Making the Pokemon Go trainer outfit
Published on Aug 4, 2016

Let me say this: I love Pokemon!

Really, I do! I play every single Pokemon game on the day it comes out (sometimes even a day before) and every time it totally destroys my daily routine. Pokemon was a big part of my childhood. I still love watching the TV show on Netflix while I am crafting in my workshop. When they announced Pokemon Go I knew it would probably destroy my life. I would spend countless hours outside running around like an idiot just to find every one of those little monsters. My life would be over. Good thing it did not come to this.

Ah, who am I kidding. Of course that’s what happened! I just hope I will catch every Pokemon soon before they release any new ones so I can go back to work!

PokemonGo_Trainer

Building heavy armor sets is always super stressful, especially when I am traveling to three-day conventions around the world. They are heavy, uncomfortable and take up a lot of space in my luggage. Making my Pokemon Go trainer was a nice change of pace and falls right into my plan to make a few more simple and easy to wear costumes! Please note this was before you could change your costume again so that’s the only reason why I am yellow! ;)

As I mention quite a lot, sewing isn’t my biggest strength. When I bought a proper sewing machine (Brother Innovis 550) it became a little bit better though. I found some fitting patterns and simply took my time. For the hoodie I used #6799 from Burda and the shorts were made with the help of #6600. Both patterns were edited heavily, but they were super useful to get an idea of where to start.

PokemonGo_Trainer_0

First, I started with the leggings. I already had some experience making those, so this part was easy and kept me motivated to work on the costume. I simply grabbed some old leggings that had a good fit and transferred their pattern on black lycra. After I cut out the template twice, I pinned on a purple stripe to each piece. The purple fabric was a heavy, thick lycra I bought years ago in the LA fashion district and now, finally I had purpose for it. Benni always complains when I buy random fabric and spend all our money on stuff I don’t really need at the time, but now, FINALLY, he was wrong again! Ha! Cosplayers are hoarders for a reason!

PokemonGo_Trainer_1

I used the serger/overlock machine that I’ve bought last year to sew together the leggings as well as the main part of my costume. These machines are loud, scary and can only do one stich, but they are absolutely perfect to trim and sew two pieces of stretched fabric together. I really recommend getting one when you make a lot of bodysuits, simple dresses, stockings and leggings. So now, enough advertisement! Here is the result!

PokemonGo_Trainer_2

Next part was the shirt. It’s also possible to do a single romper instead of shorts and shirt, but I didn’t find a pattern for it. Additionally I felt it would be easier, to split this part. I simply took a well fitting shirt, transferred its shape on jersey and altered the pattern afterwards. The top included a grey piece in the middle, so I cut it out of my original fabric, used it as a pattern and filled the gap with grey jersey afterwards. The purple parts didn’t turn out that clean, but I was happy enough that I even had enough skills to tackle this costume.

PokemonGo_Trainer_3

The hoodie was surprisingly easy. I used yellow and white cuff fabric, which was thin enough for hot summer days and had a nice and interesting texture. Additionally it was stretchy, so my serger got some more work. As mentioned, I worked with a pattern from Burda, which I edited a lot. I drafted it smaller and much shorter and also shrunk the sleeves. The pattern was still very helpful though, simply because I’ve never sewn a hoodie before.

PokemonGo_Trainer_4

And this was the result!

PokemonGo_Trainer_5

The shorts were… weird. Apparently the pattern was far too large or I did something wrong, but once I had pinned them together they were far too wide and oddly shaped. I took my time and adjusted it until everything fit. It’s always possible to make something smaller but the other way around is more complicated. I actually also never made shorts or pants, but following the instructions in the pattern helped a lot not only to cut fabric out, but also to adjust and sew everything together. Also I’m sorry that I didn’t make more progress pictures at this point. It’s actually pretty hard to record the sewing progress, especially since I never know if I’m doing it right or not.

PokemonGo_Trainer_6

Next, the gloves. I was scared of this part, but luckily I didn’t fail that hard. By simply drawing a line all around my hand I got a great glove pattern. Now I just cut off the finger tips, added a little bit of seam allowance and a purple stripe and then sewed the front and back. Lycra from my leggings did a good job and made the gloves fitting and comfy.

PokemonGo_Trainer_7

The hat was just something I bought last minute and sewed on a piece of fabric to cover the tiger graphic. Nothing special and not super clean, but it did the job! Poor tiger got caught by a Pokéball!

PokemonGo_Trainer_8

The costume is still missing the back pack, which I still have to sew. However just before our flight to Närcon I was able to finish the last stich, packed my suitcases and got ready to catch them all in Sweden! While I was sewing, Benni made my belt buckle out of MDF wood and 3d printed, sanded and painted the Pokéball! All in all we were done in around 3-4 days.

PokemonGo_Trainer_9

The con was pretty busy and I didn’t had time for a proper photoshoot, but I luckily my lovely friend Yaya Han was able to take a cool quick shot! Hope you like it! I absolutely felt in love with this costume and wanted to share the whole progress with you. The world needs more Pokemon Go trainers, so maybe this write-up will help you to create your own costume!

And if you’re not that much into sewing, check out my Armor and Prop Making books in my shop and make some fancy armor!

PokemonGo_Trainer_KamuiCosplay

enjoyed this article?

check this out as well!

We built a LED Katana in 7 days!

We built a LED Katana in 7 days!

What's better than a Katana? A light up LED Karakuri Katana that also plays sounds! Electronic Arts asked us to bring our favorite weapon from their new game Wild Hearts to life and I'm so excited to finally build the sword of my dreams! Hope you enjoy this little...

We built a light-up bow from Empires & Puzzles!

We built a light-up bow from Empires & Puzzles!

I always love to work with mobile game developers as many of their games often have amazingly designed heroes. I also always wanted to build a functional bow! So when Empires&Puzzles reached out to us to create something from their game, I took the chance and decided to make Athena’s bow!

Benni got a Cosplay from Gotham Knights!

Benni got a Cosplay from Gotham Knights!

Warner Brothers Games Montreal and Gotham Knights asked us to create the golden Mask for the Voice of the Court. But since creating a prop is only half the fun we though, why not make the full costume and get Benni a nice cosplay photoshoot as well? And that’s what we did!

Written by Svetlana

| Writer, Full-Time Costume Maker

We are self-employed artists, writers and costume makers currently living in Germany. We love to help the crafting community by creating YouTube videos, writing books and by sharing the current progress of our projects on social media. In our shop you can also find crafting patterns to help you with your own projects!

15 Comments

  1. The costume isn’t bad. I like it that way.

    Reply
  2. The world needs more Pokemon Go trainers, so maybe this write-up will help you to create your own costume! Donkey Kong

    Reply
  3. This outfit is amazing. Because I’m a brave girl, I created mine in red. I chose the timery approach. I really should acquire a serger because I don’t have one currently.

    Reply
  4. How did You do the belt??

    Reply
  5. Hii Kamui! Sorry I was wondering what kind of fabric did you use? Cuff fabric I guess is for the stretchy effect, but the entire hoodie?
    Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Wut

    Reply
  7. Thanks for the tip, it’s really helpful for me because this Halloween i am planning to be dress like Pokemon, have done my almost shopping from Amazon store including beautifully crafted pokemon keychain. you may buy this for cosplay or to gift some one.

    Reply
  8. McCalls now has a Yaya Han pattern for the female and male trainers in PokemonGO. I just bought it a few weeks ago.

    Reply
  9. lolololololoolololololololoololololololololololoololllolllolololoollololololololooolololo

    Reply
  10. Meine Tochter wollte unbedingt auch so ein Kostüm – habe Sie aber dann doch wieder von Link überzeugen können. ;) Sie war der Meinung, dass dieses Cosplay niemand machen würde…tja falsch gedacht :D

    Sieht auf jeden Fall sehr gut aus. Aber bei den tausend Nadeln würde ich verrückt werden O_O Vielleicht hilft dir das bei widerspenstigen Stoffen!

    http://www.snaply.de/Kurzwaren/Abroller-fuer-Snaply-Wonder-Tape–2037.html

    Reply
  11. I love love love your design for this cosplay. Was wondering what pattern you used for the top and if it is possible to just hand sew instead of using a sewing machine cuz I don’t have one DX

    Reply
    • I love this outfit so much. I made mine in red cause I’m a valor girl. I went with the timery idea. I don’t have a serger, I really need to get one already… I used a sewing machine but I think it could’ve been better tbh.

      Reply
      • With the romper idea** wtf autocorrect

  12. Wow this is amzing. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Q&A with Kamui Cosplay - Punished Props - […] Making the Pokemon Go Trainer Outfit […]
  2. Prop: Live - Q&A with Kamui Cosplay - 8/17/2016 - Punished Props - […] Making the Pokemon Go Trainer Outfit […]
  3. Cosplay - PokemonGang - Pokemon GO news and tips! - […] Making the Pokemon Go trainer outfit […]
  4. Cosplay - meet the adorable Poke People! (Inluding DIY guide of trainer outfit) - PokemonGang - Pokemon GO news and tips! - […] Making the Pokemon Go trainer outfit […]

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check out our Shop

Get a 5% Review Discount

Leave a product review and get 5% off for your next order. Only verified reviews. Codes are sent by email.

Help us make Videos

Buy us a Coffee

Get my Book on Amazon

We use Amazon Affiliate links. If you buy something we might get a small commission. Thanks for your support! Learn more.

Favorite Tools & Materials

Join our Community Group

Stay up to date with our newsletter!

Shopping cart0
There are no products in the cart!
Continue shopping
0