April 5, 2021
Finding or Making Cosplay Patterns
This article is part of a series that will walk you through the steps to create a cosplay costume, suitable for Comic Con, our local Kitsune Kon, and more.
Last time, we went over how to choose a cosplay character and find reference photos. Your next step is to find your costume pattern and materials.
If you just want to buy a pattern, there are plenty of artists out there who specialize in cosplay costume patterns. One of my go-to sites is Etsy.com, which is where I purchased the pattern for the Iron Man cosplay. Make sure to read the description completely to understand what you’ll receive with the pattern package.
As a reminder, I’ll be walking you through the construction of an Iron Man costume and a Rainbow Dash costume. If you want to make a pattern, here are some steps to follow:
- Make a duct-tape mold of your body. On this mold, you can trace out the armor or clothes to create the pattern. I make my duct-tape molds by putting a plastic garbage bag on and wrapping the duct tape around it, from top to bottom. However, some cosplayers find it better to wrap the duct tape in a criss-cross pattern, but you can choose whatever way works better for you. If you’re making armor, I would recommend sizing your pattern pieces a little bigger than the mold so it looks normal and fits well over clothing. (See the photo, above, for the duct-tape molds I made on the models for my Iron Man and Rainbow Dash costumes.)
- Make your pattern. Use thin paper for making cloth patterns and cardstock for making armor patterns if you’re making them by hand instead of on the computer. Trace out the pieces you’ll need, and then cut out the shapes from your paper or cardstock. (If you need more guidance, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials out there on how to trace and cut out your pattern pieces.)
Purchase your fabrics and other materials. When making armor, I mainly use cosplay EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) foam, which you can find on Amazon and other online stores. However, you can also use foam mats from a hardware store or crafting foam. For the clothing parts of your costume, visit a fabric store and pick out the fabrics that appeal to you and that you can easily work with. I’m using tulle (see photo, right) for the Rainbow Dash cosplay.- Purchase your thread and glue. You’ll have to know how to sew for most fabric cosplays, though hot glue works in some cases. Use cement glue instead of hot glue or super glue when making armor out of foam, because it’s flexible and strong. You also won’t have to go fishing for glue strands like you would have to if you used hot glue.
Try out some of these, options and look for the next edition of the Driftwood, when you will get to see more on how I made my Iron Man and Rainbow Dash cosplays.
—Angel Wolske