The last thing you want after spending hours and hours making your costume armor, is to have it fall off of your body during a convention or photo shoot. Ideally your cosplay armor should be firmly attached to your undersuit, and allow you to have freedom of movement without worrying about it coming unattached.
With that in mind, here are some of the best ways to attach your cosplay armor to a fabric undersuit, or just to your body:
- Hot Glue
- Velcro
- Nylon Straps with Plastic Buckles
- Snaps
- Magnets
In this article I’ll explain how to use each of these methods to attach your cosplay armor, along with the pros and cons of each.
Hot Glue
The first method that you could use to attach your foam armor to a fabric undersuit would be to simply hot glue the piece directly to the cloth. This is a fairly permanent method of attachment, which is great in that the piece almost definitely won’t fall off. However, it also won’t be able to be removed without likely damaging either the piece or the undersuit. That means that you won’t be able to wash the undersuit, which might be a problem for some people. If you only plan on wearing the costume once, or if you can keep it clean somehow, then this might not be an issue.
One tricky thing about this method is getting the proper placement. Ideally you would have the undersuit on your body and glue the piece exactly where you want it to sit, but you can’t really do this with hot glue or you’ll burn yourself. You can get around this by placing the undersuit on a mannequin and then hot gluing the armor into place. Just be careful that the glue doesn’t seep through the fabric and stick to your mannequin. You can prevent that by sticking a piece of wax paper or something that’s non-stick behind where you want to glue.
Velcro
One the best ways to attach armor to fabric is with Velcro. You can get Velcro strips or tabs almost anywhere. I would recommend using circular Velcro patches because those won’t have any sharp corners that could irritate you from wearing it close to your body. To attach the Velcro to the fabric you can use hot glue, or really any kind of glue that works, or you can sew it on. Then you just line up where you need to place the opposite piece of Velcro on the armor and glue that into place.
This method is great because it allows you to detach the armor pieces from the undersuit when you want, which makes it easier to transport, store, and to clean. Unless your armor pieces are very heavy, the Velcro should be strong enough to hold them in place for a long time and withstand some movement. However, they can still fall off if you bump into something or they get caught on something, so it’s not perfect. The Velcro will also wear out after a lot of use and not stick as well. Overall though, it’s a very good method.
Nylon Straps with Plastic Buckles
Nylon straps work great because you can attach them however you want. You can stick them on an undersuit, or you can wrap them around your body. That would allow you to wear the armor pieces with different undersuits if you wanted to. Like the Velcro, you can glue or sew the straps onto the fabric. To attach the strap to the foam armor, just use hot glue or another adhesive.
As for the buckles, there a few different kinds, but the easiest to use are probably the side release buckles. They hold things super securely, so there’s no chance of your armor falling off from movement or anything else, and they’re easy to release when you need to take the armor off.
One negative thing about nylon straps and buckles is that they don’t match with every type of costume. If they are visible, then they can ruin the look of any armor that isn’t modern. You can hide the straps and buckles underneath the armor, but that might be a bit uncomfortable after a while to have the buckles pressed against you under the armor. There are other ways to conceal them though, but that all depends on your costume and what you’re willing to do.
One tip I have is that if you are attaching armor to your legs, don’t just wrap the straps around your legs and expect them to stay in place. Over time they’ll just slide down your leg. The same goes for your arms too. To prevent this, you can attach the armor from the top of your arm or leg. As long as it is held up from the top, it shouldn’t fall down.
Snaps
Metal snap buttons, or snaps, are another good alternative. They are much smaller and less conspicuous than plastic buckles, and they are still very secure. Snaps usually come in four pieces, with two for each end. You’ll need to attach some nylon or fabric straps to the armor as snaps are meant to be attached to fabric, not foam. They also require a special tool called snap pliers or a snap press to set them in place. It might seem like a lot of trouble if you don’t have those tools already, but snaps come in handy for a variety of projects and sometimes they’re just the thing you need.
Snaps are one of the best ways to attach your armor, because they are small and easily concealed, but they can also add a nice detail if you want them to. They come in different metals and polishes, so you can choose some that match your costume for some nice details.
The only downside to snaps are that sometimes they can be very difficult to attach and detach, especially when they’re new. This can result in you pulling too hard and possibly damaging your armor, but if you’re careful then it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. They’ll also get easier to open over time.
Magnets
Sometimes, if a piece is very light, all you need is a little magnet to hold it in place. Or even if you have a heavy armor piece, you can just get a stronger magnet. Magnets can simply be hot glued to an undersuit, and glued onto the foam piece. You can even cut a small hole in the foam so that the magnet sits flush with the surface, which will prevent the piece from sticking out too far from your body.
Some people really like magnets, but they can become detached fairly easily if the armor gets caught on something. I have seen some people make brackets out of plastic to make it so that the piece can only be removed by pulling it upwards, and the magnet just helps to hold it in place. That might work for some people, but it could also add unnecessary bulk. I think that magnets are less common of a method, but they have their uses.
Some Things to Consider
One thing to keep in mind when you’re gluing foam to fabric, is that some adhesives are highly toxic. A simple dust mask or even a respirator won’t protect your lungs from noxious fumes. If you decide to use something like that, especially a spray adhesive, make sure to use it in a well ventilated area, preferably with some sort of air flow that draws the fumes away from you. Better yet would be to not use those at all, and use a safer glue or just sew things on. But I know some people will still use those toxic spray adhesives, so just be careful if you do.
I hope that this article gave you some ideas of how to attach your foam armor pieces, or helped you choose the right one for your project. The best method really depends on what works best for your particular project.