+

[Konaruhi]

I have a con next week, and I'm STILL working on my costume! I ran into a maaajor problem, though. THESE boots are killing me: http://static.zerochan.net/Granado.E...full.54328.jpg (Close up: http://i50.tinypic.com/m9wqr9.jpg) I was using this tutorial: http://www.cosplayisland.co.uk/tutorials/bootcovers for the boot, the problems are:
1: The boot will not stay up, AT ALL. Without moving, it falls.
2: The designs on the boot. I have to stretch the boot cover (like pantyhose) to put it on, so any design I make and put on the boot will cause me to not be able to stretch it, in which case I won't even be able to put the boot on.
3: I have $0. NO MONEY. As a last resort, I can beg my mother for money, but I hate doing that....but I will probably have to, and I know it.
4: I'm gonna be in a high-quality costume contest, so very small detail must be the same.

Please help me soon! I need these boots next weekend!

[Aeviking]

You can search for another cosplayers who had made that character and try to find out how they did the boots (what´s the character's name?, just wondering). Also, maybe you should move this thread to "accesories".

[Penlowe]

You need to add elastic at the top of the boot cover and you can double the stay-up-ness by using sock glue. That is the cheapest solution I can come up with.

EDIT: You might need to tighten up the calf portion of the boot cover too, without seeing it on you I cannot tell if you've actually constructed it the same way/ with the same materials as the tutorial.

[Konaruhi]

Originally Posted by Aeviking

You can search for another cosplayers who had made that character and try to find out how they did the boots (what´s the character's name?, just wondering). Also, maybe you should move this thread to "accesories".

Oh, the character's name is Princess Gabriella (from Granado Espada). One of the reasons why I chosen her to cosplay was because I could only find 2 people who has ever cosplayed her. (This one:http://www.flixya.com/files-photo/h/...del-440185.jpg and this one:http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7104/7...7ee1b6ba_z.jpg) One is from China and the other girl is from Germany. I would ask the Chinese girl how she did her boots, but I don't speak Chinese.

Originally Posted by Penlowe

You need to add elastic at the top of the boot cover and you can double the stay-up-ness by using sock glue. That is the cheapest solution I can come up with.

EDIT: You might need to tighten up the calf portion of the boot cover too, without seeing it on you I cannot tell if you've actually constructed it the same way/ with the same materials as the tutorial.

Yeah, I made it the same way, but I just made it was tight as possible. But I could always do what you said and add elastic and sock glue at the top.

Thanks you guys for your answers!

[Penlowe]

I just made it was tight as possible

AHA! There is such a thing as too tight, this in itself can cause rolling & wrinkling. If you can let them out so they fit instead of being tight you may solve the problem.

(think about what a fat person looks like in a too tight tee shirt- one doesn't need excess flesh to create this issue)

[Sarcasm-hime]

Are the designs painted on? Or are they armor bits that you're sewing on? Either way, you'll need to do them while wearing the boots, in order to make sure they're placed correctly and not to negate the stretch (as you discovered). You need to wear the bootcovers, and then pin on the motifs securely. You can take the covers off to sew the motifs, but I'd use a stretch stitch (either by machine, or do a hand zigzag).

[Konaruhi]

Originally Posted by Penlowe

AHA! There is such a thing as too tight, this in itself can cause rolling & wrinkling. If you can let them out so they fit instead of being tight you may solve the problem.

*head slap* Gaaahhhh, I knew that! I guess at the time I was thinking more tighter=less slipping. And probably the reason they are slipping is because they're also tight long-ways too, which is probably why everytime I move they slip down. Thank you so much! Hopefully I'll get my boots finished before this weekend!

[Konaruhi]

Originally Posted by Sarcasm-hime

Are the designs painted on? Or are they armor bits that you're sewing on? Either way, you'll need to do them while wearing the boots, in order to make sure they're placed correctly and not to negate the stretch.

Do you think I can use craft foam for the designs? I hate painting designs on, it makes it look too much 2D-ish. What do you think would look better: craft foam or painting it on?

[Sarcasm-hime]

Craft foam could work, although you might want to reinforce it with a layer of fabric on the underside and then seal it well on top before painting. Foam tears easily if you sew it, so you'd need to cover it entirely in fabric if you want to sew it onto the boot covers. Alternatively, you could maybe attach snaps in crucial places and then have the armor pieces snap onto the stretch covers.