Jacket - I used a super easy woman's blouse pattern in a shoulder size that fit each kid. For my daughter, I left the darts in. I removed them for my son. Removing darts was harder than I thought. I also made the shoulders a bit wider since I wanted to emphasize that narrow hipped anime look. It took 3 tries to get the collar right. The collars are somewhat oversized and have a high stand but they are clearly NOT two part collars. I used the collar that came with the blouse pattern, but I had to change the shape of the entire collar a little, adding more curve, but making the collar points bigger, and longer. I used transfer paper to print the emblem and ironed it onto muslin. Then, I used heat and bond to attach it to the jacket. I had to leave the paper on the transfer until I was done with all the ironing and I'm not entirely sure it will hold up to washing. It took a bit of practice to get the process right. And even with all that, Annie's collar got flattened under her hoodie. there may be transfer paper that will iron onto dark fabrics. I just could find it.Eren's Shirt - long sleeve t-shirt
I removed the ribbing at the neck and cuffs, and catch-stitched the hems. I made eyelets for the lacing and used a bit of iron on interfacing to reinforce the lacing opening. Annie's shirt is a hooded t-shirt.
Pants and belts - pretty self explanatory, I used pleather strips for some of the belting (like around the knees) and tacked it down in a few spots to keep it in place. I used upholstery weight thread to hold all the belts in place. It's nearly unbreakable.
I got the real belts at Ross and got two of them REALLY long. They go over the shoulders, cross, through the waist belt at the back and wrap back around to the front. I sewed them by punching holes with an awl and tacking them where they meet. 'Annie' got her own pants and belts but used the same process.
Boots - I used an on-line tutorial (Sidney Eileen) for gaiters and added a shoe cover. They close with velcro in the back. I also added the high front as a sewn on piece, backed with felt. I just measured the shoes and estimated the shape for the foot piece. I made paper models before I cut the pleather. I cut them a little big at the edges and trimmed what hung over. A sharp curve over the toe helped hold them in place, along with elastic under the sole. It's important to measure while wearing the pants and shoes you will actually be wearing. They stayed on great and looked like boots.
3D gear - never again. I made 2 full sets and it was too much. We decided early on that we wouldn't actually sheath the swords. Made the build easier, and we didn't have to worry about wrecking the finish on the swords. When not in use, the swords tucked into the top of the gear and stayed put. We chose the manga version as it seemed easier to me since there wouldn't be as much bulk in the back. We deviated from 'accurate' for the little boxes/bits that sit at the hips. Mostly, we just ran out of time. And when I say we, I mean me.
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| All the parts before construction |
Boxes - made from foam rubber covered in heavy silver poster board and using silver washi tape at all the joins. I put a piece of black felt under openings for blade storage. It's non-reflective in photos. I did jam a bit of painted wood into a couple of openings to look like extra blades. The boxes are light weight and look pretty good. If I did it again, I might spray paint after taping. The vertical lines on the boxes are heavy craft foam cut, sealed and painted. In the manga version, these vertical pieces go over the canister in the back, and under the canister handles in front. I used a darker paint on these to increase contrast.
Gas canisters - PVC tubes with half a styrofoam ball on top. The styrofoam was light but hard to work with and seal. After lots of work, it's still sorta bumpy. As I was finishing, I realized that light weight spackle would have been the best choice to smooth the surface. I was out of time to go over them again. Live and learn. PVC tubes look awesome but are a bit heavy. Then again, the weight was useful to keep the gear from flopping a lot while it was worn. I used craft foam to seal the bottom. Eventually I got scared that the PVC was too heavy. I drilled holes and ran heavy nylon picture cord thru them, so I could hang them from the shoulder belts. I didn't want any dropping pants. The cord is tied to S hooks (with one end crimped shut) and the other end hooked to split rings run thru the shoulder belts. Easy off and on. I shoved doweling into the top of the cans and stuck a piece of 1/2 inch tubing across the dowel for the handle. Made them black with sharpie. I also stuck some thin black nylon cord into the cans to look like the tubing. I used a washer at the top for finishing. The advantage to the anime version is the the side decoration goes over the canister in two places. The mange version only goes over the top in one place. This caused great fear of failure. The cord/tubing ran from the canisters to the hip bits. The canisters were painted with 'hammered' finish spray paint.
Swords - 1 1/2 inch pine lathing, spray painted silver and finished with rub n buff. I cut out a bit at the handle end and made the trigger out of foam core board. I'm not hugely happy with it, but it will do. I made the handles out of sculpey and glued the whole mess together. Then I covered it in pleather. I also included the same black nylon cord to be the cables. It was annoying to put in the cord BEFORE I was sure how long it needed to be. That cord also attached to the hips bits. I needed complete 3D gear to get the right length. Made the lines on the blade with sharpie. Because I can't costume without a sharpie.
