This is what I learned while making the Wonder Woman costume
The armour in the final costume is actually the second incarnation. The first version was made from a thicker, 12mm foam floor mat which was less flexible than the 5mm foam I used in version 2. Despite heat-forming it before gluing, the seams just couldn’t hold the pressure reliably and started to come apart. My takeaway from this was that while 12mm foam might be suitable for a similar adult-sized set of armour, the tighter curves on a child-sized version require thinner foam to compensate.
The pattern for version 1 was also different. Instead of making a full duct-tape torso to take the pattern from, I wrapped Zoe in cling film down from her armpits. I covered that in duct tape in a similar fashion as when making the dummy, but I cut the pattern from it directly rather than making a form. This meant that I didn’t have a way to check the fit without Zoe present. I quickly realized how much of a problem this would be given the form-fitting nature of the costume and abandoned V1 before adding the trim.
The durability of the paint-job was also something I want to improve in future costumes. I didn’t use a base layer between the paint and the foam, and this led to the paint chipping quite easily, especially on sections that flexed a lot. In future I’m going to try spraying a layer of plastidip or spray-on latex on the foam before painting to get a better ‘grip’.
Since the skirt was a last-minute addition I didn’t have time to shop for anything for it. The only velcro I had to hand was thin strips designed to be used as cable ties. I spent a long time cutting and gluing them to the inside of the armour and they didn’t hold very well when taking the skirt pieces off. I’m definitely going to invest in some thick rolls of velcro the next time I need to use some on a costume project.
