DIY: How to Create Realistic Fake Leather for Cosplay 

We always assume the best of Ginny 😊

Thank you so much!!

They do! I order it from there all the time!

Oh my gosh, awesome!! You're gonna kill it!

Vinyl tears pretty easily - definitely not as strong as real leather! If you wanted it to hold some real weight, I'd line it with something sturdier, like a canvas.

Thank you! I used the tutorial for drafting a corset pattern from your own measurements on Foundations Revealed, but it isn't a technique for beginners imo - if you haven't sewn a corset before, Simplicity 8129 may be a good start! You can replace the featherlight boning with steel boning and lengthen it a bit to get that low-on-the-hips look that hers has! Mine laces up the back (technically inaccurate), but it's the easiest way to get any shaping power!

I made a corset with a faux leather and it's bubbling and peeling. I like the look of yours but I'm trying to imagine sewing through the foam. Did you just use the painting techniques on vinyl for the corset or did you use the foam there too?

@@lucianndraper5722 in another comment she replied that she didn't use foam for the corset. she uses foam for sturdy accessories like belts or gauntlets. i think she used the vinyl for the corset as the main fabric.

No, pleather behaves essentially like a fabric. However, foam can be heat shaped, so if you heat shape the armor from foam first and then cover it in pleather, you can get a similar effect.

Yeah, absolutely!! You'd want to get a leather paint to make sure that it stays flexible. Angelus (the brand I use in this video) makes an orange paint! Of course, some manufacturers do make orange pleather, so you also may want to try looking online before you commit to painting another color.

@@GinnyDi ty for responding back. that was very helpful.

Nah, I'm too busy making my own stuff ;)

I haven't tried it, but I don't see why not! I would just be a little more precise when working with an absorbent fabric like that, because while you can rub excess paint off of pleather, any paint you get onto a faux suede would be there forever, I suspect.

I wasn't aware! I encourage everybody to buy from whatever source they find most convenient - regardless of whether or not that benefits me :)

No, I use foam for leather pieces that need to have thickness - belts, bracers, etc. Any garment I just use the pleather like a fabric. This corset is lined with a satin and the pleather is used in place of a fashion fabric.

@@GinnyDi Thankyou for responding!

Yes, I sew all my pleather with a machine.

did you.... watch the video? XD that's at 0:23

I patterned it myself from my measurements.

@@GinnyDi imma have to figure out how to do that lol im not skinny like ciri so ill have to make it myself one way or another lol thanks

...what do you mean?

@@GinnyDi can you hold them without them breaking or tearing?

Yeah, they're not fragile. I mean they're not as strong as real leather, but they aren't gonna break if you touch them lol

@@GinnyDi oh no I meant fold. Well let me say that again. Can you fold them without them breaking or tearing?

Yes. It sounds to me like you maybe aren't familiar with craft foam or vinyl/pleather, so I encourage you to just go to a craft store and touch it with your hands and I think you'll have a much better understanding of what it's capable of! It's really not fragile in the slightest.

Pleather, my dude. Fake leather.

Ginny Di sorry, didn't exactly hear that.

It's been a while since I made this video, but I'm pretty sure I started it by giving multiple examples of why people might want to use fake leather...? Some people don't want to use animal products, and leather is really expensive. But I guess if you make your own costume, you can do it however you want. It doesn't really matter if you don't "get" how other cosplayers choose to create.

Ginny Di Good job anyway :) thanks for explain