Sunday, February 22, 2015

Mommy and Me Batman Beyond Cosplay

Before I had SHB, I used to scoff at moms whose wardrobes devolved into leggings/yoga pants and spit-up and milk-stained t-shirts. Can't you be bothered to wear real, clean clothes, I'd secretly think. And because the universe is fair like that, I now find myself the owner of multiple pairs of black leggings and I've totally thrown on a tank top that "only" had a little bit of questionable fluid stain in order to go grocery shopping. I naively thought that once I had my body back I'd go back to wearing my cute fitted dresses made from woven fabric, but alas, stretch knits are so comfortable and none of my geeky dresses have boob access.

Despairing, I wondered how I could get some of my groove back while still being a functional milk machine. Black Milk has geeky leggings, but at $80 a pop they're hardly affordable. Then one day I looked in the mirror and realized I was wearing black leggings and a black fleece jacket (because it's so easy to wipe milk crud off of fleece and it dries quickly to boot, then there's the warmth factor because you know, winter, and zip front = easy access) yet again, and hey, you know which superhero I love wears an almost entirely black outfit? That's right, Batman Beyond. 

From the Batman Beyond animated series: Terry McGinnis, high school student by day, Bruce Wayne's "errand boy" by night.


I used to love watching Batman Beyond when I was in high school. Yes, that's right, I binged on cartoons every Saturday morning as a teen, because gosh darn it I deserved those Saturday mornings after missing out on eight years of cartoon watching, thanks to Chinese school. I thought Terry McGinnis was so cool (he was in high school, just like me, and he had that reformed bad boy persona that silly girls love!) and kind of hot (inasmuch as an animated character can be), and his girlfriend was actually Asian, so it's no surprise that he quickly became my favorite superhero. It's too bad I've never come across any Batman Beyond sheets in my thrifting; I think I would pass out from excitement if I did. Anyway, my glorious return to sewing for myself and not for SHB was to add a red bat applique to my generic Target jacket. Does sewing two seams and doing a lot of ironing of fusible interfacing even count as a sewing project? 

Simplest sewing project ever: sketch bat design on Heat-N-Bond, cut out fleece, fuse to jacket, sew around the edges. Done!

Mom uniform with a smack of geek!
Our green, suburban front yard is just about as opposite as you can get of future Gotham's gritty, run-down urban vibe. 


In the event that two seams and some ironing doesn't qualify as a MBU, I decided that since SHB could use more non-hooded outerwear, I might as well make it subtly geeky. I pulled out the fleece stash and had just enough brown fleece left to make him a little Terry McGinnis jacket. Unfortunately, because of the odd-shaped remnant pieces, I ended up having to cut it so that the stretch runs vertically. I guess that's okay, since SHB is on the long skinny side? He's still wearing his 0-3 month pants because the waist fits, but they're capri-length on him. Hmm, maybe I should make him some pants next. Or I could just pretend that he's a hobbit. From Gotham City. Um. Right. No mixing fandoms.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, even if none of the inside seams are finished and there's no actual closure. 
SHB was pretty pleased with how it turned out, too. I know it looks like he's crying, but this is his happy scream face. 
Despite the grain issues, mobility is good. Good enough for eating links. 
This picture is probably the most accurate in terms of capturing Terry McGinnis' moody, brooding expressions. 

And now, for a rare, unheard-of occurrence: you get to see a superhero and his alter ego at the same time.

Quick, take a picture to capture the evidence! 

Of course, on the day that we're taking pictures of our fleece jackets, it would be 73 degrees. 

Wait, the alter ego isn't supposed to be the one flying through the air. 

Okay, it's time for the alter ego to go inside and fight his nemesis: NAPTIME. *cue dramatic music and JJ Abrams sun flare*
Bye-bye!



39 comments:

  1. this counts as sewing, just because it's so geeky and adorable :o)

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  2. Your little one is too adorable for words! I think the mommy and me cosplay idea could be a big thing in the geeky world. You look a bit too cheerful to be Batman, though.

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    1. I realized afterwards I should've put on my black ski mask...and stopped smiling. But can you blame me when SHB is so cute? ;)

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  3. Awww... "happy scream face" is just the best! So adorable. And yes, this totally counts as sewing!

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    1. Happy scream face is the best, but happy scream sound might be another story...

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  4. Little one is getting cuter and sweeter all the time. Love the jackets.

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  5. Embellishing RTW = refashioning, and therefore, it's sewing! This is rather adorable-- I love that you did a Mommy & Me outfit that isn't all matchy-matchy in the traditional sense. Also, I'm jealous of your 73 degrees, since I woke up to a tweet from my best friend about how Alaska is still warmer than what we're currently getting in the mid-Atlantic. Ugh.

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    1. I did feel just a tiny bit bad about showing off the 73 degree thing, after the spate of snow pictures on my IG feed.

      Now I'm wondering if I can get up the energy to do a whole series of mommy+me cosplays of superheroes and their alter egos...

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  6. Aw! Love the last pic, such a cute little imp! :-) I highly recommend Kwik Sew patterns for toddler/kid pants. I made oodles of them while my eldest was a toddler because he was a leggy waif. He still is, but he's slightly less waifish now, and has to wear a belt as part of his uniform. My youngest is the opposite, I suppose I'll need to just hem all of his pants shorter and make all of his shirts so they're long enough.

    And yes, I know exactly what you mean about having to eat your words--even if they are an inner dialogue--when you become a parent. Now it's my kid that screams in walmart and gets food on the floor at the restaurant. And I'm so ashamed.

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    1. How funny, I just got my first Kwik-Sew pattern the other day! SHB is tall but his height is all in his torso; so far as I can tell his legs are normal-sized.

      I'm not looking forward to the public tantrums. I guess I should be glad that not sleeping is the worst of my problems right now?

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  7. Love it. Fun with fleece! Your little man is so beautiful.

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    1. Fleece is especially fun because there are no fraying seam allowances to deal with!

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  8. Hahahaha! This is awesome! What a fun project! I vote for more mommy & me cosplay (and really, costumes of any kind, before he's old enough to disagree with your choices... my then two year-old goddaughter dressed as Ziggy Stardust is one of my happiest memories ever, but I doubt she'd go for it now at 8!).

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    1. Yes, I need to indoctrinate him now before he's old enough to know better, and then hopefully he'll continue as he gets older!

      I bet in a decade or so your goddaughter will think it's cool again and you can do a reprise ;)

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  9. Cut yourself some reality slack: finding and putting on real clothes when you are sleep deprived and leaking food and wearing food is pretty damn hard. And you will enjoy a lot of the crow eating over the years, trust me. There is something liberating about recognizing your prejudices and letting them go.

    You get super extra points from me and Teen Blondini (who introduced me to BB/Terry last year, thx Netflix!). We went the other way: i made him costumes (Naruto!) and now I'm sporting my first cosplay at 56.

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    1. Hah! I love that -- I am definitely leaking and wearing food! I was seriously excited when BB came out on Netflix. Your kid gets props for good taste and persuading you to cosplay!

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  10. I love this! Your baby is so cute...and you can be superheroes together. Also, I agree with the others who say that you shouldn't worry about wearing comfy clothes right now. This time period will pass and you will be able to wear the woven dresses again.

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    1. I guess all moms are superheroes, since they put up with so much? I think I'm afraid that I will never go back to woven dresses since knits are so comfy!

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  11. great jacket and SHB - I see the force (of cute) is strong in that one (just to mix another fandom in for you ;o)

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  12. Ack. *falls over dead from the general cuteness/awesomeness*

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  13. Gah! I love his happy scream face! He is the cutest! I love what you've done! Great way to have some fun with all your function!

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  14. I LOVE THIS! So clever and perfect! I'm such a huge Batman Beyond fan and I feel like it never gets enough love. (I've done 3 costumes from it. =D ) Your baby is so cute! Please do lots more costumes with him!

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    1. And I love your Inque/Ten costumes! I'm so glad there are other people out there to give BB the proper love it deserves!

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  15. This. Is. Epic.
    I love the sassiness of your tops- and team knitwear at home all the time! And I only have fur kids ;)

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    1. One could argue that fur kids are just as dangerous for clothes...I definitely have had cat sick (and fun, of course) on my clothes pre-baby.

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  16. Love your geeky jackets! You two look awesome :)
    (www.terzibegum.blogspot.com)

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  17. I love the combo you came out with, it's totally awesome. I don't think I'd have the energy nor the ideas if I had a little baby. Bravo!

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    1. You'd be surprised at what kind of out-there thoughts a sleep-deprived brain can generate!

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  18. Love it!! And you're coordinated, that's EXTRA extra. ;)

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  19. Batman beyond costume is a inspiring one i love the way to embossed batman on chest.

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  20. This is so awesome on multiple levels :)

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