Paint cotton into leather by BijousCosplay

Paint cotton into leather by BijousCosplay

Quick and easy tutorial for those who don't have alot of cash for leather/pleather for there costumes! This is also alot easier to sew then leather because it won't leave holy crap marks when you frakk up a seam!

I would suggest BioColor because when that crap stains IT STAINS! another thing BE VERY VERY VERY CAREFUL when you iron! because I already had an akward moment of trying to scrap paint off my iron -_-; also make sure to have newspaper up the butt so you don't stain your room or anything else.

Audienta Featured By Owner May 27, 2016 Student General Artist

hey so I'm a few years late to the game but I tried a slightly modified version of this and thought you might be interested. 1 layer of acrylic paint, then slapped on some mod podge while the paint's still wet. added another layer of paint before the mod podge dries completely, then once it all dried, added (here's the kicker) floor polish! added a pretty convincing shine to it. Gonna grab some shoe polish tomorrow to see if I can't get a slightly waxier, more leather like appearance.

cosplaysnd Featured By Owner Nov 11, 2015

I'm thinking about trying to do a gray leather, do you think that this would work with other colors for the leather look or not?

blackcatstar Featured By Owner Oct 11, 2015

Ooohhh!!! This looks amazing!!! How would it work over spandex?

rjsqrl99 Featured By Owner Edited Jul 12, 2015

I think that I found a post on pinterest originally, had opened in a tab and gotten sidetracked.

Then I can back to it and read it.

Wow. This is Brilliant!

Peace,
Roy

rwolf1970 Featured By Owner Apr 11, 2015 Professional Artisan Crafter

Why not just buy pleather in the first place, if you're not going to use real leather?

benrichardsrm Featured By Owner Apr 30, 2015

Buying leather isn't the cheapest thing in the world, especially if you need both sides to be leather (like wings) since all the leather I found is white on one side, meaning I'd have to buy twice as much. From the pics, it looks like actual leather still looks better, but this is a nice alternative.

SA3 Featured By Owner Jan 2, 2015

Genius! I must try this.

BcRice Featured By Owner Aug 2, 2014 Professional Traditional Artist

So...I was wondering, can I do this with a whole piece of fabric? Like a T-shirt? Will it retain its flexibility/will the paint crack?

Thanks!

OtakuAnimeZombie Featured By Owner Jun 27, 2014 Hobbyist Artist

Will this work on any other fabrics besides cotton? I have a ton of fleece left over from other projects and would love to be able to use that if possible.

Volpe--Rossa Featured By Owner Jun 11, 2014 Hobbyist General Artist

Where do you get BioColor paint?

WaywardWarriorDesign Featured By Owner Jun 4, 2014 Hobbyist General Artist

This is great

I'm working on a costume now that requires quite a bit of leather and this will make it so much easier and cheaper to make. Thanks ^_^

Saint-chan Featured By Owner May 30, 2014

This is a really great idea, I'll be testing it out soon~ This is awesome for people who need colored leather substitutes, with ones with gradients. Also easy if you have scrap fabric and paint. Thanks so much for posting!

lichilin Featured By Owner May 3, 2014 Hobbyist Digital Artist

I am going to do a Gasai Yuno Cosplay and you see i am cosplaying the black leather dress she has. I already have an old dress which I cut and changed and i am asking whether I need to do something else since i have to paint like this the whole dress..

Saune Featured By Owner Mar 23, 2014 Hobbyist Digital Artist

How does the painting effect the breath-ability of the fabric?
I'd love to use it to make some GW2 leather armors, but my summer's are hot and I don't want to use pleather/leather/vinyl for fear of overheating.

VisualJamie Featured By Owner Mar 21, 2014 Professional General Artist

thank you so much for this tutorial!

shinako23 Featured By Owner Feb 1, 2014

I wll try this for BOOTS

asymmetricarcher Featured By Owner Dec 27, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

Thanks a ton for this!

It also works pretty well with tulip fabric paint

Now instead of spending a bunch on leather I'm spending nada

)

Ketutar Featured By Owner Dec 4, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

Really smart you are! Looks close enough to leather. Thanks for sharing.

Yura-chan Featured By Owner Nov 1, 2013 General Artist

this is very cool

question what anime/or game was the reference photo from?

silentwaltz Featured By Owner Sep 30, 2013 Hobbyist Digital Artist

this must me one of the most awesome idea ever. leather-like cloth is so rare in my place.

ee-sigh Featured By Owner Sep 18, 2013 Hobbyist Digital Artist

this is awesome! sorry i know this is old but i have one question, to make it stiffer can i put interfacing on it before i paint? will that affect the interfacing or will it be okay?

Beacon80 Featured By Owner Jul 1, 2013

This looks useful. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to this stuff, though, so I have two questions:
1) Is it still easy to cut/sew/hem the material afterwards? Or should I make sure I have it in the shape I want before starting this?
2) Do I need to do both sides if one side is going to be hidden (i.e. the inside of a shirt)?

Beacon80 Featured By Owner Jul 1, 2013

Sorry, didn't look at the other responses before posting. You've already answered my first question.

ArtistAtPlay Featured By Owner Jun 28, 2013 Hobbyist Artist

What a GREAT idea. I think I will try making a little Steampunk outfit using this idea. Thank you for the tutorial!

shiroineko4 Featured By Owner May 10, 2013 Student Digital Artist

^{I don't know how to thank you for creating this genius tutorial !!
My new cosplay is gonna cost me a fortune with all that leather looking things I'm gonna wear , also leather can be quite heavy orz
You deserve all my thanks ! This will save me so much !
/now I need to find some BioColor in my area//}

expkeyblademaster Featured By Owner May 8, 2013 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

awesome tutorial

do you have pictures of the finished product being worn in a photo? ^w^

SayuriYamada Featured By Owner Apr 12, 2013 Student General Artist

you just saved my life with this, thank you

BijousCosplay Featured By Owner Apr 19, 2013 Student Artisan Crafter

MochaNess Featured By Owner Feb 8, 2013 Student Filmographer

This is brilliant! I will definitely be trying it!

SupernaturalGirl1967 Featured By Owner Feb 1, 2013

Thanks so much for this. My friends and I needed some leather for a cosplay, but leather is so expensive, this will really help us.

susurruse Featured By Owner Sep 10, 2012

Do you think this would work the same for lighter colors? Specifically red and white?

BijousCosplay Featured By Owner Sep 13, 2012 Student Artisan Crafter

I would say you will have to test those two colours out on different fabrics. Because certain fibers will take better to the paint than others. Also you just need a sample of fabric to test each color and that way you don't end up messing up your project! I hope this helps

Monique

susurruse Featured By Owner Sep 13, 2012

Alright, thanks!

Angelic1994Demon Featured By Owner Sep 2, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

genius!

BijousCosplay Featured By Owner Sep 13, 2012 Student Artisan Crafter

Thank you!

mirasaurusrex Featured By Owner Aug 30, 2012

I'm doing an adaptation of Lady Loki, and I'll be making a mostly leather bodice. This method would save me a TON of money, but I have a couple concerns. If it's not flexible enough to sew after you've done the effect, will it be too stiff to wear if almost an entire garment is going to be made out of it? Also, parts of it aren't going to be leather, and I'd be really worried about getting the paint on them.

BijousCosplay Featured By Owner Sep 13, 2012 Student Artisan Crafter

The reason my fabric wasn't flexible enough to sew was because it was a heavy weight cotton and I believe . So my suggestion is to go to the a fabric store and pick up a couple of samples of different weighted cottons and test each scrap. This way when you start layering the paint on to each one you can feel how stiff its going to become. I also was concerned with the paint getting onto other things but I had put water over it and nothing came off. So you are going to want to keep the test scraps from earlier and rub them with water and see if any paint comes off. But in my experiences the fabric becomes water proof. I hope this answered your questions! and if you have anymore don't hesitate to ask!

Monique

xxcupidxstuntxx Featured By Owner Aug 20, 2012

This is PERFECT. Thank you so much for posting this!

BijousCosplay Featured By Owner Sep 13, 2012 Student Artisan Crafter

Awww thanks for the awesome comment! I am glad this is helpful.

xxcupidxstuntxx Featured By Owner Sep 14, 2012

You're welcome :3

artistgamer101 Featured By Owner Jul 16, 2012 Hobbyist Artisan Crafter

i love you forever for this.

BijousCosplay Featured By Owner Sep 13, 2012 Student Artisan Crafter

I love you for loving this!

Yori-kunn Featured By Owner Mar 2, 2012

Hello ! Amazing tutorial ! I will try it, but some questions before : do you sew the cosplay before painting, or after ?
Pained fabric should be a bit tricky to sew, shouldn't it ?
Do you have any pictures of it as a whole cosplay ?
Does it work with black color as well ?

BijousCosplay Featured By Owner Mar 5, 2012 Student Artisan Crafter

You need to sew whatever pieces before hand and make sure that you test out the paint that you bought with the fabric you are planning to use. This way you can iron out any kinks or issues that you might face. I would suggest to never paint then sew because in my experience the fabric becomes way to stiff and if you make a mistake and have to rip out seams the holes left by the needle are more apparent. I currently don't have any pictures of a cosplay that has this technique done to it but when I get the chance I will update this method with better tips! It should work with black but you need to be careful about the color of the fabric before hand, since it could easily paint into a dark brown instead of the rich black color you want. Also another tip you must use a fabric that has a heavier hand since very light weight fabrics won't be able to stand up alone to this method. I hope this answers your questions!

Monique

Yori-kunn Featured By Owner Mar 5, 2012

Thanks a lot !
I'll try a bunch of different fabrics and colors to get what I need, hoping it'll end up in what I want.
Thanks again !!!

okami-chan1023 Featured By Owner Feb 14, 2012 Student Artisan Crafter

Can you use tempura paint?

BijousCosplay Featured By Owner Feb 21, 2012 Student Artisan Crafter

I have never had the chance to use that type of paint but test test test! That way you can find the best type of paint for the fabric you use. I hope this helps!