff, making sure the seam allowance on the inside is all to one side of the foam (otherwise it will give it extra unnecessary bulk). Once its nicely tucked in there, I top stitched along the edge of the cuff. This not only adds detail to it, but helps hold the foam in place. I also did a baste stitch along the bottom opening to help sew it to the sleeve better.

 

I added my details doing the same applique technique as the rest of the shirt. You can also use fabric paint and paint the design on if you prefer. After that, I hand stitched the cuff closed. Then I sewed it to the sleeve. If your measurements are correct, it'll fit perfectly.

 

 

And with that, the shirt is complete! Next up, accessories! There's the belt, rope thing, purse, shoulder wrap..thing.. (lol?), earrings, and hair pieces! After that, we'll tackle the tank and gun.

 

~Serenity

 



Mei Cosplay Tutorial: the shirt and appliques (Overwatch; Chang'e Skin)

To begin working on Mei's shirt, I altered Simplicity pattern 2940. There wasn't to much I had to alter though. I used view B. I tweaked the length of it a little bit and altered the sleeves. All I did to the sleeves was straighten them instead of having the baggy loop (see picture below for example).

 



 

Once I got all the pieces cut out, I airbrushed the gradient needed for the sleeves and band. The color looks a bit on the lighter side in my reference pictures so I did them lighter than I did the pants. Once that was done, I followed the instructions for the pattern and sewed it all together. I originally had planned on doing the gold trim for the band as an applique but decided against it. So sadly, I had to unstitch the band, add the gold, then sew it back on. 

 

 

Adding Details:

The next steps are to add all the lovely details to the shirt! I did appliques for all the gold and purple designs on the shirt. This can be a long process depending on how much detail you have. I spent 6 hours working on cutting out one piece of an applique for a different cosplay. These aren't to bad but there is a bunch of them so it did take a while. As I mentioned above, I originally was going to applique the gold ends for the band, but doesn't against it. I wanted the gold to be sew into the outfit without any top stitching. So here's what I did:

 

 Step 1: Stitch gold strip past your seam allowance. Let's say you want the gold piece to be 1/4" wide and your seam allowance is 5/8". The beginning of the gold piece should be 5/8" away from the edge of the fabric. Then you will sew 1/4" from the edge of the gold.

Step 2: Fold in your corner. For Mei, these strips have angled ends. Its important to press this down so you have a clean edge. Once the whole piece is completely sewn, I go back and hand stitch this edge closed.

Step 3: Press! Flip the gold fabric over and iron it all down. This will make it have a crisp edge (and also help you baste it in place). The edge of the gold fabric should match the eddge of the white fabric. If it goes past the white fabric, just trim it down to meet it.

Step 4: Baste! Do a simple stitch near the edge (or within the seam allowance) to hold this in place. This will help prevent it from sliding or shifting on you when you go to sew the band to the shirt.

Step 5: Repeat to the rest of the band and the other side. Make sure you mark where the angled parts will be so they stay symmetrical!

 

Step 6: Sew gold edge on outer band. Since this is the outer edge of the band, you can sew this on like you would bias tape. However, you need to leave an opening where that indentation part is.

 

Step 7: Cut, fold, and press. Using the reference picture on the right, cut out the piece of fabric. Also make a snip in each corner. This will allow you to fold the fabric under. Once folded, iron it down. I hand stitched this so there wouldn't be any top stitching or visible lines. Repeat to other side.

  

For this next part you will need heat n bond sheets. You can buy this 'by the yard' at Joann Fabrics (they're located with the interfacing) or in packs (also at Joann's but you can also find it at Wal-Mart and other craft stores). Make a stencil for each different design on the shirt. Double check the sizing by taping it to the shirt (make multiply if it helps you visualize it better). Once you're happy with it, transfer the design onto the heat n bond. You will be drawing on the paper side. Copy it for as many of each design you need. Make sure you flip the design over for any that are not symmetrical! Once you've got it all traced, using an iron, iron the heat n bond to the WRONG side of the gold fabric. Do the same for the purple ones as well (I didn't take any pictures of that part, sorry!)

Now it's time to cut and assemble! Once everything is cut, you can peel the paper backing and iron the appliques to the shirt. I use a ruler to make sure my appliques were symmetrical. Depending on the fabric used, you may or may not have to do "satin stitching" along the edges. For fabrics that don't fray (like vinyl), satin stitching is not needed. When done correctly, this can give your outfit a more professional and embroidered look.  I would definitely practice a lot before diving in though. Especially on crazy curves like this. Below is a picture of my first time doing the satin stitch. Oh the horrrooorrrrr... haha. I used the scrap pieces left from cutting out the appliques to test on. Obviously you want to use thread in a color close to the fabric. I was just using white to test it out because the gold thread I have is much more pricey and I didn't want to waste it. You will also notice on my test piece that its a little wonky. It is best to use some kind of stabilizer or interfacing but for the test pieces, I just winged it.

 

Minus the sleeves, the top is now all done! Yay! I love how it turned out (especially because I made this in a day and half 'cause I rushed to get it done a few days before the con. haha..)

Anyway, hope this helps!
~Serenity