Go For a Gamora (costume)

I am fairly proud of this costume, because the leather “vest” part is the first item I have made with some success without having anything to copy. When I say that I mean I have made plenty of clothing items by strategically folding and tracing pieces of clothing I already had, in essence using that piece as a pattern. Not surprisingly I didn’t have anything like that when I made the vest so I had to figure it out as I went. The key to this was to have plenty of paper. You can buy big newsprint pads from Michaels, Joann’s, or pretty much any art store for fairly cheap. I have a few but when I made this they were in storage, so I used thin packing paper that came in a box that was delivered to me.

To begin I had to take measurements of my body to ensure the final result would fit me, I then drew the pieces of the vest to scale on the paper. I only needed to draw half of the pieces because I would just cut two out of my leather when the time came. If I had enough paper, I would have made the entire thing out of paper first to see exactly how it would come together, but I didn’t.

The trickiest part was the bust pieces. Because I have some experience sewing I know that darts are one way that clothing designers add dimension and make space for boobs, so I then drew darts into my bust pieces, but soon learned it wasn’t as simple as that.

 The first time I cut them out of the paper and pinched the darts together like they would eventually be when I sew them, I realized I had made it much too long on one side, and the edge was uneven and awkward. I had to measure out the dart and adjust the angle of the edge so that it would come together smoothly.

When I had gotten all pieces to a satisfactory size, measuring and measuring again, (make sure if you do this you have a good eraser!) I drew tabs on the pieces I would use to fold under or sew to adjoining pieces. I wrote myself a note where I hadn’t left space to draw the tab.

It was time to cut the pieces. Normally I work with cotton or a more porous fabric and I would pin pattern pieces to them, this leather would retain any pinpricks I made, so I opted to trace with sharpie on the wrong side of the leather. (P.S. this is leather I got off a couch someone left on the curb! One man’s trash….)

Once I had all my pieces cut out I folded and ironed all of the tabs that would need to be sewn that way, which made it easier.

When I was ready to sew it all together I used masking tape instead of pins to fit it together and then sew it just the way I wanted it to be.

I made the sleeves after the main body. I got the general shape of the sleeve from this tank top adjusting them to make them thicker. I originally wanted the high collar, but it didn’t work out, which I am fine with because this leather was a little too stiff to be comfortable around my neck.

I chose to do a lace up corset style back because I was working on getting into shape and had high hopes and apprehensions about the possibility of being thinner when Halloween rolls around, this way I could adjust the sizing as needed. In any case I knew the back would be hidden by the jacket most of the time. The eyelets came from Wal-mart , they were probably about $5, and I used a ball peen hammer to install them. I know you can buy special tools for that if you want to though. 

The “rivets” are actually googly eyes I painted silver. I actually used metallic nail polish on those, but the paint is chipping after wearing it once, I my need to use something else next time. I glued them on with E6000 glue which is currently my favorite glue. Fun story about it… When I was student teaching the sole of my shoe started to fall off. The teacher hooked me up with some of this glue and I bless her name every time I use it, it is awesome.

To add the straps on the side I cut a little slit in the leather, slid the strap through, and used a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine to secure it.

My next step was the jacket. Beginning with a thrift store jacket, I discovered that I could paint the pleather with a very thin layer of acrylic paint without changing the feel of the material. It does rub/scratch off a little, but not in a terribly noticeable way. I used the paint right out of the tube and spread it on with a paintbrush in circular motions. I did two layers in a few areas, but most of it was good with just one.

I used a light brown leather (also from a couch) to do the arm bands and cuffs and I had a nice approximation of the jacket she wears in the film.

The rest of the costume was covered by basics, a white tee shirt cut up a little, black leggings, and boots I bought at the thrift store when we did Star Trek last year.  You can barely see it in my picture, but I also got some clip-in hair extensions online for $2.

All in all, I think the most expensive part of this costume was the jacket, which was about $20. I had a lot of the materials I needed on hand.

Thanks for reading!  

If you liked this post, check out how our family costume turned out here:guardians of the galaxy family costume