Spandex. Mmhm.

By Pyro. 18/02/08, 06:32 pm

RIGHT.

Well, I was just hovering around cosplay.com the other day, minding my own business, when I found the most gorgeous crossplay ever, which one person had done of a COMPLETELY SHIRTLESS guy from Vagrant Story. They had gotten (or made?) a spandex suit thing which was sosososo fabulous and I utterly adored it. *o*

Any idea how I'd procure a skin-toned spandex shirt, anyone?

Or how I'd make one?

By **seraphik**. 20/02/08, 07:40 pm

spandex is like, the worst material to put in a sewing machine ever. ;3; i find it's even worse than silk, because it STRETCHES sdkafhsdkf
then again, that could just be because i'm an awful seamstress ;;;
so i can't give any advice, though i would eternally respect you if you made it.

By Pyro. 20/02/08, 09:56 pm

xD I've sewn spandex before- and I agree, it is hella hard to sew, but it's from that experience that I'm challenging myself to use it again.

Gawd, this costume's fun to make... I like using challenging fabrics (my coat is made of vinyl! x3) and the people at school have already listed me of a loon for even DREAMING of doing it! "Spandex and PVC" they say; laugh about how it's all weird and the like... WAIT 'TIL I SHOW THEM! KYAHAHAHAHA~!

By Bob. 21/08/08, 05:41 pm

hmm im not too sure on this but im faily sure lycra is easier to sew than spandex and it doesnt look quite as tacky either (hides my lycra outfits)

By Static. 21/08/08, 06:05 pm

I think maybe lycra would be better - it doesn't have that shiny sheen to it. Can you link to this awesome costume plz?

By Bob. 22/08/08, 02:21 am

eh its just from sports and i dont think anybody really needs to see me in skintight outfits

By **JVCA**. 22/08/08, 08:56 pm

FYI: This thread was last used in February and said costume was finished in April, if I recall correctly. n_n;
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By neimhaille. 29/08/08, 04:11 am

lycra= spandex (trade name vs generic name, the generic is also known as elastane). It's a fibre mixed in with other fibres to increase stretch.
While there might be subtle differences between how the elastane is produced company to company it is the other 97%+ in an elastane enhanced fabric that really makes the difference! The newer generation of micro denier nylons are making the whole swimsuit/skate/dance and recreation costume area look a whole lot classier ;)

So any update on how the sewing went? I am having another cosplay panel this next 'Geddon and want to touch on sewing fabrics as it tends to be considered less challenging by many, usually those who don't really work with the stuff....

By **Rowan**. 20/09/08, 03:28 pm

Thanks neimhale for the info! It'll be helpful for a costume I am planning to do in the future (although I never would have believed I'd ever consider wearing spandex O.o )
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Future Cosplays | Lady Loki - Marvel || Loki - The Avengers || Sailor Neptune - Sailor Moon || Rogue -X-men Evolution || Prince Gumball - Adventure Time

By wOOt_. 22/09/08, 05:49 pm

I'd imagine you can get skin-tone ones for ballet/gymnist types online, though I doubt they're cheap...

By neimhaille. 25/09/08, 09:02 pm

It's easy enough to dye to your own shade or the shade you want to anyway including various shades of flash :) Nylon or cotton based anyway. Same with pantihose by the way. If you need to darken pantihose it's easier to dye to shade (use a cold water dye so you can be more sure of the final shade which will be lighter than when in the dye pot but probably not a different tone) than decolour but you can still do that too.
A word of warning. *NO* bleach on nylon or lycra based fabrics. Nylon degrades in the stuff. You can use the Dyelon Dyegon/Predye on nylon (lycra fabric or pantihose etc) but you will wind up with incredibly bright fluro yellow tights/fabric. It does oxidise or whatever back to normal but you need air and uv (ie hang it outside for a few days). Don't do this the day you need them.

You can use tea to dye nylon a nice warm toned beige as well. But rince well or it streaks and won't come out.

A little bit pf practice yes. I'm very pale so that dancers tights are much too dark for me so I've had to custom colour them a few times ;)

By firecat70. 29/09/08, 09:49 pm

OHOH!
I have a tutorial thing! It's about painting bodysuits. It creates an awesome effect.
LINK:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/reiss/1220666605061.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/reiss/1220666700184.jpgg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/reiss/1220667113181.jpg