Yet another installment into the Slayer Jinx build! I'm super excited that I probably only have 4 articles after this one (Shirt/Jacket/Belt, Zapper, Pow Pow, and Fishbones) and I'm really excited to be getting into my April Build! If you are interested in seeing what it is, check out my Facebook, Instagram, or sign up for my newsletter! I try to only send those once a month, around the middle of the month. Anyway, today we're going to talk from the boots up, starting with the kneepads!
KNEEPADS: These are made from 6mm foam. I cut the general kneepad shape out, then cut out the underpiece that they attach to. You'll be using your dremel to round the edges a bit, so make sure you wear eye and face protection. I also used my heat gun to warm up the foam a bit, and placed it on my knee to try to form it a bit more. This took two or three times and then I did the same with the top piece of the pad. I glued them together with contact cement (make sure you are in a well-ventilated area.) You can use your heat gun a little to make the glue get tacky and glue faster. I'm super impatient, so I always feel like I have to. I made the actual cloth piece out of performance fabric, measuring around my knee. My next go-around, I definitely think I will use a thicker knit and add elastic strips to hold it closer to my knees as it slipped the entire time I was wearing them.
I took a rectangle of the performance fabric, making sure to double the size I needed width-wise, then zigzag stitched around the seam, making sure to hide it on the inside of the kneepad before gluing the foam to the cloth. All that was left was painting the foam with acrylics, splatter painting the green to show the Zombie Blood, then sealing it with a layer of Mod Podge. The kneepads probably took me about an hour to make, but they came out looking pretty good.
SHORTS: As with any cosplay I make, I can easily buy the shorts, but I'm extra and intend to enter her into a cosplay contest eventually, so I want this cosplay made about 90% by myself. I took a pair of existing shorts I owned and folded them with one leg inside the other, then measured out that piece and quadrupled it. I had to make the shorts a little longer to make a cuff (which you will see in the pictures), and also made a couple of pockets, so I had two rectangles cut out and sewn onto the back pieces before I started finishing the seams. I sewed two opposite pieces (front and back) with zigzag stitches, as this was a pretty tight fitting short, then zigzagged the U shape (the middle/crotch seam) to give it a little extra security. You are also going to want to make belt loops. In order to do that, you'll cut out 1"x3" pieces (or at least a half-inch wider than your belt) and sew a straight stitch down the middle. Once you've made the top hem on the shorts, you can sew the loops on.
To sew the loops on, you'll want to sew the right side down onto the right side (outside) of the shorts. Then, you'll fold under a little bit of a seam at the bottom of the loop, and sew it down to the shorts. You'll repeat this for as many loops as you want. I made 6 for Jinx, because that's about what it looks like for her shorts. When I was finished with the top hem, I went to create the cuff at the bottom. It's a simple rolled hem (Roll the edge of the fabric up, then a second time) which on normal garments, would be folded under, to the inside of the garment. I wanted to create a thicker cuff, so the second time I rolled it, it was about an inch, compared to the first one, which was only about a 1/4". Make sure you test your shorts before sewing up all the hems, as it is easier to only seam rip one or two hems rather than the entire short.
STOCKINGS: You can easily buy these, but as I have stated before, I am extra, therefore I need to be extra. I took a tutorial I bought from Kinpatsu Cosplay for K/DA Ahri and Akali (I might cosplay one or both in the future, idk yet.) And in her tutorial for Ahri, she has the stocking pattern. I took the basic outline of that, after having made several rows of the stripes (made with the purple from my shirt, and 4-way stretch fabric) also zigzag stitched to make sure my thicc thighs didn't pop the seams. I cut it to the rough shape Kinpatsu shows in her tutorial (I won't be showing you, since it's not my tutorial to show) and sewed up the back seam (again, with a zigzag), and had to sew in a couple of times to make sure they were tight enough. When making Jinx's stockings, her left one is longer than her right, so you won't have to sew as many stripes for it. Make another rolled hem at the top, and then cut up the right stocking a little, and you're done with those bad boys!
I hope this helps out with any questions you might have, but you are always more than welcome to message, comment, or ask me through any of my Socials for your basic questions! If you'd like more in-depth help (finding fabric, creating patterns for yourself, and more) you can book me for 1 hour sessions for $15! You'll click on the "Book Now" tab and we can create an hour block that you choose to best fit your schedule. If you'd like to support me continuing these tutorials, please send me a ko-fi! It's only $3, and our current goal is to help get me a serger! Every coffee you buy for me also gets you into the raffle for the Third Gen (Hoenn) quilt that I'm making! Once it's complete, I'll pick a winner and ship it to that lucky someone! Thanks so much for reading this tutorial!