Recycling Oversized Bodysuit

A while back I ordered a new Miss Whiplash bodysuit. In case you were interested that is the bodysuit that I use for Black Cat and Black Widow. It’s a great suit. Only problem is when I ordered the new one to replace it I ordered a size too big, and then I proceeded to set it down on wet paint thus rendering it unreturnable. I saved it in case I ever could think of a way to salvage it, and this weekend I figured it out!

Have you seen my Black Canary cosplay? Well, if not, good! Ok, I put a photo for you to understand what I’m talking about here. I basically had to beg Joe to edit those photos because I think he knew it just wasn’t my best work. This is one costume that I feel really failed because of my “quantity over quality” attitude last year. We shot these photos in 100+ degree weather. I was hot. The wig was falling apart. My panty hose weren’t what I wanted, and overall I just was not in love with my look. This resulted in pretty much overall disaster.

Black Canary deserves better. I promised that one day I would go back and do right by her. Well, that’s where the idea to transform this bodysuit into a new leotard for an upgraded version of her finally hit me! I based the leotard’s design off of the reference picture below.

Since the suit was too big, I had to bring shorten the length of the bodice about an inch. After I sewed that to where it wasn’t sagging, I cut the legs off. Once I tried it on like this I sketched lines in white where I wanted the hem to be. Once I had that, I sewed the arms at the shoulder seam; cut off the rest of the long sleeve, and stitched the hem for the leg holes. I was on a roll, so I forgot to take photos of the process. Overall it took about an hour, and I am very happy with the results.

You can expect an updated version of her sometime this year. I just have to get all of the accessories together.

Do you have any items in your closet that you could transform for cosplay? Looking for more information on this transformation? Leave a comment below. For more cosplay themed post make sure to subscribe!