Wonder Woman Cosplay: Bracelets of Submission

Imagine running across no-man’s land, deflecting bullets left and right with a simple flick of the wrists. With this Intructable it will all soon become possible! Not to mention the added interest in photo ops! The bracelets have been with Wonder Woman almost since her debut and they are a integral part of any costume. So go forth and make yourselves some!

Step 1: Supplies

-Saran wrap

-Duct tape

-Sharpie

-Half inch EVA foam

-2mm craft foam (I am still using the Grip Premium Liner)

-X-acto knife with a fresh blade

-Heat gun

-Contact Cement

-Silver metallic or hammered spray paint

-Copper Paint marker

-Brown fabric or leather (I went with the fabric because it was a little bit stretcher)

-Googly eyes

-Hot glue

Step 2: Patterning

I. Start by covering your forearm in Saran wrap. As you are going to draw on it, use your non dominant arm.

II. Cover that Saran Wrap in some duct tape. Once you have done that, use some reference images and draw on the patterning. Make sure to include the placement of the bands and rivets in the drawing.

III. Cut the pattern off your arm. As there is a gap in the bracelets, go ahead and cut it off at this point.

IV. cut a slit down the top middle of the patten so it lies flat.

V. Reverse the patten and copy it onto another sheet of paper. This will become the other arm.

Step 3: The Basic Form

I. Pin down your pattern pieces onto the EVA foam and trace them out with a sharpie. At this point, you may also pin along the lines you drew onto the pattern. The pinholes left behind when the pattern is removed can easily be followed with the Sharpie as a reference for later.

II. Using a very sharp knife, cut out each piece including the slits where the fabric will go through.

III. Seal the top and edges of the foam by slowly moving the heat gun across the foam until the slight patten it may have disappears or the surface becomes shiny.

IV. From your main pattern, cut out all three bottom pieces near the elbow as well as the "W" like shape near the wrist. These can be traced onto and cut out of your craft foam.

V. Lightly cut the very surface of the foam where you have drawn your lines with the X-Acto knife. Refrain from cutting where the craft foam will be placed. Open up these cuts with the heat gun in the same way you just did to seal it.

VI. Using the heat gun, heat up the foam and give it a curve such that it will nicely fit around your forearm. I would even go as far as to roll each piece up and hold it in place to attain the desired curve.

VII. Connect the large slit down the middle of each band by using contact cement on either side of the slit and pressing them together once the glue becomes tacky.

VIII. Glue the back of each craft foam piece as well as any place they will be affixed to on the bracelets themselves with contact cement.

IX. After you have waited the 20 minutes for the glue to become sticky, attach each piece within their respective sharpie lines on the bracelets.

Step 4: Painting and Finishing

I. Before we can spray paint the bracelets, go ahead and coat the parts that will be painted with Plasti Dip. This will allow for the paint to not just soak into the foam.

II. Once the Plasti Dip dries, spray the entire foam with the silver. (The whole thing was sprayed with silver first because it was easier then trying to tape off the tiny areas that the copper covers. Also I went with a hammered paint because it gave a texture I liked).

III. Using the copper paint marker, trace over all of the added craft foam near the wrist as well as the large "V" and the third line down at the elbow.

Step 5: Making Them Wearable

I. Taking your brown fabric, cut out four strips twice as wide as the slits and about 1.5 inches longer then the gap between each side of the foam when placed on your arm.

II. I was running short on time here so I folded each strip in half and hot glued them together. If you would like to sew them together instead, feel free to do so. (The hot glue did make it quite a bit easier to stick the fabric through the slits as it gave it a little bit of stiffness but which ever method you decide to go with is fine.

III. Place the four strips you just created through each of the slits in the foam. They should be placed through from the outside in. Hot glue the fabric to the inside of the foam so that it lies flush and will hold in place.

IV. This part is quite amusing. Hot glue the googly eyes to where the rivets are placed on the bracelets. These should be located right next to each slit you just placed the fabric through. Using a bit of the silver paint, cover up the eyes and let them dry.

And we are done!

Step 6: Final Product

For the hand wraps, I used my color guard gloves because they were pretty close to my desired look and were comfortable. Any way you decide to do this part is fine.

You did it! Slip them on and go become Wonder Woman!