The Ultimate Guide to Padding for Kigurumi (at least for now)

      Miss Kiki wrote:

      If I may draw upon other Hobbys as an inspiration.

      There are several methods of making sure the surface of a foam sculpture is smooth. While I have always wondered about soaking the foam pad in water then freezing the pad into a block of foam ice, then taking a rasp from auto body work, or a cheese grater to smooth the ridges into shape, I realize that this could be a messy business.

      Turning to the process of making a fursuit head, once the sculpture has been created, they cover the head with cling wrap film then cover the whole head with duct tape. Removing the film and duct tape, they cut the pieces to get a flat template for cutting out the fur pieces required. Once the fur is sewn back into 3d pieces, they cover and compress any ridges in the foam beneath.

      I have used a similar technique for making breast forms. Only, instead of using fur fabric, I have substituted a Thin sheet of open cell foam. Cutting out foam patterns and gluing them into 3D shapes. Gluing these shapes over the foam pads you have carved, pretty well gives you a smooth outer surface.

      You reduce the bulk of the pads by using compression. In the old days I'd wear up to 5 pairs of pantyhose over the pads, to smooth out the ridges and blend the pads seamlessly against my legs. Nowadays I guess you use compression bodywear.

      Miss Kiki


      So you make a small base (which can be rough) and then glue pieces onto the base to make the outside flat/smooth?
      Do yourself a favor and get off this forsaken forum like I did. There's too much outdated information and bad advice here. This is NOT a good place to become a kig.

      If you're still looking for advice give this Discord a chance: Link

      It has hundreds of active members and kigs that can answer your questions in realtime.

      Essentially yes Awoo. Only difference is that the outer cover is one single piece, for each hip pad.

      There is a tutorial on Youtube which I used to make my breast forms. It started with a flat paper pattern that looked like a misshapen snowflake. But if you cut a piece of thin open cell foam out in that shape, then glue all the edges together, you end up with a breast shape that is mostly smooth except for the seams. That project said stuff the foam with padding.



      This youtube tutorial is not the one, but it gives you an idea of the snowflake pattern in the first few seconds.

      I'm sure a link was posted on this forum someplace, to that other website I used.

      What I am suggesting, is you take the pads you have already made which are rough on the outside. Create a cover for them using plastic wrap and duct tape. Take that duct tape form off the pad and cut it to make a flat snowflake like pattern. The fewer cuts the better, but the duct tape must lay flat.

      Cut out a copy of that pattern from thin open cell foam, I used 1/2 inch. Glue all the petals of the snowflake together so you get a smooth shape. Put that shape over your original hip pad and glue the two together. Trim the edges as required so the hip pad and cover are flat against your legs.

      You should end up with a hip pad that is smooth on the outside. any seams will be hidden by the garments you use to hold the pad in place. Cut out a second cover snowflake and do the same for your second hip pad. That way both sides should be even.


      Sorry I have no pictures to describe the process.

      Miss Kiki

      Post was edited 4 times, last by “Miss Kiki” ().

      I hate doing things by half measure, so I found the original tutorial I worked from.
      cosplay.kotaku.com/cosplay-boobs-reinvented-1686484199

      I also found a second tutorial which gives a different explanation in English.


      In here she uses the snowflake pattern to create a rigid bowl, that she covers with what she describes as cushion foam. This foam is what I call thin open cell foam sheeting in my previous explanation.

      If you don't want to bother making a pattern and cutting the sheet foam to it, you could always try gluing the sheet foam directly to the outside of your hip pads, over the ridges. It's flexible and somewhat stretchy at this thickness. Shaping the sheet foam as you go and only cutting darts as necessary to make it follow the contours of the hip pad, you should get the smooth surface desired. Covering the sheet foam with felt material as suggested, will also smooth out the seams on the outside.

      The nice thing is the hip pads made, are all foam. They will bend and twist as your body moves.

      Hope this gives you some ideas.

      Miss Kiki

      Thank you! Now I have an idea of what I can do. I'll just have to do some manual smoothing on the pads using a pair of scissors beforehand.
      Do yourself a favor and get off this forsaken forum like I did. There's too much outdated information and bad advice here. This is NOT a good place to become a kig.

      If you're still looking for advice give this Discord a chance: Link

      It has hundreds of active members and kigs that can answer your questions in realtime.

      rankitsune wrote:

      What exactly is a romper Cici is referring to in their original post?

      Have a look at this Wikipedia article:
      A romper suit, or just romper, is a one-piece (also a union suit, cf. the usually long sleeves with footed pant-legs onesie or jumpsuit) or two-piece combination of shorts and a shirt. It is also known as a playsuit.
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      Administrator of supporting service The Animegao Circle on Discord.

      Hey Cici!

      For context, I'm referring to bullets 6 and 7 on your original post on page 1. They're not linked to examples like the other bullets.

      It's actually a two part question. What is a romper? That was answered by BritKig (Thanks!). I understand it to be a type of onesie or jumpsuit, but there are variations that are full body or shorter with a skirt bottom.

      The second part of my question was regarding which type (full or short) would make sense for kigurumi usage. I'm guessing full, maybe? I'm kinda confused here.

      Well?
      I never wear rompers for one.
      And from looking at the post ! :P I've refined my method to the process.
      Omitted the term romper and revised the pad count. Will be revising and updating underpinning list.

      Sorry for the confusion and remember not all bodies are equally shaped. You may need more or less padding depending on your physic.

      jack.derossi wrote:

      Hi, can the padding be bought and not made diy? How do you keep it on? And how you hide it down there?


      Sorry Jack, we stopped producing pads after the costs and labor involved outweighed the overall costs. Plus shipping air around the world became cost prohibitive.

      Ren wrote:

      Cici, how did you make M-pad? I would like to know how draw shape and length of mpad like you did made.


      Hey Ren, what we did with the sPad was take the dimensions of the mPad into account when designing it; which are The device measures 9 1/8" L x 8 1/2" W x 1" D.

      top view 1 no logo.jpg

      Ren wrote:



      Hey Ren, what we did with the sPad was take the dimensions of the mPad into account when designing it; which are The device measures 9 1/8" L x 8 1/2" W x 1" D.

      kigurumionline.org/index.php/A…5c52d8e19bb12e70879d22564


      It's width is different shape in between length's top and bottom. You said W is 8 1/2" is position at bottom of spad. Can you give me other width for top and middle of length in the image?