I'm in the thinking/planning stages of building an UltraWoman costume (I half-way gave up on building a Super-Lois outfit from the All-Star Superman comics... I got sick of trying to build it from scratch and the UltraWoman one looks a little easier to work with.)

First question I have is, does anyone have any good images of the UltraWoman outfit in full? Basically I'm trying to figure out whether I can just use a hot pink unitard as a base or not (what I'm thinking about using is here on ebay , although it's not accurate enough.)

At about 0:28 in this video there is a semi full body shot of the costume. Hope that helps.

IMO, that suit you posted from ebay looks like it would be a good place to start!

Some pictures:



[img]http://farm1.staticflickr.com/115/266329459_eb374867a2_z.jpg?zz=1[/img]





Andreia

Does that look more purple/lavender to you guys? If so I need to do a little more digging for that color.

*I really, really need to make a drive out to Metropolis, IL sometime and visit the Superman Museum... It's a day trip for me.*

Mmm... looks a little bit more fuschia than bright pink, but I still wouldn't go with purple. The pink in your example is pretty close, I'd say. Then again, pictures can lie...

Hope you solve your problem soon!

I always thought it looked purple (lavender) with pink trim (and that weird green stripe) and a teal cape to me. Hot pink in general isn't a color I associate with something Lois would ever pick to wear. Hot pink = clone. But maybe that's just me.

Ah, but Virginia, that is precisely why pink is the perfect color for her; she is trying to do what she can to keep others from guessing who is wearing that monstrosity. And since pink is not her color, UW couldn't possibly be Lois, right?

Joy,
Lynn

How did I know someone was going to say that!?

I'm with Mouse. The color looks pretty close, though of course, pictures can sometimes lie.

Best of luck in recreating the costume!

I noticed that in the museum photo they put the cape straps under the "sleeves"/shoulder straps of the suit (like Superman did), whereas UW wore hers above. The cape in the correct position would hide the different looking shoulder straps of the suit you're looking at. I'd say, go for it!

Good eye, Virginia!

Sheesh, you don't know how hard it is to find a lavender/fuschia tank/sleeveless unitard/catsuit until you go digging for it. If that one on top wasn't 40 bucks I'd consider getting it and taking my chances. I've found the right color a good amount of the time but almost all of them are either zentai (i.e. those freaky hooded types) or long-sleeved (which make me think of Star Sapphire ) and none of them are of the tank variety. The purple tank unitards I've found are of the solid purple variety.

*edit* I finally found a unitard that will work! I'll post more here when I have more progress to show.

I just got my unitard (Raspberry by BalTogs.) Unfortunately Raspberry is more hot pink than the shade of lavender/purple the outfit is. So really the question I now have is... should I even attempt it? I would need to turn the pink epaulets purple among other things (the lime green stripe will stay the same obviously.) Suggestions? Advice?

You could always buy one of those clothes dying things that you stick in the washing machine to change the colour of fabric.

Those things actually don't work that well on lycra (I know from experience, it's the reason my dance school never attempted it with our outfits.) Not to mention you can't do that with something that already has color in it (especially if that color is brighter than the color you're attempting to dye it to.)

Oooh, that sucks. I've never used them before. I've always wondered if they'd make my faded black clothes blacker again.

Good luck with figuring it out!

Well, I decided I would go ahead and attempt this anyway and just reverse the color scheme (purple being the accent vs. pink.)

Here's a link to my tumblr post with the pics of the stuff I have to work on it. I just did a beginning coat of paint on the mask. Any suggestions for getting it to be even?
Link to my Tumblr post with pics.

What kind of brush are you using? You might want to use a spray type paint to get a really uniform job.

Just a standard wide-bristle brush. It wasn't that even but it's just a little thicker around the cheeks so I'm not complaining (I kind of like it like that... it kind of evokes a bit of blush on the cheekbones.)

I'll post a pic (through my tumblr) soon.

Here's my link to the tumblr post of my most recent work on it. Finished making the basic shield epaulets but need to make the "U" and "W" that will go on them (I'll do it after I'm to the last step of everything else I think.)

Mask and Shield pics are here on my tumblr.

Just get white boots and dye them.

What if you used painted cardboard letters (or pink fabric covered letters) which you then glued onto the purple epilettes? I believe in the original the letters tended to pop (3D) more than lay flat.

I like the idea of pink fabric letters because of the evenness of it but I suspect it would be difficult to get the curves to work so I may make an exacto-knifed cardboard cutout of the U and W (with the outside portion) and then find a way to attach it. I just hope I can find a paint that's more than just a little glossy (like the mask paint) and more glittery (sorta) like the purple fabric.

Ok so two years since I started this project I have an update. After finding out Dean is expected to be at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, I pulled out the unitard to see if it fit. I didn't last year when I was expecting Solomon so I stopped working on it then. As a result I was trying to figure out how to make the harness. I think I figured out my version of the harness. I have a loop over each shoulder that are going to be attached with snaps or velcro when finished. Not identical to the cape harness, but it will be the same basic idea. The next step (and the most difficult piece overall) is the cape. Hemming the bottom and sides won't be an issue but the draping and folding on the shoulders is a bear to recreate. Luckily my sister gave me a bunch of fabric and it turns out she had some gray fabric that is exactly the same weight and kind of fabric as the fabric I bought (for the cape) so I'm currently working on a test cape that I'll attach to the harness to see if it works. Any ideas for folding/draping on the cape? I am really nervous on this part because how it drapes will determine the look of it.

Hey--interesting project! Not sure if I could be of any help, but I graduated college with a degree in Textiles and Clothing (planned to move to a big city, get into the clothing industry, etc...and, yeah, amazing how 'life' changes all of that )...Anyway, at one point I was fairly good at sewing/etc.

I was looking at some screen caps of the Ultra Woman costume off the L&C Archive website...it looks like a lot of the weight of the cape is held up under/around those shield emblems on Teri's shoulders. And maybe from there reinforced under the top back part of the costume. Hard overall to tell though....

Any pics you could post of the top of your outfit and of the harness? Might help with thinking through the draping...

Good luck--sounds like a really neat idea

Laura

I will in a bit. The images I found were that the straps connected to the cape at the shield then went down the front, under her armpits and connected around her shoulder-blades. Don't have any pics sadly because the components (minus the test cape) are at my grandma-in-law's. She's letting me borrow her sewing machine (which also allows me to learn to sew on a machine, something that I wasn't familiar with... I could hand-sew and knew some basics of hand-embroidery but never learned on a machine). I'm going back on friday with my test cape so I can take my pics then and link them from my tumblr (I was keeping a photo update there back when I started.)

Sounds good--I just looked at the pics that had been posted previously from your tumblr on this thread...

And from looking at some various pics of the original costume, I am coming to the same conclusion that you did--it looks like the straps of the harness connect at the base of the 'u' and the 'w' emblems, and then would follow through to connect under the cape area to each other at her shoulder blades. So then, obviously a lot/most of the weight of the cape is held in and around those shield emblems, I would guess....

I'm just not sure how the cape is supported on her back, going btw the two emblems? It looks like it is definitely secured somehow back there--and that there is enough fabric so that it drapes nicely out from behind her neck area and downward.

Definitely post some more pics when you get a chance of the project...never have done anything with a cape per say, but took a few draping classes back in the day and might have 'a kind of a thought'

Laura

I took a hiatus on the project for a month or so when I found out that my grandmother-in-law's 90th was the same day. I assumed (rightly) that there'd be a birthday party. Luckily it doesn't start until 4 or so and the earlier signings are early enough that I'll see them. Unfortunately I didn't find out about this until only yesterday so I have less than 10 days to finish the cape, mask (War'n Peace broke the original one), belt and epaulets. Pictures of the harness and test cape are forthcoming.

Good luck with everything...will keep a look out for the pics

Laura

Here's a link to the update on the cape/harness. It was a good thing I did a test cape instead of just starting on the real fabric. I ended up with the hem being uneven (very obviously uneven) on the grey one. I like how the cape pieces (which will be sewn onto the elastic harness) Pictures of the harness and the test-cape

Awesome!!! Thanks so much for keeping me posted ...How you made everything so far is exactly how I was picturing to put it together. The harness--everything--looks really great so far. Looks like it'll be pretty stable, too.

Should be a busy few days getting it all done, but you will--and it'll be so worth it!

PLEASE keep posting pics as you complete the outfit. Really excited for you--and can't wait to hear about the Superman Celebration...

Laura

Just an update (no pics right now, maybe in the morning). It's been slow going the last couple of days. I never got around to hemming the fabric when I had access to a sewing machine so the last four days or so were spent hemming the cape fabric so I would have that part out of the way. Today I finished that and sewed in the middle folds of the back of the cape like this. However, now it's "quitting time" (I've been forcing myself to bed at midnight each night so I don't find myself tired with an active toddler and 8 month old in the house making mischief.) Now comes the hard part of this cape. The connection point of the fabric to the harness. Hopefully I can get that finished tomorrow during the day so I can dedicate most of Friday to the accessories (mask, belt, epaulets and cuffs).

Sounds like things are coming along...and with two little kids, that makes you all the more busy right now (we have a 2 and 4 year old--definitely hard to find free time ).

Looking forward to pictures and hearing how it all comes together--bet it is turning out wonderfully

Laura

New update with pics! Cape and bonus pictures

I think the hardest part may be behind me. I figured out that rolling/folding the ends creates a nice effect over my shoulders and should tack nicely onto the harness. Once that's over I plan on doing a short happy dance and then back to work finishing the mask (cut out but not yet heated/molded to my face), belt (will likely be a quick finish), epaulets (the cutting them out part is easy, figuring what to use to paint them might be hard, though), cuffs (the biggest question mark of the whole thing) and (maybe, I'm considering leaving it off if I'm not confident on how it would turn out) the neon stripe down the leg.

First off, Solomon is ADORABLE! And second, I'm so excited for you!

It looks like it all is really coming along--cape looks great--and I love the color/glitter for your mask. It looks perfect!

Will be excited to see how the rest turns out. It looks like you've definitely done the hardest part of the outfit, now it's on to more of the detail-work. Bet the finished product will be awesome!

Have fun--keep me posted
Laura

I agree with Laura. It's so nice to have someone to help you wrinkle your outfit after spending an hour getting it just so. Apparently, you hired your assistant for his cuteness, didn't you?

And so.... here is the finished product. I'm still not completely happy with it. The epaulets didn't turn out the way I would have liked (the cape wasn't sewn on low enough, the puff paint bled into the cloth making it uneven and less 3d than intended), the cape wasn't low enough on the harness (and easy enough fix as I sewed the ends of the cloth together BEFORE sewing the cape on so I can rip the seams out and move it to a better position), and the belt didn't stay on but all in all a good start. I have until March to get it finished to "perfection" before my local comic con (I don't have plans to go to a different one... yet.)

Thanks so much for the pictures ! I'm so happy that you got it done in time to wear for the Superman Celebration. Bet you had an amazing day...

The outfit looks great, Christina

Thanks so much for posting the finished product--and good luck with any tweaking before your local con.

Great job!
Laura

Awwww, I didn't get to meet you

I DID find out that the UltraWoman suit is in the Superman Museum in Metropolis! No cameras allowed. They had a bunch of Lois' outfits and a few of Clark's ties! There was much squeeing

Unfortunately I didn't have time to get over to the museum. I wanted to but between a fussy (almost) 9 month old (in the picture because he refused to be left in the covered stroller and was wary/worried of a masked mommy) and a 2 year old that both refused to leave my side. I barely got to watch the Q/A before I had to go back to Cape (my grandma in-law's 90th was the same day and I'd promised I'd be back in time for pictures). I wanted to get tickets for the autograph session but by the time I got there at 9:30am I missed my chance. I'd been aiming to get there around 7:30 but I both kept getting lost (while I'd been there before, hubby did the driving) and had a (small) accident when I lost control on a gravel road and landed in a ditch, requiring a tow just to get it out of the (deep/wide) ditch. By the time I got there the Chamber was out of tickets so I resigned/looked forward to visiting some of the other stuff (loved perusing the Writer's Way/Artist's alley last year so did it again this year, getting the last "Superman and Lois married" piece of artwork made specifically for the Superman Celebration) and trying to do other things between trying to wrangle Solomon (didn't happen). I ended up standing through most of the Q/A (someone was nice enough to give me their seat maybe halfway through).

Thanks for showing us your Ultra Woman costume. It looks like you did a very good job creating it to me!


I visited the Super Museum last year and got to see the Ultra Woman costume there. They must have changed their policy on cameras, though, because they told me I could bring my camera in and take pictures.