Amber Love 11-JUNE-2012 Complete with mistakes, I present the steps for making this SHE-HULK costume for the 4th installation of my Summer Scrap Sewing Challenge! I ran into plenty of mistakes for such a small costume! But fear not, I’m not the type of person to pretend everything is perfect. I point out the flaws in this first attempt at She-Hulk (yes, I’m hoping to make more). The costume is for sale on Etsy.
The reason I wanted to make SHE-HULK is because I’ve said it’d be a great character for our feature editor, Ashley Neuhaus to cosplay. She’s tall and about a thousand times stronger than I am. Ashley is 50% DC and 50% indie so when I put her in the X-Men costume a couple days ago, that was her first taste of anything Marvel.
The other reason is that recently actress Angie Harmon took to the twitterverse and internet vying for the casting of the gorgeous gamma fatale She-Hulk for an upcoming movie role. Though she’s a bit thin, her athletic muscle tone, statuesque height and long flowing dark locks make her the perfect Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk’s pre-green human lawyer ego. Harmon’s successful acting jobs as a tough lawyer and police detective lend her talents to being She-Hulk. Then there was my dear friend, artist Scott Barnett, falling in love with the idea so much that he illustrated Harmon as She-Hulk which he’ll be donating to our Superhero Weekend Charity Auction for domestic violence.
She-Hulk has been the air lately, so to speak. She’s not a character I’m terribly familiar with and was afraid her creation was solely meant to give a little yin to the brutish Hulk family’s yang. Then I learned a bit more about her personality and again worried she was nothing but green-skinned fanboy fodder for their sexual fantasties. But like Power Girl (DC), She-Hulk is an individual who is confident, intelligent and owns her sexuality without apologies.
Due to the basic “swimsuit” design of She-Hulk, it wouldn’t take a lot of fabric to create and was perfect for my Summer Scrap Sewing Challenge. I had researched Angie Harmon’s measurements which were easily found since she has had a successful modeling career; they fit pretty well into the commercial pattern (Kwik Sew) range for a size SMALL. Oh, and just a note… there’s a reason I don’t alter the leg holes to be high at the hips; a lot of us where shapers that aren’t but that way so it’s best, in my opinion, to keep with the more conservative hip design that the figure skating patterns use.
Drafting & cutting – 2.25 hours
All sewing except the elastic – 2.5 hours
Elastic in leg holes – 30 minutes
Just around 5 hours start to finish.
 | I didn't have a pattern for She-Hulk already so that meant I had to start virtually from scratch. I knew I wanted to make a size Small. I combined Kwik Sew patterns 3502 & 3272. |
 | The reason I needed the 3272 is because of the sleeveless, almost halter top look of the design. I tried to simply leave off the sleeves of a suit using 3502 and the pecs were loose & baggy. 3272 has raglan sleeves so that would help me create a tighter upper pec piece. The commercial patterns were transferred to muslin in the Small size. |
 | The pieces were cut in the appropriate color plus the collar had a piece of interfacing. |
 | The purple pieces of the front were stitched to the white front; then the purple pieces of the back were stitched to the white back. |
 | The front was attached to the back at the shoulders and the side seams. The zipper was installed into the front. |
 | A view of the back. |
 | This collar, which I've done so many times, would not cooperate. I don't know if it was the particular milliskin fabric or what, but there were problems everywhere with it. First the interfacing attachment was done with basting stitches and the spandex kept slipping and creasing; the size of the collar did not match up to the size of the neckline; then it kept needing more stitches to try and "neaten" it up. I went back over the instructions and had done everything correctly. It just hated me today. |
 | The front after the collar was attached and arm holes were top stitched. |
 | COMPLETED! Front view after leg elastic was installed. |
 | Back view. |
 | I'm not afraid to show off my mistakes. Here's a close up of the problems encountered at the shoulder/collar joint. I had even tried making the shoulder tighter but it didn't work. Both sides at least match in their flaws. I want to make this suit again & avoid this problem. |
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Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model. 11 Comments on Tutorial: SHE-HULK costume (Marvel)
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Hello I am looking for one or how to make one for my daughter. She is only 6 years old for halloween. If any suggestions please email thank u have a bless day. lorzdm@hotmail.com
It depends on what your 6 year old will be comfortable wearing. Everyone is different. She-Hulk is known for this “swimsuit” style costume but she has also worn jeans with a white & purple top. You can also get creative and do the Jennifer Walters version, a lawyer type suit but with the green skin & hair. For a little one, I’d probably recommend the jeans and shirt version. One of my favorite things to recommend is buying what you can off the rack (thrift stores are great) and cutting/re-sewing them for the desired look.
If she’s really set on the spandex look, I use figure skating patterns as a base and modify the designs to get as close as I can to right look. You might be able to find a white bathing suit and stitch or fabric glue wide purple ribbon to it for the stripes.
hi, how much fabrics did you need?
I was using scraps. Wasn’t more than a yard of white and half yard of purple.
thanks! I didn’t know how much I had to order, you’re helping me a lot!
Can I get the template or the pattern you made from scratch. Or purchase it from you? Like a copy of it not the real thing. This is my very first cosplay which I hope I can do. I’ve never cosplayed before and I just want to start out on something no too complicated.
Sure, if it’s a pattern I have made already so it depends on size. Most are modified from patterns you can buy at a fabric store.
I can do that and it’s been like forever since I have sewed and I forgot how to *embarrassed*
And for the measurements
Do you want the bust, waist, shoulders etc?
Also can you like be a mentor for me in cosplaying since again I’ve never done it before
I would appreciate getting tips and help from an expert :3
I emailed you. But – waist – hips are good.
This looks amazing! I’m working on this costume already and have made the body suit. All i need is to get the green skin. What body paint did you use and how did you apply it?
Thank you! I didn’t use body paint actually. That’s photoshop. Since the costume was for sale I didn’t want to risk getting anything on it. I think most people wear green dance tights and them only have to paint arms and face.