Ultimate Crimson Bolt Onsie D.I.Y.

With halloween coming, crafty people like myself must be upto no good...

This time with the help of my lovely mother... We present:

CRIMSON BOLT Onesie costume...

For those who isn't familiar with crimson bolt...

Crimson Bolt is a frictional character from the James Gunn indie movie Super (2010)... The story follows the adventure of Frank Darbo (played by Rainn Wilson), a diner cook, from losing his wife to drug dealers, inspired by another tv/comic character Holy Avengers to becoming a hero/ vigilante/ Crimson Bolt with 1 and only 1 motto “SHUT UP CRIME!!”...

With assistant of his kid side kick Boltie (Libby by Ellen page), they totally beat evil A.K.A Kelvin Beacon in this case... (I like Kevin Beacon, dont get me wrong...)

Super nice movie.

Again crafty audience may love the part where Frank made his red costume and props for his hero identity... Let face it, his costume looks awesome yet a tiny bit less than perfect haha... Cus he is a beginner in sewing. I really like the movie and agree the philosophy behind it... I wanna protect my love ones, why not do so with a crimson bolt outfit?

ALL IT TAKES TO BE A HERO IS THE CHOICE TO FIGHT EVIL!!

Instead of a exact replica of the costume... which is awesome BTW...

This instructable will provide step by step tutorial in making a Crimson Bolt inspired hood Onesie...

This onesie will reflect essentials of Crimson Bolt as well as wearable on daily basis...

All because I believe the spirit of Halloween dress up should not be restricted in 1 short night...

Also this seems to be a heck of a way to stay warm in the cold winter shortly after Halloween...

Never the less I would consider this a low-budget project, pls see spending details in materials section.

Some of you might know... I am a beginner in sewing mot muchdifferent from Frank in the movie... This is quite a challenge... Again even for experience sewers, I don't think this a 1 man/woman job... So grab your darling, buddy, sibling or parent along and double the fun of the project!! My mother really help me a lot in both practical and emotional ways.

The essence of the Crimson Bolt look is the red + yellow color, big logo on his chest and the crazy amount of zippers!!

Don't worry I tried to strike a balance between the similarity and functionality...

the onsie will be structurally symmetric. I keep a fair amount of zippers to keep it wearable... The zipper will hopefully carry out the subtle color variations...

Pls see the attached sketch for the main design features:

1. 1 big logo on the chest
   
2. 1 long red zipper in front,
   
3. 4 short yellow zippers at sleeve and leg openings
4. 1 hood with yellow lining inside

Well good news on the dimension and sizes... though my exact measurement may not be useful, but you can duplicate the sizes and shape of your favorite hoodie + trousers. i would choose slightly baggy ones for wearing comfort as well as the bigger room of error in patterning for beginners like me... Dont worry to be making mistakes, its afterall the best way of learning.

Tools:

• Sewing machine
• scissors
• ruler
• Measuring tape (IKEA paper ones will do)
• large paper for patterning (old newspaper will do too)
• pen or Marker
• Pins

Materials:

• HKD 120 72 inch x 4yard red sweater fabric (which I used half)
• HKD 25 60 inch x 1yard yellow cotton t-shirt fabric (which I used less than 1 fifth)
• HKD 20 6 yards of flat yellow rope (which I used )
• HKD 20 4 short yellow zippers
• HKD 8 1 long red zipper

I was going for a original patterning rather than duplicating existing hoodies, that is not really the wisest choice for a beginners, but hey i learnt my lesson... Finalizing the pattern took me more time than sewing itself!!

So for the easy way, I recommend you to

1. flat out a large paper on the floor,
2. lay your hoodie and trousers on it.
3. Overlap them in a way they assemble a fit shape of Onsie.
4. Lay down (yourself) on top of the cloth. To check if the pattern is fitting
5. divided the pattern into the parts like the sketch:

• Hood
• sleeve
• body

6. Add a 2-3 cm border evenly across each piece of pattern (They are the essential in any sewing project.)

Tips:

for symmetric pattern like sleeve, you can draw only 1 side keeping a line of symmetry. But when cutting fold the fabric, match the fold of fabric with the line of symmetry. And Voila, you get the a symmetric pattern...

Cutting process is a bit machinery...

1. flat out the fabric on the floor
2. put your paper patterns on top (With the 2-3 cm sewing border)
3. start aligning the pattern so that you get the most pattern cut with the least yard of fabric used.
4. Secure the paper on the fabric with pins/safety pins when you are happy with the alignment
5. Grab your scissors and get cutting.

We will need the following:

• Hood (red x 2, yellow x 2)
• sleeve (red x2)
• body (back x 1)
• half body (front x 2)

Tips:

1. If you are really keen on sewing, you should get a scissor you will only cut fabric with it, nothing else!! this is the best to keep it sharp.
2. like i said fold the fabric. you can get 2 symmetric pieces at once and double the speed...

The logo take some work and definitely deserve a step of its own...

The logo will be on the chest, separated by the main red zipper...

So i replicate the logo from the reference photo...

Draw a middle line to Separate the logo into the left and right halves...

1. carefully cut out the logo pattern on a yellow fabric
2. align the fabric on the 2 front body pieces
3. !!Beware that they match one another...!!
4. sew the edge of the pattern...
5. (Optional) use the zigzag function of the sewing machine around the edges to strengthen it... I need to upgrade my sewing machine b4 that...haha

1. sew the inner and out hood together leaving a tube shape for inserting yellow the rope...
2. make an opening (use the function of those opening for button , should be found in modern sewing machine) on the tube shape on the edge of the hood.
3. Insert the yellow rope into the tube like like see in normal hoodies
4. Sew the 2 sides of zipper on the 2 front pieces, beware that they are aligned
5. Sew the the short zippers onto the end of sleeve and trousers opening.
6. Zip everything up
7. sew the front body piece to the back body piece
8. sew the hood on...

9. sew the sleeve to the body-pieces-composite

pls refer to the numbers on the sketch attached for a flow chart, easier to understand

here are some optional props ideas...

Belt:

Crimson Bolt carry his gear with the heavy duty belt, I came across this luggage strap... 2 inch wide. May be I can dye it and have my own belt!! HKD 13

Wrench & Mask:

With my little experience on paper craft, I was able to duck tape this wrench with old magazine in minutes, then spray paint it red... the mask is base off a plain party mask, painting it, glues the left over fabric with a rubber band for wearability, I know I could have done better than that, but the fabric is the focus.

Poster:

Crimson bolt stick poster around to promote his “street rep in the hood”... I also replicate the poster in GIMP, feel free to download & print it... its in A4, should be nice...

Add a tummy pocket like most hoodie to add practicality for day to day usage...