Batgirl costume build

[DrewMasie]

My daughter has decided to be the classic Yvonne Craig Batgirl for an upcoming fund-raising event to fight cancer. I have been scouring the boards here but I'm having trouble finding some specifics. I wonder if anyone on the board can help. We intend to make the costume ourselves, and I ordered a Batgirl-like cape on Ebay (not accurate, but it is a start).

I'm looking for a diagram or measurements for the utility belt. I found one image in a posting by "Etruscan Snood", but the image in the forum is all hosed up. I don't think the design should be too difficult to make, but the proportions of the gold fish-scale belt to the pouches would be a total guess. I'm guessing the pouches are about 3 - 3 1/2 inches tall, and the belt is about 1 1/2 inches, but I just don't know.

Also looking for a diagram/measurements for the chest emblem. I am considering making the emblem out of yellow vinyl or leather, but I want to make sure I get the right size and shape. I've also searched online to see if I can just buy one but no luck so far.

Finally we're also looking for advice on how to construct the Batgirl domino mask. Greg at GVM Designs makes a nice one, but it's not in the budget. Any help is appreciated!!

[Batman65]

This sounds like a job for Chuck Williams.

[DrewMasie]

Yes, I'll bet Chuck knows all the secrets. He and Lynne are the experts!

[rickrickrick]

How big/old is your daughter? Ideally, the belt will be scaled to her size, not necessarily Yvonne's - unless she is an adult.

Here's what I can tell you from my research - and this is just estimates based on making photos true to scale as much as possible...

The vintage fishscale belts that Batgirl (and Catwoman) wore are a known 1 3/4" wide. If you take a photo of Yvonne and scale it up until the belt is the right size, that makes her buckle approx. 3 7/8" wide, and 2 7/8" tall. The pouches end up being just about 2 3/4" tall, and about 2 1/4" wide. Proportionally, that makes her chest emblem a little bigger than 5" wide and 3" tall.

Hope that is helpful.

RRR

[DrewMasie]

Thanks Rick! She is about 5'4" and a little heavier than Yvonne, but the same dimensions should work. I will give your measurements a try. If anyone has a vector graphic of the chest emblem or knows where I can buy one that would be helpful too.

[Batfanman]

Here's a chest emblem.

[mwilbury]

Here's my take on the belt buckle. I made it perfectly symmetrical which probably is not accurate to the original but was my preference.

[DrewMasie]

Thanks everyone! These images will really help. After studying the reference photos I made a template for the pouch. I think the proportions are about right, but I'd welcome any feedback.

[Surfer_Bat]

I might looking at making pouches for my daughters costume and came across an old post from May 2009 Re: "Batgirl Belt Pouches" where Chuck W. notes the vintage YC pouches were 3" tall x 2 3/4" wide x 1/2" thick

Another of his posts says buckles were 4 x 3"

I saw a close up of one of her pouches and appears it was just a painted wooded block with a leather flap added over the top.

My old Batmam belt belt has painted blocks with the leather flap. Would be interested to know how easy it is to get a "tight" looking box using vinyl or faux leather approach, what people use for glue etc

[Batfanman]

I saw a post someplace where the pouches were made from 2 pieces of thick craft foam glued together and a thin piece of craft foam used for the flap. Those "google-eyed" craft eyes were used for the snap buttons. The pouches are coated with Plati-Dip, then painted yellow and affixed to the belt using elastic waist band material.

[DrewMasie]

Update: We completed my daughter's Batgirl costume and premiered it Saturday at a small convention in Pasadena. I also completed my first Batman suit, but need to make some changes before I wear it again. Here we are with a young fan. Thanks to all of you that helped by posting the images!

[Batman65]

Wow. Everything looks great! Fantastic job!

[Batfanman]

Double Bat-tastic!

[Jimmy L. 66]

You guys look great!

[mwilbury]

Both costumes look excellent. Great work!