The act of dressing up like a character and making your shoes match your costume is a part of cosplay that most people dread. Cosplayers can even go beyond imitating their character’s outfits and can even role-play as characters using their mannerisms and gestures.
When it comes to cosplay, some choose to get specific shoes or dyeing an existing pair for every costume, while others choose to overlook the need for footwear that matches their costume.
Nonetheless, if you’re worried about making you can make your cosplay cover for your shoes, you’re likely to be delighted after these handy tips on shoe covering. We have highlighted some of the shoe cover techniques on how you can make your cosplay.
Cosplay isn’t all about making defensive layers on your shoes. Instead, it entails making a certain pair of flats match the color of your outfit and costume. Perhaps we should take grayish shoes with laces for an example in this case.
This is How You Do It
Using a paper with a soft texture, cover the shoes, and draw the shape of the shoes on the paper. Focus on the shoes’ structure to determine the number of pieces you will need to cut later.
The back of the shoes needs drawing too. If you want to make the sole, then draw the sole too. Cut the drawing paper carefully and mark where each piece should be set.
If you want to cover the sole, start sewing the sole at this point. Note that you might want to sew the fabric twice for better durability. Sew the back as well as sides and front of the sole.
Using chalk, draw the pattern of the paper-cut and then cut it off to cover it on the shoes. Work well on this: make sure the wedge of the fabric is wider than the pattern such that it can wrap shoes inside to some extent.
Attach the fabric to the sole using scotch tape or double-faced adhesive tape. Other needlework to sew them together may be done later. So you just need to make temperate modeling at this point.
Tuck up the extra fabric inwards the shoe and hide the shoe straps around the heel, under the cosplay fabric. Be sure to cover and glue the front part the same way and then sew the upper and bottom parts together. Be careful not to sew the shoes together with the material or rather a fabric. In addition, pay attention to tiny alterations on sewing or covering the place.
Fold the fabric on the step, inwards the shoes, and be careful as too much fabric folded or collapsed inside may cause discomfort or slip off easily. Thus you need to do this cautiously.
The next thing is to make the shoelace. Se the straps or rather laces onto the shoes. Note that this depends on the circumstances, as in some cases, you might require Velcro.
In summary: start by patterning one of the shoes. You can do this using an existing pair of flats. You can cover it with foil first and then duct tape afterward. Cut the pattern part carefully to make paper templates, which you can then transfer to a fabric that you probably saved when making the costume.
Pin the texture/fabric pieces (side to side of the fabric) and sew them together. In the case of multiple pieces, you can ideally add notches or pencil marks to determine which seams match each piece. Otherwise, it can be really disappointing to finish sewing only to realize you’ve done it wrong.
You can serge, criss-cross line or fray check any incomplete creases. If the fabric isn’t prone to fraying, you will just need to zigzag/crisscross the back seam to enhance durability. If you’re sewing by hand, you can use a blanket stitch instead of a serger or zigzag stitch.
Also Read: Why Don’t Hobbits Wear Shoes?
How To Add A Non-Slip Sole To Spandex Boot Covers
Spandex boot covers are such an incredible way to customize nearly perfect footwear to match with your costume. Although they can choose to buy ready-made covers, some prefer making their own. With a good spandex cosplay-sewing manual, you’ll have so much flexibility on footwear as well as the final effect.
Other costumes, like the “Peek-A-Blue,” for that matter, will require you to build your boot covers right into the leggings for a comprehensive look. Here the shoes are embedded into the leggings, and the entire thing is put on as if you would roll up pantyhose. This can truly give a complete look.
Spandex boot covers, however, can be frail to your outfit in terms of wear and tear. This material isn’t actually made to be footwear. All things considered, all the walking can make them wear out quickly.
Don’t worry, though. Adding a sole to your boot cover is simple, reasonably economical, and significantly broadens the life of your costume. It helps to protect the seam itself as well as the fabric of the shoe. Moreover, this will create a non-slip surface, making your costume safer to wear.
Start by putting the shoe inside the cover and line up the seams as it should be. This simply means if the long seam goes directly up the center of the sole, the vertical seam should extend from that seam up to the instep. Be sure to smooth out any wrinkles.
Place the shoe over the pattern, then trace out the sole. Pay attention when doing this. In case the shoe/boot curls at the front, you can roll forward on the sole when tracing to secure a complete pattern.
The tracing is likely to be tough, but you can clean up the edges as you go. Set the tracing up against the sole of the shoe to see how well it fits. Get rid of any excess, where necessary. One common rubberized soling material is known as “ToughTeck.” You can count on to add the covers. It comes in several colors, so you can easily coordinate with whatever you’re adding sole to.