Before going to bed last night, I felt like I just had to sneak in one more piece (pair of pieces, technically) of the bodysuit: the boots/socks. I was examining the foot portion of my existing Spidey suit, the one I bought on eBay years back. (Incidentally, it is a bodysuit with attached feet, but separate gloves and mask.) The “boots” were basically just extensions of the “tubes” of the legs, with the inseam continuing down to the big toe and taking a right turn to close off the end across the ends of the toes. Like a tube sock with the seam continuing up one side.
But, as you can see from the pattern above, that was too simple. I decided that since a sock was a relatively small investment in fabric, it was worth experimenting. It was a bit daunting at first, trying to visualize how to account for the right-angle-ish turn of the foot at the ankle/heel/foot junction, but I just started measuring and then thinking of it like the foot was extended, the top of the foot and toes pointing along nearly the same line as the shin… So, again applying the same principles of measuring and pattern-making learned from the wonderful Internetters I have mentioned in previous posts, I came up with the pattern above. It didn’t look anything like a foot to me, at first, but after I cut the fabric and did the sewing…
Huh. Those look a lot like socks. Actually, worn without the leggings and shirt, they look pretty much exactly like dress socks (somewhat shabby dress socks, but still).
Now I can see the foot shape in the pattern. And I can also see that, ideally, I might want to take some little curves inward on either side of the center line. The outside of the toes–opposite the seam side–came out a tad square (I tucked it under for the pic).
I think the “tube” approach would have been mostly fine, but it seems to me that it would create unnecessary stretch on the heel, stressing the fabric and possibly affecting the aesthetic in terms of fit and allowing some of the color of the skin underneath to show through. I will be adding fabric paint at some point, and figure an even stretch will be important for that as well.
Later, I will attach soles of some kind, which will likely involve lining inside the feet and the soles outside, attached via strong glue through the fabric.
These still need hemming and elastic (as does the shirt), but I think I will save the rest of the finishing work on the components for after I have done the gloves and the mask.
Plus, just as I will be coming up with a way to keep the shirt-bottom and pants-top together, I will be doing a similar thing with the boots and gloves, to avoid sagging and maintain clean, pseudo-seamlessness for the suit.
Additionally, I think I have a good solution for the “junction” issues with the leggings. At some point, I will probably sew up a new pair of those incorporating that solution that should provide appropriately greater roominess.
Of course, at this point, I am almost down to scraps and remnants of my original pile of spandex, so here’s hoping I can squeeze gloves and maybe mask out of what’s left before I need to get more.
NEXT UP: Gloves, preferably in a hand-like shape
Spider-Man Mashup Cosplay Costume: 