D’s muscle suit
Originally published at Cosplex. Please leave any comments there.
I’ve been working on my Vampire Hunter D costume for over a year now, but the one thing i’ve been putting off is the bodysuit. D is a muscly man and well I’m not, so I was keen to make a muscle suit to give me some subtle definition.
I enlisted the help of my cosplay partner in crime, Laura Sindall to help me make a duck tape dummy after the London MCM expo in October. I stuffed the shell into my suitcase and assembled it back in Norway, stuffing it with newspaper. I added in the coat hanger for storage purposes.
For the base, I found a really cheap cotton lycra leotard off ebay
Naturally it wasn’t a perfect fit and required altering. I turned it inside out and after much cutting, pinning and sewing later I had a workable base. I also installed a heavy duty zip into the back to aid with me getting in and out.
The next step was to start forming the muscles. I bought several foam blue seat pads from Dunelm Mill and armed with a craft knife and a pair of scissors I carved them up into muscles. I concentrated on the arms and abs, since the chest was going to be covered in various fabric decoration. This left tiny pieces of blue foam everywhere, even on my clothes. Removing it was stubbon affair, so I recommend that anyone wear old clothing before messing with this stuff. I wrapped each piece in black tights and hand stitched them onto the suit.
I then moved onto covering the suit. I picked a matt 4 way stretch thin black fabric from Mandors in Glasgow. I think it’s a rubberised lycra but I’m not 100% sure. I cut front, back and sleeve pieces out of the fabric and pinned them onto the dummy until I got the right fit.
I worked one section at a time, sides seams, sleeve seams and then the back seams and zip. I finished the neckline and cuffs with bias binding and attached the fabric to the bottom of the leotard using a zig-zag stitch. The cuffs didn’t come out as neat as I had hoped, but luckily the design called for them to be covered.
To finish the suit, I used acrylic paints to add definition to the muscles. I picked greens and greys to match the tones of the reference image.
To finish this post I give you the obligatory mirror camera shot. I’m wearing matching leggings as well as the belt and hat that I have also made for the costume.
