So For Halloween this year, I wanted to push the boat and make the most complicated costume I've ever built. I'm not really that great at design or even that good with my hands but with enough research and planning, anything can be achieved. I love making costumes for Halloween, plus it's just super badass to become Batman. Anyway, here's how I did it.

**TOP TIP**

Ensure that you order your materials in good time. Around Halloween, postal services can get crazy, and cheap shipping from China can take several weeks. Just be careful!

Step 1: Research and Planning

You will need to decide which batsuit you want to build. For me, the suit from TDKR was the best, but seemed very complicated to build, I then decided to use the design for the Batman Begins suit. I know this goes without saying, but you will need to research the hell out of how you are going to make this costume before you start. I ended up going a little over budget with mine, but hopefully, you'll learn from some of my mistakes!

Step 2: Buy Materials

Most of the materials can be bought in hardware stores or online on Ebay or Amazon. You're gonna need all of the below:

7-8 sheets of EVA foam
2 bicycle tyre tubes
3-4 cans of Plasti-Dip spray paint
Black Morpsuit suit (I'm 6'2'' so size L fitted me well)
Batman utlity belt (Amazon)
Black work gloves
TDKR Cowl (You can make your own, I got mine on Ebay)
Black neck gaiter
Black oil-based face paint
Motorbike jacket (Ebay)
Black boots (My dad had old motorcycle boots that were perfect)
Double black flat bed sheet (Cape)
Needle and black thread
Black Elastic
Sharp knife
Scissors
Super glue
Small panel pins

MORPHSUIT: http://www.zentai-zentai.com/black-full-body-suit-...

COWL: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Batman-Mask-Balaclava-Dark...

MOTORBIKE JACKET: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Motorcycle-Full-Body-Armor...

EVA FOAM: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Soft-Plush-EVA-Foam-Floor-...

CAPE: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07655VK7K/ref...

GLOVES: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GZIVTII/ref...

Step 3: Download Templates

I'll upload the templates I used so you can download them. These need to be printed and drawn onto the EVA foam*.

*I'm 6'2'' so you may need to resize the templates to suit your body size.

Step 4: Cut Out Armour From EVA Foam Sheets

You will need a sharp knife (I used a Stanley blade), some sharp scissors and a lot of patience. This step takes time. Precision is very important here to make the suit look authentic. All the pieces should fit into eachother, make sure you do this. Also, I ordered 2 extra EVA tiles in case I messed up (this will happen no matter how good you are at this)

The next thing is to cut and carve out the small detailing in the armor. Again, precision is important to ensure authenticity. A Dremel tool would be great here if you can get your hands on one but I just used a sharp knife.

For the peices that don't have corresponding templates, I drew them free hand.

Step 5: Coat With Plasti-dip

Batman has a rubber suit, but I had to improvise. The plasti-dip is a rubber spray, and it's badass! There are a few ways to do this. I opted to coat them in a thin base layer coat, then repeated this 3-4 times. The plasti-dip is expensive, and there isn't a lot in each can. It's probably best to apply thin multiple coats, as heavy coats will bubble and drip. Leave to dry for at least 3-4 hours before applying next coat.

Step 6: Gauntlets

Use the template to cut out these. Again, you may need to resize depending on your body size. Try with the sheet of paper before cutting. I cut the cuff spikes using some hard plastic I found with foam in the middle for extra size. When painted, they look great! I then cut a thin layer of foam around to make it look like the movie's gauntlets. Small panel pins can be used to keep the bits in place while you glue. (I left these pins in for extra strength)

Step 7: Glue to Morph Suit

By now, most of your materials should have arrived. I got this morphsuit from a site called Zentai-Zentai from China. Make sure when you order to get the crotch zipper (trust me, you'll need it) and also ensure that it fits you well before altering it because their return policy is terrible! Also, the morphsuit's zip isn't great. I had to replace mine so be careful!

I basically took the pieces, put some sticky velcro onto them and held them to my body. I used a hairdryer to heat the pieces beforehand so they would hug my body better. After you're happy with the placement, the best thing is to superglue both sides of the velcro to the suit/armour and press them to the suit for at least 1 minute (wear an old t-shirt underneath because the superglue will seep through and ruin it!) Repeat this process for all pieces, and superglue any parts that arent sticking. (some pieces require a few bits of velcro)

Step 8: Knee/shoulder/thigh Pads

I had to improvise slightly with this step. I took an old motorbike jacket and cut off the padding and sewed it to the morphsuit. This was based on my own design and I loved the way it turned out! I actually used the chest pieces here for the thigh armor!

Step 9: Cape

I tried a few materials here, but I ended up using a double black flat bedsheet that a bought on Amazon. I cut it to size, and tucked it under my collar. Easy as that!

Step 10: Neckpeice

I really messed this step up but I'll go through what I intended to do. The mask I bought had no neck, so I needed to source one!

Batman's suit in TDKR has the ability to turn the head, a feature I wanted! I tried to re-create the same design but failed at the last hurdle when time ran out! I ended up using a black hood/balaclava and cut it to size to use as the neckpeice! This works good but with more time, the neckwrap would have completed it!

Step 11: Black Eyes!

For this step I used black oil-based paint that I bought in Tesco. This will be easy to get especially around Halloween! Apply with a sponge or your finger!

Step 12: Suit Up!

Apply your gloves, cape, belt, gauntlets and boots along with your mask and you're good to go!

For extra bulk, I also took some of the spare padding from the motorbike suit, took some black elastic material and fastened it to myself with some velcro. This worked great for the biceps and knee pads.

*One more thing. I sewed some conductive thread to the index finger of my right glove so I could use my phone! There are a few ways to do it but this seemed the handiest!

Introduction: Batman Costume