Halloween Sweets: Making Your Own Costume Pt. 2

Welcome back to the second part of this road map for making and having your very own Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend costumes. Now that you've had the delight of seeing pictures of the finished product, it's time for the grit. Pictured above are a few supplies you'll need to make the torso piece and the shoulder armor (I'm tempted to call them shoulder pads, but I remind myself that The Monarch doesn't wear an 80s power suit). Suggested fabric, again, is a matte yellow spandex (should be about $4-5/yd), and you should have about 2.5-3 yards on hand. You'll also need 3/4" thick foam (available at fabric stores), sturdy scissors, and a hot glue gun. First part is cutting and gluing the foam to the armor. The foam doesn't mold easily, so you'll want to glue and hold along the perimeter of the armor, one curve at a time (i.e. the curve along the neck, each underarm, the part that would run along your side, the bottom "m" curve of the armor, etc.). Glue first and cut as you go. It's easier to cut the foam to be precise with the armor's shape when part of it is secured. There will be times when cutting excess foam before you glue is helpful. This is okay to do. As you glue each curve, be sure to take time to hold the foam to the armor. Be careful of where you hold the armor because that hot glue can be, well, hot! Once you've got your foam glued on and you have a shape that you're happy with, pull out the spandex. Make sure your fabric is folded once in half. Essentially, you'll be gluing two layers of fabric to your foamy armor piece. As with the foam, you'll want to glue in sections, making sure to press the fabric against the armor as you go along. Two things to keep in mind as you're doing this: There will be excess fabric on the back that you can cut later, but make sure the material is following the form of your foam armor pretty well. Also, check your fabric on the front regularly to see that it's pulled taught and isn't bunching. When you're finished gluing, you can cut off excess fabric in the back. And voila! You have your finished armor piece (sans necessary Monarch logo, of course). Next-gauntlets, shoulder armor, and such. Oh my?

Action Jackson out.