People/ Joestars have asked me in the past (at Norcal gatherings & such) how i make my Jotaro Kujo hat for either cosplay or for casual wear that isn’t the dumb retail one. So now, i’m making this guide w/ my findings & tips from other ppl whom i’ve asked for help w/ in the past (Shoutout to “stardustcrusades”). Do note that this is bloody lengthy & has hella pictures in it to help. Reblogs are ideal, cuz who knows somebody who truly needs it, really…
#1. First off, purchase a Foreign Legion Hat. It’s usually available in stock on whichever retail site that’s between $10-$30; not too bad. Don’t worry, that hat is gunna serve as the base & it’s gunna look great by the time you’re done w/ it. It looks like so & its a *hard-cardboard material-like* which I think is necessary:
When you get it, definitely remove the black band on the front & rip off the flap in back w/ a seam ripper, as those are just trash. Link where you can get one from many other retail sites (again, note the material if you buy here like I have): http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/store/004358.php
2. The Paint ~ Use whichever color of fabric paint you want on it using multiple coats until you get a solid cover on color on it. I personally like using the Martha Steward brand of acrylic glitter paint. It works just as well. Do note if you’re going to change the color of the bill of the hat, use 2 coats minimum of spray paint on it first (whichever color is closest to your preferred overall hat color), THEN use your prefered type of acrylic paint on the bill. When it’s spray painted first, it serves as the base for your preferred color & comes out much better & brighter when it’s finished. An example would be when i made my glitter blue Jotaro hat, i used blue spray paint on the bill then covered the whole thing in glitter paint. Looks like this:
if you look closely past the shiny glitter, there’s an underlying coat of regular blue spray paint on the bill. Trust me, it helps. Remember to use the usual # of coats from your varnish or finish on the bill as well.
#3. Measurements & the Cut. ~ Here’s where things get a bit iffy. This tutorial is tailored towards wearing the hat in a casual manner. If you intend to wear the hat to cosplay Jotaro but don’t have his natural hair style from the back, then you gotta find a way to attach a wig to your hat, as I have NO exp with wigs.
As for the cut, measure an inch or half-an-inch or whatever your preference (Whittle it down as you see fit to accommodate your hair better afterward) from the bottom & mark your initial cut line there.
The purpose of this is to leave a small band in the back so it can still wrap around your hat & sit normally. For my preferences, I keep cutting down the horizontal line until i get to the 4 inch mark from that creased line on the back of the hat there in the pic, but I’d suggest cutting it shorter than the 4 inches so it’d stay on your head easier. Anyway from there, cut upward & around the hat, leaving zigzags along the way to make it look ripped up. Be SURE that your cuts are even-leveled since it’ll look off if you don’t.
While you’re at it, paint the band in the back w/ a black colored paint as you want it blend in w/ the hair, or whatever color your ideal hair/wig is.
Also do the same under the bill
#4. The Strip ~ For the strip that runs along the front of Jotaro’s hat along w/ the button, hand emblem, or w/e Jotaro hat accessories you’re going to stick on there, you’re going to need to paint on the accessories, apply a varnish or finish to said paint, & then glue it on for final attachment.
First things first, the strip comes from a birthday headband that you can get at a Dollar Store after you ripped off the b-day stuff & reduced it to it’s original form, which is this at first;
After you rip off the crap:
Once you do that, do the Usual color change to it. Ya know: paint several coats of paint on it, then use a varnish or finish on it, then prep to fit & e6000 glue the thing onto the hat. You’re going to need to cut & trim off the edges just to make it look like it fits correctly above the bill, from one point of it to the other. When you glue it on & wait for it to set, use clamps that you can get from Home Depot or something to hold it for you so you don’t gotta:
#5. Accessories ~ For the Hand emblem, button, or w/e Jotaro crap you’ll stick on the hat, I use this kind of clay (alternatives are the sculpty foam spray thats lighter or a 3D printer). Then I carve it out w/ an exacto knife (it usually measures out half an inch afterward), bake it in the oven for a bit (depending on your oven strength), paint, varnish, glue, then hang to dry. This kind-of clay:
In process (not my best cutwork):
Bake (assuming the heat didn’t make any cracks in it. If it does, use more clay reinforcement next time), paint, varnish, e600 glue it on hat, then leave it to dry upward so it doesn’t slip off, like on your doorknob overnight:
*In case you wanna repaint & the whole deal but it’s alrdy glued onto the hat, just rip it off (it’s not that hard) & do it, BUT APPLY THE FINISH TO THE BACK IN CASE YOU DO! Otherwise the clay will rip into pieces & some will still be on the hat. Example:
#6. Final Product ~ Assuming i didn’t forget any prior steps, it should look like so (some of my hats now don’t look like these due to modifications but you get the jist of it):
~ It’s all simple as that. If there is any other questions that you might have, go ahead & ask. Now you can make your own practical Jotaro cap that has the correct hat bill & size!!
It was requested of me to do a tutorial for Eridan’s cape, and although I have never cosplayed him, I have made things with very similar construction so I am confident that this should be helpful!
Tutorial under the cut:
Let’s talk about fabric:
For a cape such as Eridan’s, you will want it to be heavy but still flowing. You want to avoid a single-layered satin or broadcloth cape, because that will simply not give a good effect. A good type of material to look for would be a cotton or poly poplin or bottom weight, or even a lighter poly suiting. Microsuede is also a very nice cape material, but it’s up to personal preference. If you want, a heavy satin (Joann has a type called Casa Satin, which is a nice weight with a matte finish) could be an appropriate and nice looking material for the inside of Eridan’s cape. Ideally, the bolt should be wide enough for the length from your shoulders to the floor, but if narrower material is the only option, you will need to buy more yards of it to panel together for the right length cape. Depending on how full you want your cape, anywhere from 2 1/2 to 5yards will be needed for wide material, which is what this tutorial will be using as it’s ideal fabric. (Questions about narrower fabric cape patterns? Shoot me a message.)
Important! Please read:
To make the tutorial less confusing, I’ve color coded the fabrics in the pattern as follows:
Obviously, these will not be the actual colors of your fabric! haha
Getting started:
First off, you’ll start with four large trapezoids. Two of your outer material, two of your inner material. The width of the top should be a few inches wider than your shoulders, and the sides should slope down into your desired cape width:
Now you’re going to sew the pieces together like so, keeping mind of the right and wrong sides:
You should now have two basic capes (lining and shell), and they should be able to sit on your shoulders.
To cut the collar, first measure how tall you’ll want it and add an inch. Now, measure how wide you’ll want it around the neck, and add in the extra width on the top edge. Keep in mind the bottom of it should fit to where the edges meet with the cape’s edges. (Eridan’s cape comes around to hit about his clavicle- the edges will be much further in but will get sewn into the proper fit later!)
Mark out the rectangle on a paper, making sure to taper the ends. You’ll use this pattern to cut two collar pieces out of your outer cape fabric, and two of the fusible interfacing.
Iron your interfacing to the wrong sides of the collar pieces, making sure it’s pressed down without lumps or wrinkles. Sew your reinforced collar pieces right sides together, along the sides and top edge.
Clip the seam allowances and turn the collar, making sure to push the corners all the way out. Iron the collar so the edges lay flat. You can topstitch the collar, but so long as you iron it it’s not necessary but can be added for cosmetic effect.
Now pin the collar like so against the right side of the cape:
Pin the cape lining on top of that (take out the pins from the last step, they will get in the way), and MAKING SURE EACH LAYER IS PINNED FLAT, sew the edge.
Trim the seam allowance on the collar. Making sure the corners of the collar are folded in (so they don’t accidentally get sewn), pin the edges of the cape and lining to the width you want. Sew these seams and trim off the allowance.
Now you’ll turn your cape right-side-out, and press the seams. You’re almost there!
Mark the length you want on the bottom of the cape, and turn the edges inside to be sewn. (You may need to trim some of the fabric if there’s too much; about an inch to turn under is good.) Sew up the seam, being mindful of not letting the turned in fabric slip out. If you like, a decorative stitch can be used for a more interesting finished look.
(Note: there are many other ways to hem a cape, and it’s really up to your skill/preference! This was just a simple and effective example.)
The only thing left to do is to sew on the buttons and chain! Handsew the buttons on underneath the collar seam, and sew down the chain on one side. To make it easy to take on and off, my suggestion would be to get a metal ring and a jewelry clasp (a heavier one if possible!), sew the metal ring on under the other button, then hook the clasp to the end of the chain.
Make sure everything is nice and ironed, and you have yourself a cape!
