I made this for AVCon in Adelaide on July 15/16, 2006. It was challenging to make, which was the reason why I chose it. Where's the fun in doing something easy? lol
I also wore this to Sydney Supanova 2006 - these photos were taken by Widya.
These fantastic photos are thanks to LadySilverSpider.
Fabric
I bought red and black lycra from my local Spotlight store for $20 a metre. The green fabric is lightweight polyester, and the black trim around the bottom is bias binding.
Bodysuit
I used a stretch top pattern as a base, cut out a mock up like a long tube dress, so that I could pin it around the crotch. I got the leg shape from a leggings pattern, and drafted the pieces together. After some adjustments and a couple of mock ups, I got the basic bodysuit pattern and went from there. I have a zip in the back, so that I can get into it. The back has a black panel, with a black invisible zip down the centre.
The sleeves took
a few mock ups to get right. When sewing each colour together, the process was
as follows:
- Pin
- Hand
baste
- Machine sew
Gloves
I bought a pair of black lycra gloves and pulled them apart for the pattern, taking note of how all the pieces are sewn together.
Asuka’s gloves have black palms, so I made the alterations and used the same method as with the sleeves – pinning the pieces together, hand basting and then machine sewing.
Wristbands
They are made from wadding, slightly rolled, then wrapped in lycra, and handsewn. They simply slide on over my hands, and stay in place without help. They also hide where the gloves end and the sleeves begin.
Plugs
I drew the plugs in Adobe Illustrator, printed them out the correct size and glued them to circles of black plastic (the type you get on the cover of those spiral bound notebooks). They are attached to my bodysuit with 3M heavy duty mounting tape. This stuff is excellent, and fanatastic for emergencies. It's held up really well!
Synch Clips
They were made for me by a friend (Reactor Drone), and they are vac formed plastic. I spray painted them red, painted the black lines on with acrylic and then and attached clips to them.
Numbers and Stripes
The numbers were made from black lycra, and attached to the front with a product I keep forgetting the name of! Will find out what it is and include it when I can. The wide stripes on the legs were made from black lycra as well and handsewn in place. The thin black lines down the front and on the legs were done with a black laundry marker.
Shoes
I have jiffies as a base, with little slipper coverings over the top, that I made out of the same fabric as the bodysuit, so that they match.
