Wonder Woman Costume
Intro: Wonder Woman Costume
Make your very own Wonder Woman costume, completely from scratch! Impress your friends, family, and strangers with your amazing costume, and empower women while you are at it by representing strong women throughout history! I hope you enjoy this tutorial on how to make a Wonder Woman costume, and go save the world with your new powers! Happy Halloween!
If you like this instructable, please vote for me in the Halloween Costume contest! :)
STEP 1: Materials and Outline
In order to make this costume, we will have several different pieces.
1. The shirt
-red fabric (I used an old thrift store sweatshirt)
-gold colored fabric (I again found this at a thrift store)
- black snaps (99 cents store!)
2. The headpiece
- jeweler's bronze sheet metal
- elastic
-a jeweler's saw
-a drill (that can cut metal-- diamond bit
-file and sanding paper (400 grains per square inch, 600, 1000)
-buffing and polishing machine (I used one at my school)
-triple A for buffing
-rouge for polishing
-polishing cloth
-sealant
3. The skirt
- a royal blue skirt (I found mine at the thrift store)
- iron on white stars
-embroidery hoop, needles, and white embroidery floss
-bejeweling machine and jewels (optional)
4. a red belt (I found one at the thrift store). You can also use a gold belt you can make from the same gold colored fabric as the W.
5. gold colored rope (I got mine at the 99 cents store)
6. A plastic sofa bottle to make arm cuffs
- round plastic and blue paint (you could also make them bronze with your metal, but hers are more blue so I stuck with that.
7. other supplies
-measuring tape
-ruler
-red thread
- gold colored thread
- sewing needles
-pins (and a pincushion)
- iron and ironing board
-superhero looking boots to wear
- Sewing machine -- Super helpful if you have one. I didn't, and had to hand-sew the whole thing.
STEP 2: Prepare the Shirt
1. Begin by cutting your thrift store bought shirts up at the seams with embroidery scissors.
CENTER FRONT
2. First measure the distance between the middle of your breasts or a little farther. My measurement was 8 inches.
3. Measure the middle of your torso below your breasts. It should be an inch or so shorter. (7 in)
4. Measure the length you want the shirt, from the v neck between your breasts down to the bottom of the shirt. (12 in)
5. Measure from the tops of the shirt down to the bottom that you designated before. (14 in)
SIDE
6. Measure around your side- under your armpit from the measurement below the breasts. (4 in) This will be the bottom of the side.
7. Measure from the middle of your breast to the side (6 in) which will be the measurement for the curve of the side piece.
(See drawn plan for help)
8. Determine how low you want the back to cut, and measure how tall to make the back. ( 7.5 in)
The slant measurement of the side will come from this.
My back was pretty low cut, so you may want a longer back than this.
the other side will match the side of the center front part.
BACK
9. Measure from the sides around (16 in-- but is a bit big in reality) and match to the 7.5 in measurements of the sides.
Please see the pictures for more help.
Note: if you like hemming the edges, are using a sewing machine, or have very stiff, un-stretchy material, make allowances for that, and make your pattern a bit bigger than your actual measurements. You can always resew it smaller, but it's not as easy to make it bigger.
CENTER FRONT
2. First measure the distance between the middle of your breasts or a little farther. My measurement was 8 inches.
3. Measure the middle of your torso below your breasts. It should be an inch or so shorter. (7 in)
4. Measure the length you want the shirt, from the v neck between your breasts down to the bottom of the shirt. (12 in)
5. Measure from the tops of the shirt down to the bottom that you designated before. (14 in)
SIDE
6. Measure around your side- under your armpit from the measurement below the breasts. (4 in) This will be the bottom of the side.
7. Measure from the middle of your breast to the side (6 in) which will be the measurement for the curve of the side piece.
(See drawn plan for help)
8. Determine how low you want the back to cut, and measure how tall to make the back. ( 7.5 in)
The slant measurement of the side will come from this.
My back was pretty low cut, so you may want a longer back than this.
the other side will match the side of the center front part.
BACK
9. Measure from the sides around (16 in-- but is a bit big in reality) and match to the 7.5 in measurements of the sides.
Please see the pictures for more help.
Note: if you like hemming the edges, are using a sewing machine, or have very stiff, un-stretchy material, make allowances for that, and make your pattern a bit bigger than your actual measurements. You can always resew it smaller, but it's not as easy to make it bigger.
STEP 3: Make the Shirt
1. Take one of the 2 pieces of your giant thrift store sweater. This is what you will make your shirt out of. Turn the cloth so that the side that will be the inside of your shirt faces out. You will use a pencil( not mechanical) and a ruler to draw the pattern on this side. See the pictures if you need help, and reference the original pattern.
2. Cut out each piece with your embroidery scissors. Be sure to note that you are cutting the center front piece on fold- even have it folded while drawing!
(Again, look at the plan! It is your best friend!)
3. Still inside out, sew the pieces together in the order they are shown, with the curves of the center front and sides lining up and getting sewn together. I hand sewed this, and had no hems. If you have a sewing machine, use it! It will make this take much less time.
4. Once you are done with this, try it on, and put pins where you have to make adjustments, and sew them.
5. Now you can cut 3 straps from the arm of the sweater, and pin them in a crisscrossing way on the back. Cut off the excess, and sew.
See the pictures for the pattern of the back. The straps go from the top of one side to the top of the back piece of the bottom, and the middle strap goes straight from one side to the other.
These straps will not go over the shoulders, but under the armpits, as this is a strapless shirt.
6. Now you will cut down the back of the shirt and add snaps to the shirt. Lay them out on the back and sew them on so they line up and can be snapped. Do the same thing for the straps. Sew them on!
2. Cut out each piece with your embroidery scissors. Be sure to note that you are cutting the center front piece on fold- even have it folded while drawing!
(Again, look at the plan! It is your best friend!)
3. Still inside out, sew the pieces together in the order they are shown, with the curves of the center front and sides lining up and getting sewn together. I hand sewed this, and had no hems. If you have a sewing machine, use it! It will make this take much less time.
4. Once you are done with this, try it on, and put pins where you have to make adjustments, and sew them.
5. Now you can cut 3 straps from the arm of the sweater, and pin them in a crisscrossing way on the back. Cut off the excess, and sew.
See the pictures for the pattern of the back. The straps go from the top of one side to the top of the back piece of the bottom, and the middle strap goes straight from one side to the other.
These straps will not go over the shoulders, but under the armpits, as this is a strapless shirt.
6. Now you will cut down the back of the shirt and add snaps to the shirt. Lay them out on the back and sew them on so they line up and can be snapped. Do the same thing for the straps. Sew them on!
STEP 4: Add the W
1. Draw your w on the back of your gold fabric with pencil. If you have fabric like mine, you will have to hem the edges otherwise they will unravel and the w won't stay on. Because of this, you are going to cut not on your pencil line, but around it, giving you extra material that will go under the w.
2. Put pins on what will be the edges of the w. You will take these off slowly as you iron the folds in place.
3. Iron the folds in place and pin the w to your shirt so that the point of the w is sticking up at the v neck.
4. Sew the w on with gold colored thread, starting at the back and using running stitch. This is the same stitch I used for most of the shirt, and the easiest stitch/ stitch most people know. If you don't and need extra help, I am happy to help you.
5. Try the shirt on and feel awesome! You just made your very own Wonder Woman shirt!!
2. Put pins on what will be the edges of the w. You will take these off slowly as you iron the folds in place.
3. Iron the folds in place and pin the w to your shirt so that the point of the w is sticking up at the v neck.
4. Sew the w on with gold colored thread, starting at the back and using running stitch. This is the same stitch I used for most of the shirt, and the easiest stitch/ stitch most people know. If you don't and need extra help, I am happy to help you.
5. Try the shirt on and feel awesome! You just made your very own Wonder Woman shirt!!
STEP 5: Make the Tiara
1. Measure a piece of paper on your forehead to see how large you want the tiara. My tiara was 7/8 of an inch on the sides and 2 inches at the point. I used a standard size paper for the design. Cut this design out with scissors and tape it down to the metal. Even better is to use rubber cement and put it down on the metal. I used tape and drew the design on around it with gold sharpie, but with rubber cement you don't have to mark the metal. Sharpie however, will come off when you sand, and you can make the sharpie side the inside if you don't have time to sand it.
2. Using a jeweler's saw ( large kind or you will have to cut out other pieces to cut off the whole thing) cut on the lines. If you have never used a jeweler's saw before, remember to cut straight up and down, and to put the saw blades the correct direction. You should pass the blade through a bit of beeswax before you start to cut. Do this occasionally while cutting and when you use a new blade. ( they like to break) note: don't saw into your hand! These blades can cut metal, so they can certainly cut you!
3. Once you have finished cutting, you will have to file the edges of your piece, because the edges can be sharp and cut you!
4. Once you have filed, you will sand. You will first sand the edges and then the front and back ( if you care about the back, because it won't be seen. ) when sanding, be sure to sand in only one direction, otherwise the front of your crown will have crisscrossing lines and won't be as pretty after buffing and polishing. You will want to start with a more coarse sandpaper ( 400 grains per square .... , then move up the line. I used 400, 600, and 1000.
5. Now you will shape the tiara. You can do this before or after step 4. ( It doesn't really matter) I did it before, as you can see in the pictures. I simply used my hands to bend it, tried it on my forehead, and bent it again to adjust. However, you could hammer the front on an anvil to make it perfectly round. Human foreheads are not perfectly round, so I would recommend just using your hands. It's easier as well, I believe.
6. Now you will drill holes in the ends of the metal for your elastic to go through. This is probably easier to do before you have shaped your headpiece, but I was running low on time, so I did it in a different order. I would recommend using a Dremel drill with a diamond bit, but since I was doing this at home the night before Halloween and didn't have a Dremel drill, the pictures show me drilling a different piece of metal, not the crown. You will have to start with a small bit, then move up in size in order to get a hole big enough for your elastic to go through. You will want to do this before bending, but it doesn't matter much because the sides are pretty flat even after bending. You will use sandpaper to smooth out the edges in these holes.
7. You will now buff and polish your headpiece. I used a buffing machine owned by my school. Turn the machine on, and put Triple A on the first wheel by holding it up to the spinning wheel. You will buff by holding the headpiece at the center of the wheel and turning it so that every part gets done. Polish on the other wheel, doing the same thing, but put rouge on the wheel instead of triple A. Finish by rubbing with a polishing cloth. You now have a beautiful piece that you can see your reflection in!
8. You can seal your crown if you wish with clear lacquer.
9. You will now put the elastic through the 2 holes on the sides. Measure around your head before making both sides permanent. If you would like to be able to adjust it, simply tie on both sides. If you want it more permanent, sew with white thread.
2. Using a jeweler's saw ( large kind or you will have to cut out other pieces to cut off the whole thing) cut on the lines. If you have never used a jeweler's saw before, remember to cut straight up and down, and to put the saw blades the correct direction. You should pass the blade through a bit of beeswax before you start to cut. Do this occasionally while cutting and when you use a new blade. ( they like to break) note: don't saw into your hand! These blades can cut metal, so they can certainly cut you!
3. Once you have finished cutting, you will have to file the edges of your piece, because the edges can be sharp and cut you!
4. Once you have filed, you will sand. You will first sand the edges and then the front and back ( if you care about the back, because it won't be seen. ) when sanding, be sure to sand in only one direction, otherwise the front of your crown will have crisscrossing lines and won't be as pretty after buffing and polishing. You will want to start with a more coarse sandpaper ( 400 grains per square .... , then move up the line. I used 400, 600, and 1000.
5. Now you will shape the tiara. You can do this before or after step 4. ( It doesn't really matter) I did it before, as you can see in the pictures. I simply used my hands to bend it, tried it on my forehead, and bent it again to adjust. However, you could hammer the front on an anvil to make it perfectly round. Human foreheads are not perfectly round, so I would recommend just using your hands. It's easier as well, I believe.
6. Now you will drill holes in the ends of the metal for your elastic to go through. This is probably easier to do before you have shaped your headpiece, but I was running low on time, so I did it in a different order. I would recommend using a Dremel drill with a diamond bit, but since I was doing this at home the night before Halloween and didn't have a Dremel drill, the pictures show me drilling a different piece of metal, not the crown. You will have to start with a small bit, then move up in size in order to get a hole big enough for your elastic to go through. You will want to do this before bending, but it doesn't matter much because the sides are pretty flat even after bending. You will use sandpaper to smooth out the edges in these holes.
7. You will now buff and polish your headpiece. I used a buffing machine owned by my school. Turn the machine on, and put Triple A on the first wheel by holding it up to the spinning wheel. You will buff by holding the headpiece at the center of the wheel and turning it so that every part gets done. Polish on the other wheel, doing the same thing, but put rouge on the wheel instead of triple A. Finish by rubbing with a polishing cloth. You now have a beautiful piece that you can see your reflection in!
8. You can seal your crown if you wish with clear lacquer.
9. You will now put the elastic through the 2 holes on the sides. Measure around your head before making both sides permanent. If you would like to be able to adjust it, simply tie on both sides. If you want it more permanent, sew with white thread.
STEP 6: Design and Make the Skirt
1. Either buy or make a skirt. I bought mine for a few bucks at the thrift store, so I didn't make a pattern (or the skirt)
2. You will need to get iron on stars to put on your skirt. Read the directions they come with ( if they don't check out my picture).
It should not be hard. Simply put the stars where you would like them and hold the iron on them for about 25 seconds on cotton with no steam.
3. Once you have these in place, you can begin your embroidery. Put the part you want to embroider in the hoop. You don't want the edge of a star between the inner and outer hoop, so it will most likely be in the space as well as the place you will be embroidering. Look up or think of names of strong woman you admire. These names are what you will embroider on. See my list in the pictures. You will be using back stitch for this, demonstrated above in the pictures. Simply pull up the thread from the inside of the fabric, go back down, and bring it back up a stitch away. Push it back in where you pulled it out and repeat. You will use white embroidery thread. My embroidery was somewhat difficult since my skirt used stretchy fabric, so if you are a beginner or just don't want an extra difficulty, try to find a skirt with more stiff/ less stretchy fabric. This will make your life easier.
4. After embroidering, you can put jewels on your skirt. This is optional, especially if you don't have a bejeweling device. Plug in your bejeweler, and let it heat up. I did this work on my ironing board. Place a jewel in the tip of the bejeweler. ( make sure you have the right size bit on the front) press this onto your costume for about 30 seconds, depending on how hot your bejeweler is. If it is not on all the way when you take your hand away, simply continue where you left off.
5. The skirt is finished! Enjoy and make sure all the jewels and stars are securely on. Fix any messed up ones.
2. You will need to get iron on stars to put on your skirt. Read the directions they come with ( if they don't check out my picture).
It should not be hard. Simply put the stars where you would like them and hold the iron on them for about 25 seconds on cotton with no steam.
3. Once you have these in place, you can begin your embroidery. Put the part you want to embroider in the hoop. You don't want the edge of a star between the inner and outer hoop, so it will most likely be in the space as well as the place you will be embroidering. Look up or think of names of strong woman you admire. These names are what you will embroider on. See my list in the pictures. You will be using back stitch for this, demonstrated above in the pictures. Simply pull up the thread from the inside of the fabric, go back down, and bring it back up a stitch away. Push it back in where you pulled it out and repeat. You will use white embroidery thread. My embroidery was somewhat difficult since my skirt used stretchy fabric, so if you are a beginner or just don't want an extra difficulty, try to find a skirt with more stiff/ less stretchy fabric. This will make your life easier.
4. After embroidering, you can put jewels on your skirt. This is optional, especially if you don't have a bejeweling device. Plug in your bejeweler, and let it heat up. I did this work on my ironing board. Place a jewel in the tip of the bejeweler. ( make sure you have the right size bit on the front) press this onto your costume for about 30 seconds, depending on how hot your bejeweler is. If it is not on all the way when you take your hand away, simply continue where you left off.
5. The skirt is finished! Enjoy and make sure all the jewels and stars are securely on. Fix any messed up ones.
STEP 7: Make the Cuffs
1. Cut the bottom and top off of a plastic bottle. Cut the bottle in half both lengthwise and width wise. The lengthwise cut will allow the bottle to curl up into an armband shape. The width cut will give you two armbands. You will cut along the pink lines shown on the green bottle.
2. Paint both armbands blue.
3. Curl around arms and wear.
Done!
2. Paint both armbands blue.
3. Curl around arms and wear.
Done!
STEP 8: Make the Lasso
1. Buy gold-ish colored rope from the dollar store
2. Cut the length you want off and singe the end with a match
3. I had never made a lasso before, so I looked up how to make a lasso knot. It seems that an accurate lasso knot is called a honda knot, but the knot that I liked and matched my purposes the best was the slip knot( screenshot enclosed). Note: this image does not belong to me. I found it on pinterest.com and believe it belongs to netknots.com as it says on the image. Follow these instructions and then you are done!
4. When wearing, coil the rest of the rope around your belt and let the lasso part dangle out!
2. Cut the length you want off and singe the end with a match
3. I had never made a lasso before, so I looked up how to make a lasso knot. It seems that an accurate lasso knot is called a honda knot, but the knot that I liked and matched my purposes the best was the slip knot( screenshot enclosed). Note: this image does not belong to me. I found it on pinterest.com and believe it belongs to netknots.com as it says on the image. Follow these instructions and then you are done!
4. When wearing, coil the rest of the rope around your belt and let the lasso part dangle out!
STEP 9: Finish!
Put your whole costume together and wear it!
People won't be able to believe you sewed the whole shirt yourself and made the headpiece, and will be super impressed! Have a great Halloween!
Note: if you don't finish embroidering names in time, use labels then finish after Halloween!
Please enjoy!
People won't be able to believe you sewed the whole shirt yourself and made the headpiece, and will be super impressed! Have a great Halloween!
Note: if you don't finish embroidering names in time, use labels then finish after Halloween!
Please enjoy!
4 Comments
Swansong 7 years ago
This is really cute!
Fuzzy Monkey 7 years ago
Thank you!:)
parisusa 7 years ago
Fuzzy Monkey 7 years ago
Thanks so much! I didn't know this was her 75th Anniversary! Cool!