When we were dating, Eric and I decided to go to a Halloween party as Link and Zelda. We decided to delve into the world of cosplay and make our own costumes. It turned out decently, at least:
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One of the hardest parts for me was cutting out the intricate armor for my costume. I was able to find a pattern on DeviantArt, which I printed, cut out, and put on top of the craft foam. I then had to slowly cut it out to make sure that I captured every detail. S-l-o-w-l-y.
I also made the mistake of gluing it together before spraying it gold. The glued areas were extra shiny compared to the foam and looked like a snail had wound around leaving a golden trail. I wore it happily that night, though, and it’s served me well. I always planned on updating it someday, though.
Enter my Cricut Explore Air 2.
Once I learned that it could cut craft foam, I knew there would be many cosplay projects in my future. This is an inexpensive material (as much as I’d love to always use something like Worbla!) that can be used as the base for many kinds of armor and other cosplay components.
I decided to share the progress I’ve made in redoing my Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess armor.
**Note: The rollers will make indents on the top side of the craft foam as it cuts. It usually won’t affect your project, but you can mirror the design as needed to avoid the tracks.**
Step 1: I Uploaded the Pattern for Cutting
I grabbed the patterns for this project from Zeldaness over on DeviantArt. These are the pieces that you will need for the entire costume accessory set; in this post, I am just focusing on the shoulder armor. Upload to Cricut Design Space and choose Simple, then Continue.
Use the Zoom function in the upper right to shrink the pattern, then use the erase tool to click on the negative spaces and show the machine where you want it to cut. Save as a cut image & upload to the canvas.
Step 2: I Resized It to My Own Shoulder Size
I made the mistake of just hitting cut the first time. It was huge! I then got smart and used a tape measure to find the distance between the midway points on either side of my shoulder and upper arm so that I could properly resize it to a better fit.
Step 3: I Loaded Up the Craft Foam for Cutting
You’ll want to use one of the Strong Grip mats from Cricut for your craft foam. I used one of the 12×24″ mats since my foam was larger than 12×12″. Set the dial to Custom and choose the Craft Foam option. Follow the instructions and let it cut!
**Note: It was a bit tricky choosing the right cutting depth for my material. My package said it was 2.00 mm, so I chose a different type of material that was listed as 2.00 mm and it etched the armor design into my mat. Oops. I went back and used the Craft foam (1.9 mm) setting and had better luck. I did have to slightly punch out my armor as it did not cut all the way through. but it was so close that it was easy to remove it. I’d suggest using that Craft foam setting for the best success**
It took about an hour to cut out. I just checked on it from time to time to see the progress and make sure that the craft foam was still attached to the mat. I smoothed it a couple of times since it came up from the mat; you would probably want to use a fresh mat to make sure it has the best sticking potential.
What a change from me sitting there tediously cutting it out myself!
I cut out the backing pieces by hand since they were just a bit larger than the detail pieces. You could have the Cricut do that too, if you like.
Here’s a preview of how it’s shaping up. After I finished with the cutting, I spray painted it all gold. This time I plan on using spray adhesive all over the back of the detail pieces, which should allow for a more uniform look.
If you want to make some other accessories, check out the costume section of the Make It Now Projects or search for individual keywords like this sunflower flower crown. Would’t it be cute as part of a Renaissance faire costume?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
