Last year, for his birthday, my husband asked me for a completely unexpected gift. Can you guess what it is? A Superman costume! Now, don’t ask me what is the reason for this sudden, if not weird, obsession for a Man of Steel costume, but of course, I could not say no. If you have a friend, an elder son, or a weird husband (like mine) who wants a Superman costume, all you need to do is read this article and follow the instructions.

Instructions on How To Make a Superman Costume:

 

Step 1 – Superman Suit: Your first step is to find a long-sleeved shirt in blue and I am sure there must be one lying somewhere in your closet. But remember that you will have to find a spandex one. Reason why? Because it is a stretchy, thin and lightweight fabric. And, if you don’t have one, don’t worry as most athletic clothing stores carry this type of clothing. But try to find one that’s as plain as possible, with only a few logos and print.

 

Step 2: Now, you will need blue leggings. You can either purchase or use some that you already have. But you need to make sure that you are using leggings in a blue that’s as close to the color of the shirt that you will be using. Besides, you can also use blue tights.

 

Step 3: Next step includes searching for photos of the superman emblem on the Internet. You will get several results but find one that’s red and yellow and don’t worry if there are black outlines. Once you have obtained the right one, print it out. But before that, make sure to enlarge the emblem so as it covers your chest area.

 

Step 4: Now, make a stencil out of the printed out emblem. You can use a utility knife to cut out the yellow from the printed out emblem. This will leave just the red “S”, which you will use as a stencil.

 

Step 5: With the red “S” stencil that you obtained, use it on a piece of felt. Glue the stencil to a piece of red felt with a craft spray adhesive. Then, use a pen to trace the outside of the emblem on the felt and cut the shape. Afterwards, trace the emblem’s internal parts with a pen and cut those out with a utility knife. But if you want a more 3-dimensional look, you can use craft foam sheets to cut out the emblem.

 

Step 6: Now, attach the red “S” to the yellow vinyl. With the help of rubber cement, attach the red “S” to a piece of yellow vinyl. Then cut the yellow vinyl around the red emblem to leave with a superman emblem in red and yellow.

 

Step 7: Time to stick the emblem to the shirt. Put on the shirt so that you can get the placement right, then stand in front of a mirror and attach the emblem to the centre of your chest using double-sided foam tape. If you cannot carry out this step alone, ask a friend to help you out.

 

Step 8 – Superman Cape: Buy three yards of shiny red synthetic fabric. Make sure to choose a type of fabric that doesn’t fray and try to choose a red as close to the red in your emblem as possible.

 

Step 9: After measuring a rectangle of red fabric that reaches the top of your calves, get someone to help you use a measuring tape to measure from your collar to the top of your calves. And, then based on this length, cut your red fabric scissors

 

Step 10: Now, tuck one to two inches of the red fabric into the shirt’s back collar and pin it in place. Obviously, you will need a friend to help you do this.

 

Step 11: The next step includes sewing the cape into the back collar of the blue shirt. So, take off the shirt you are using for your costume and use needle and thread, secure the cape to the shirt’s back collar.

 

Step 12 – Men’s Briefs: Now, you need to find a pair of men’s red briefs. You can either use what you already have or buy new ones.

 

Step 13: You will need to trace the briefs on red stretchy fabric and for the red fabric you can use spandex, lycra or polyester. So, lay your red fabric on your worktable and place the briefs on the fabric so that the top hem of the briefs lines up with the fabric’s edge. Then, trace around the briefs with a piece of tailor’s chalk.

 

Step 14: First, cut out the brief shape, while making sure you don’t cut out the whole thing. Then, flip the fabric over on itself where the crotch meets the fabric, as if you are making a reflection. Draw another chalk outline on the other side that connects at the crotch.

 

Step 15: Now, prepare the briefs for sewing. Cut out your briefs, fold them in half and pin the sides together, leaving the leg holes and top of the briefs open.

 

Step 16: Once you have sewed them, try the briefs on over your tights or leggings.

 

Step 17: In order to make the briefs wearable, you need to measure a length of elastic that is of the same measurement of your waist minus an inch. Then, sew the elastic into the inside of the top of the red briefs. 

 

Step 18: Next , cut two slits that are about two inches tall and one inch apart just below the right hip bone and two slits just below the left hip bone. Once done, repeat the same process at the back and at the sides. These will represent your belt loops.

 

Step 19: In the back of the briefs, fasten the belt to the briefs by sewing them in place. You want to do this in back, as the cape will cover it.

 

Step 20: The last step requires you to assemble your whole costume together.

 

I know there are a lot of steps and it seems a bit difficult. But, I guarantee once the hard work is done, you will be satisfied. Please share your comments!