Risembool Ranger Uniform Tutorial
What you will need:
(Prices are approximate)
* Red fabric – We buy this fabric from Wal-Mart, called “Red Flare” [$2.87 a yard]
* Black fabric – Also bought at Wal-Mart, any nice un-stretchy will do. [$2.87 a yard]
* Interfacing – For waistbands of pants and butt-cape, bought at Joann’s [$3-$10 a yard]
* Red and Black thread – Also bought at Wal-Mart, matches fabric. [under $2 each]
* Red 4 hole button – Bought at Joann’s, I like 4 holes for strength [under $2 for 2]
* Black 4 hole buttons – Bought at Joann’s, you will need 2 [under $2 for 3]
* Black silk hook buttons – Bought at Joann’s, you will need 2 [under $2 for 2]
* Black fabric paint- Matte finish, bought at Joann’s, brand was Tulip. [under $4, 4 fl oz]
* Black bias tape – Bought at Joann’s, Ex-wide double fold. Need 2 packs [under $2]
* Zipper – Bought at Joann’s, Jeans zipper that locks(safety first!)7 inch(18cm)[under $3]
* Separating Zipper – Bought at Joann’s, easier to put on if you can separate it.[under $4]
* Patterns: McCall’s 4789 (top) and Simplicity 9469 (pants) bought at Wal-Mart [$5-$10]
Items I recommend having or using:
* Sewing machine (hand sewing sucks!)
* Yard stick.
* Measuring tape.
* Needles for button holes (I always do mine by hand).
* Good sharp fabric scissors.
* Seam ripper (Tool I use a lot….lol).
* Paint brush to spread the fabric paint.
* Fabric Iron (Big helper!)
* Pins to hold fabric pieces together while sewing.
* Caffeine of some sort ( J )
(pics of items insterted here , 17, 18, 02, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39)
First Thing, some of the pictures I took while doing this are a little discolored and a little off angle, so please forgive me. Next, yes I have a Little Mermaid comforter, get over it….LOL! So now that is over on to the Tutorial!!
If you know how to sew and how to read patterns then just follow the directions in the patterns, because in the patterns I chose have very clear instructions. I will show how to make the butt-cape my way since there is no such pattern to buy. I do highly suggest that you invest in an iron, because folding edges then ironing them is a whole lot easier and afterwards ironing your uniform makes it look nice! I will warn you that when you iron the type of fabric that we use it does turn a darker shade of red, but don’t worry it will change back when it cools off.
Another suggestion is if you have never done a rolled hem, now is the time to learn! It keeps the edges from unraveling and it looks very nice and professional. Just fold an edge down once then fold it over again and then sew it down. TA DA! Now you have a nice rolled edge that won’t unravel.
Now you don’t have to buy the exact materials that we use, because that’s up to you, but we have tried to use the best and cheap priced stuff to keep the amount down because cosplay is expensive hehe. You can add extra bias tape around the arm holes and around the hood edging and around the bottom of the pants and top. This is a very modifiable outfit and it’s meant to show off the Ranger spirit and your personality!
First off you will need to buy the items! You will need to get 6-7 yards of the red fabric, the top takes about 2, the pants take about 3, and the butt-cape is about 1 yard. This all depends on your size; I tend to buy a yard more than I need. And hey! Who can have too much red fabric! J You will need to buy about 2 yards of black fabric for the waistband of the butt-cape. Next is interfacing, it is a white, thick, stiff type of material and this is for the insides of the waistbands. The interfacing will keep the waistbands of the pants and butt-cape from slouching and bunching up. (pic # 29) I highly recommend using interfacing because it just makes the uniform look and feel better in the long run, and you will need approximately 2 yards.
The pattern that you want to cut out from McCall’s 4789 is view A. The only altering that will be needed is to not add the pockets to the front. Now, granted you can add pockets to the top if you like, but there are pockets in the pants for your stuff. Some patterns can be a little weird on sizes, but this top seems to be true to size, so if you’re a med cut out the med and if you’re an x-large, cut out the x-large. If you’re tight for money, there is a pattern for pants on this packet, but they are sweat pants and have no zipper, just a drawstring. I prefer the other pattern for pants because it gives a more “uniform fit” and less of a baggy feel like the sweat pants would do. Also the butt-cape is more secure because you sew buttons onto the waistband to attach the butt-cape so it doesn’t slide down to your ankles while you go running screaming at a Roy cosplayer about a “certain comment” and tripping, falling on your face making the Roy cosplayer look better. The following is how the top looks during the sewing process:
(pics # 20, 23, 22, 25, 26, 27, 45, 01)
The next pattern is the pant pattern. Yes it is a guy’s pants pattern, but I like how it turns out looking and it’s always alterable. For the guys, just cut out your size that you normally wear. Girls, cut out the size of your hips then you will have to take in the waist because girls hips are usually bigger than guys. The pattern view that will be used is D. Now something I did for the pants I make, is that I leave out the belt loop holes, and it’s simply because of two reasons: I and my friends don’t usually wear belts and because when I tried to read that part of the pattern it looked like too much work lol. The following is how the pants look during the sewing process:
Next is the butt-cape. Now granted, you could sew the butt-cape into the waist band, but then you’d have to have the waistband of the pants black to make the butt-cape stick out a bit more, but the choice is all up to you. You will want to get an approximate length, so measure from your waist to mid-calf and that’s the length that you will need for the butt-cape. Next wrap the fabric around your waist and let the side edges drop down because you are looking to mark the front sides of the cape. You want them to drop down in a straight line from your waist. I recommend pinning them then sewing them down.
Now roll out the black fabric and measure a with of 6 ½ inches wide. For the length take your waist size and add about 8 inches and cut it that long. An example is: say you’re 36 inches around; add 8 inches and the length is 44 inches. The reason you will want it longer is because the black waist band overlaps a bit to secure it. Also cut out the same size of interfacing. Sew one edge of the waist band all the way long wise approximately 5/8 of an inch just like in the pants pattern, because you will be sewing it to the cape likewise. You will only pin the butt-cape to part of the waistband. Again take your waist size and subtract by approximately 5 inches and pin the cape on that amount of length. Yes there will be bunching of fabric, but you will fold parts of it to give it a more tailored look.
(pic # 44)
Sew the cape to the waist band and then take the interfacing, folding it in half, and put it in the waist band and sew it shut, hemming the ends. Wrap the finished waistband of your butt-cape around you and mark where the buttons should go as shown here;
Sew button holes into the black waistband and then sew the black buttons on the pants. The pants will look weird with one red button and two black, but you won’t see the red once you get the butt-cape on.
(pic # 42)
Take the extra part and sew a button hole into according to the black button on the other side and now your ready for the details.
Next cut the slit up the back but be careful, you will want to have it stop below your rear end.
(pic # 50)
Take the bias tape and iron part of it flat for the first edging of the cape. The length of it depends on how long your butt-cape is.
Now take the rest of the bias tape and edge the rest of the cape as shown.
Next take some of the bias tape, iron it flat, and fold edges underneath to make a box as shown. You will need two of these.
Sew them as diamond shapes as shown.
Take the hook buttons (I prefer the silk covered ones for the fabric look.) and sew them onto the center of the triangle as shown here. (pics # 66, 67, 68)
Take more bias tape and fold into a triangle as shown, you will need only one of these.
Sew the triangle at the corner of the split in the back of the cape.
End results: (pics # 43, 69,70)
And there you have it, a finished butt-cape and a finished Ranger uniform! Now go out there and take over the world!!! RED DAWN!!!!
(American Ranger drawing 'above' complaments of a friendly M.S.A)