[public] Shingeki No Kyojin Cosplay Post
I started with a simple premise: Make the most accurate cosplay I could, following this page from the manga:
No mean feat. It was crazy but it worked.
Some notes:
★ Everything was hand sewn, as I didn't have a sewing machine. (I just bought one, squee!)
★ I decided not to include the scabbard, as I have a chronic pain condition so would not be physically capable of carrying it all day at MCM Expo.
★ I referenced CasuallyDisregarding's tutorial for some of this [1][2][3] particularly the third one for my skirt section.
★ I don't think this is thorough enough to be a proper tutorial, more a 'How I did it'. I'd be happy to help out if folks needed though!
Materials:
★ 2 meters of brown pleather/vinyl
★ 1/2 a meter of grey material
★ 11 1" buckles
★ 1 large belt buckle (I got mine from a belt I no longer wear)
★ A crapton of thread; stock up on black (or brown) and grey.
★ 1 A4 sheet of foam
★ Hemming tape
So I started with the grey section, as it seemed to be fairly central so you could work outwards from it. That was a good idea, it turned out.
Missy helped (not). You'll see a lot of her in this entry haha. Basically, I used my vest top as a template, which you can see in the pictures below:
The material was a bit rubbish and liked fraying, so I hemmed it all the way around.
Then the ridiculous bit of it. All in, there are over 20 straps to this harness, and I wanted mine to look as high quality as I could. To do this, I measured out the lengths required, made each strap two inches across, then blanket stitched the two edges together. After this, I flattened them under some heavy books with the seam in the center, then inserted hemming tape into them and ironed them. This gave a nice smooth and even finish. Make them the right width for your buckles, or they won't work properly.
Tip: Don't iron them too long, or you damage the surface. Always iron them under a pillowcase or tea towel.
The first ones I made were the ones that cross at the back. Because I wasn't going to be making the full gear, I made mine cross in the center of my back rather than lower as in the image.
Sewed it all down, then measured for the front part of the harness. I used my bra strap as a guide, and measured from the top of my shoulder blade, along the line of my bra strap to the center of my bra cup for the over-shoulder straps. For the ones that come across the middle and buckle together, I basically measured from the lumpy bit in the middle of my shoulder blade round to the center of my chest, then made one strap slightly longer than the others so it could pass through the buckle.
(N.B: The second photo looks like it's wonky; my mum took the photo when I was still working on straightening it out It does sit flat now!)
Tip: Pin EVERYTHING. Seriously. Pin then repin. Once you sew this pleather/vinyl material, if you have to unpick it and resew, it can look really messy, so pin things and make sure you're completely happy with them before you sew.
The ones over my shoulders are on poppers, but that may change to actually being sewn down - purely because it makes it a bit of an arse to get into, but it's alright.
Belt is next. I measured my hip size, then added around 4 inches so there was enough for a tab to go through the buckle and the belt loops. Make the belt wider than your straps, and get a larger buckle for it, or it'll look odd.
Once you've made the belt, you need to put it on and mark where each of your straps from the upper part of your harness attach. I used paperclips, as tape will damage pleather and vinyl if you use it and peel it off.
Create 4 short straps with a buckle on them. They'll need to be about 4" long. Attach them to your belt where you've marked up the strap attachment points. Sew them really securely or they won't hold if/when you move around wearing your costume.
Tip: Leave some slack in your straps, so you can move freely. Test it out with things like sitting, standing, reaching etc.
You're onto the hard bit. The leg pieces that go from the belt to the straps around your legs. Firstly, make 4 straps which sit securely around your thighs, just below the widest part of your thigh. Not so tight you can't move, but tight enough they'll stay in place or you'll spend more time pulling them up than having fun.
Next, measure from your spine to the top most thigh strap. You need two straps that length (mine was 17").
Then measure from one of your hipbones at the front, across to the opposite upper thigh strap. You need another 2 that length (min was 19").
Lastly, make some short (approx. 6") straps, which will hold the back straps up as you can see (just) in the picture above.
Attach everything, then create loops at the ends of all the straps that will attach your your thigh straps. Thread the thigh straps through. Voila!
Tip: Mark, somehow, the lefts and rights of each leg harness attachments. I put a tiny blob of pink nail varnish on all the right ones on the inside, so I could tell them apart. (I did this mainly because my left knee/end of my left thigh muscles are not consistent with my right, so they fit very differently).
Due to the fact my boots are really tall, I decided I wasn't going to do the full knee-to-foot straps, as no one would see them anyway. Instead, I made another strap that went around under my knee and put a buckle on it. I then measured from the bottom thigh strap down to this knee strap, and crated four more straps of that length. I sewed them into a Y formation, and put loops on all three ends so they could attach in 2 places on my knee strap and in one to my thigh strap.
That's how I made it work. Sorry the picture is a bit rubbish, I didn't take any photos in progress.
Tip: By using loops rather than fixing the straps together, you reduce the chances of it ripping/pulling loose while you wear it, as it can react to your movements.
For the grey mounting points for the scabbard, you need to find something about 5" long and 3.5" wide. Cut out a paper template, then get your foam and trace it onto the foam, ala
Tip: Use Sharpie or permanent marker, as the foam will absorb water-based pens and make them fade and smudge.
Cut them out, then create 4 slits, 2 up and 2 down.
Cut out a piece of your grey material twice the size of your foam square. Pin your foam in the center, then sew it around the edged to attach, then use your scissors to cut the slits through the fabric.
Tadahhh!
Skirt is the last bit. Using CasuallyDisregardings guidelines, cut out pleather/vinyl according to their patterns.
It'll look weird, but persist!
After, fold the straight piece back over the top of the curved piece. You'll need to sew the flapping ends of the belt loops at this stage so they look like this:
Now I cheated a little. I sewed up the ends, including a short strap with a buckle on one side and a strap with a hole in it the other, so they look like this:
Except you only need one - I messed up.
Then, put some hemming tape inside the remaining open slit along the whole length of your skirt, and iron it.
This gives a smooth, even finish with no stitches showing through.
Then assemble! Check you can sit down, move around, walk comfortably etc, and make any necessary adjustments that may be needed. Now you can create keeper loops for all the ends of straps, and generally just check everything works.
Tip: Work in a continuous, logical way. Start with your jeans and shirt (tucked in for some characters like Levi and Mikasa, not tucked in for Eren), then put your belt on. Follow it with your leg straps, making sure they're all done up, then put on your back piece and attach all straps as necessary. Then the skirt, which goes over your belt, and then get your jacket on and go kill Titans.
No mean feat. It was crazy but it worked.
Some notes:
★ Everything was hand sewn, as I didn't have a sewing machine. (I just bought one, squee!)
★ I decided not to include the scabbard, as I have a chronic pain condition so would not be physically capable of carrying it all day at MCM Expo.
★ I referenced CasuallyDisregarding's tutorial for some of this [1][2][3] particularly the third one for my skirt section.
★ I don't think this is thorough enough to be a proper tutorial, more a 'How I did it'. I'd be happy to help out if folks needed though!
Materials:
★ 2 meters of brown pleather/vinyl
★ 1/2 a meter of grey material
★ 11 1" buckles
★ 1 large belt buckle (I got mine from a belt I no longer wear)
★ A crapton of thread; stock up on black (or brown) and grey.
★ 1 A4 sheet of foam
★ Hemming tape
So I started with the grey section, as it seemed to be fairly central so you could work outwards from it. That was a good idea, it turned out.
The material was a bit rubbish and liked fraying, so I hemmed it all the way around.
Then the ridiculous bit of it. All in, there are over 20 straps to this harness, and I wanted mine to look as high quality as I could. To do this, I measured out the lengths required, made each strap two inches across, then blanket stitched the two edges together. After this, I flattened them under some heavy books with the seam in the center, then inserted hemming tape into them and ironed them. This gave a nice smooth and even finish. Make them the right width for your buckles, or they won't work properly.
Tip: Don't iron them too long, or you damage the surface. Always iron them under a pillowcase or tea towel.
The first ones I made were the ones that cross at the back. Because I wasn't going to be making the full gear, I made mine cross in the center of my back rather than lower as in the image.
Sewed it all down, then measured for the front part of the harness. I used my bra strap as a guide, and measured from the top of my shoulder blade, along the line of my bra strap to the center of my bra cup for the over-shoulder straps. For the ones that come across the middle and buckle together, I basically measured from the lumpy bit in the middle of my shoulder blade round to the center of my chest, then made one strap slightly longer than the others so it could pass through the buckle.
Tip: Pin EVERYTHING. Seriously. Pin then repin. Once you sew this pleather/vinyl material, if you have to unpick it and resew, it can look really messy, so pin things and make sure you're completely happy with them before you sew.
The ones over my shoulders are on poppers, but that may change to actually being sewn down - purely because it makes it a bit of an arse to get into, but it's alright.
Belt is next. I measured my hip size, then added around 4 inches so there was enough for a tab to go through the buckle and the belt loops. Make the belt wider than your straps, and get a larger buckle for it, or it'll look odd.
Once you've made the belt, you need to put it on and mark where each of your straps from the upper part of your harness attach. I used paperclips, as tape will damage pleather and vinyl if you use it and peel it off.
Create 4 short straps with a buckle on them. They'll need to be about 4" long. Attach them to your belt where you've marked up the strap attachment points. Sew them really securely or they won't hold if/when you move around wearing your costume.
Tip: Leave some slack in your straps, so you can move freely. Test it out with things like sitting, standing, reaching etc.
You're onto the hard bit. The leg pieces that go from the belt to the straps around your legs. Firstly, make 4 straps which sit securely around your thighs, just below the widest part of your thigh. Not so tight you can't move, but tight enough they'll stay in place or you'll spend more time pulling them up than having fun.
Next, measure from your spine to the top most thigh strap. You need two straps that length (mine was 17").
Then measure from one of your hipbones at the front, across to the opposite upper thigh strap. You need another 2 that length (min was 19").
Lastly, make some short (approx. 6") straps, which will hold the back straps up as you can see (just) in the picture above.
Attach everything, then create loops at the ends of all the straps that will attach your your thigh straps. Thread the thigh straps through. Voila!
Tip: Mark, somehow, the lefts and rights of each leg harness attachments. I put a tiny blob of pink nail varnish on all the right ones on the inside, so I could tell them apart. (I did this mainly because my left knee/end of my left thigh muscles are not consistent with my right, so they fit very differently).
Due to the fact my boots are really tall, I decided I wasn't going to do the full knee-to-foot straps, as no one would see them anyway. Instead, I made another strap that went around under my knee and put a buckle on it. I then measured from the bottom thigh strap down to this knee strap, and crated four more straps of that length. I sewed them into a Y formation, and put loops on all three ends so they could attach in 2 places on my knee strap and in one to my thigh strap.
Tip: By using loops rather than fixing the straps together, you reduce the chances of it ripping/pulling loose while you wear it, as it can react to your movements.
For the grey mounting points for the scabbard, you need to find something about 5" long and 3.5" wide. Cut out a paper template, then get your foam and trace it onto the foam, ala
Cut them out, then create 4 slits, 2 up and 2 down.
Cut out a piece of your grey material twice the size of your foam square. Pin your foam in the center, then sew it around the edged to attach, then use your scissors to cut the slits through the fabric.
Skirt is the last bit. Using CasuallyDisregardings guidelines, cut out pleather/vinyl according to their patterns.
After, fold the straight piece back over the top of the curved piece. You'll need to sew the flapping ends of the belt loops at this stage so they look like this:
Now I cheated a little. I sewed up the ends, including a short strap with a buckle on one side and a strap with a hole in it the other, so they look like this:
Then, put some hemming tape inside the remaining open slit along the whole length of your skirt, and iron it.
Then assemble! Check you can sit down, move around, walk comfortably etc, and make any necessary adjustments that may be needed. Now you can create keeper loops for all the ends of straps, and generally just check everything works.
Tip: Work in a continuous, logical way. Start with your jeans and shirt (tucked in for some characters like Levi and Mikasa, not tucked in for Eren), then put your belt on. Follow it with your leg straps, making sure they're all done up, then put on your back piece and attach all straps as necessary. Then the skirt, which goes over your belt, and then get your jacket on and go kill Titans.
