Fellowship of the bodysuit-To be Shipped!!!

By the way, for those interested in doing the sewing themselves, if you can get hold of an industrial machine, it is better, because of the way the neoprene sews, my seamstress said that the pressure foot of a home sewing machine makes two neoprene strips to sew at different rates, causing one to be longer than the other one. And, when she is done the pattern, she is willing to sell it.
 
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I was talking with my mom and I asked her if she knew what a welt seam was. She said she didn't and wanted to know if the term was sometimes called something else.
 
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It's just called a welt seam. I think on an old thread, there was something about a flat feld welt seam and it had links about it but it's just a regular welt seam. I can't describe it to ya. But, when I get the prototype, I will have my seamstress put a welt seam in it and then send it off to yall.
 
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This is the email message from the neoprene company:
Hello,
Production ran your sample yesterday and it is currently curing. The purple
lycra sample from you only measured 54". The composite does not have much
material hanging over. Overall, the material looks good despite that the
purple lycra came all bunched up in a box. We will check the bond later
today and determine if it is ready to ship. The bond looked good already
right after it was fiberized but it must cure before shipping. I will
contact you later with the result of the inspection.
Thanks!
This is my response:
Thank you for the update. I am really dissappointed that the lycra company exaggerated the width of the fabric. This causes problems with sewing the top edge of the fabric. This might cause the bulk order to change. We really need to have at least two inches of lycra hanging over the edges of the neoprene and nylon (on both sides) for the pants edge to work. At least this didn't happen on the larger order. I asked the lycra company twice about the width. I am crossing my fingers, and hoping that it cures well.
Thanks,
Yvonne

If it doesn't work out where we have at least two to four inches of lycra per side of the edge of the neoprene, we might wind up getting lesser width neoprene and lesser width nylon backing. Sorry all, but it would be 54" lycra minus whatever neoprene to match the nylon width backing. We might have to go back with the black nylon at 44" width. Lemme see what she comes up with. But no worries, this should be still enough fabric per suit. My seamstress' yardage per person figure was to make sure that this would work.
 
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i honestly don't see a big deal on the edge... maybe it's just me - but the thickness samples you sent me a while back didn't seem THAT thick... like so thick that it couldn't be folded over and sewn easily. I don't think it'll be terribly bulky either... (besides - the belt will cover most of that)
 
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I will talk to the neoprene company, and see if maybe they can just cut down the nylon and neoprene so that it's at 50" inch width. That way it's not 44", and we will have some lycra hanging over. I can show you a pic of me bending and sewing a piece of the old prototype of this stuff, it doesn't fold like thin cotton, it creates a loop, and doesn't flatten.
It's the pic all the way on the bottom.
http://www.geocities.com/zamwiam/Pattern_questions.html
Click on the pic to enlarge, you can see the welt seam too.
 
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Zam I am when you sew a seam as close as I think your seamtress will be it will lay a lot flatter than you think. Also if you wish to flatten neoprene just place it between to flat surfaces and put some weight on it for a day or two. My wet suit actually has wrinkes from where it got done that way by accident. So ladies and guys keep that in mind. Do not leave the suit in a folded manor for storage.
 
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You could flatten the top with a book, but it's a lot easier to just have that extra lycra up top and just sew that down. You gotta remember, she would have to sew over that welt seam too, and if you look in MOM pics, it's one inch from the top to where the one stitch is. That's a lot of bulkyness to sew down if it were all neoprene too. I didn't see any other stitching to make the top edge "thin". I don't think that wet suits usu. have welt seams either. I also have the option of stretching out the lycra a little more, but lemme talk it out with the neoprene lady, if the stretching doesn't affect the lamination process, then we might be able to see if the dyeing company can give us a two inch width stretch before shipping it out to the neoprene company for final lamination.
 
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If there is extra fabric to fold over.... that means whomever gets the fabric off the ends of the roll will get three edges of extra fabric while those that get a slice from the middle will only get two.

And I'm trying to visualize how a pattern can be cut so that the extra fabric can be looped over for all the edges of the shirt and pants.. but I just can't see it. It seems that some parts of the costume you are going to have to fold the neoprene over anyway.
 
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there is TOO a stitch on the very top of the pants... look here:
phmsamp5.jpg
 
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ahhhh ahahahaghghgh (Zam get shot in the neck) Ya got me! Hehe. Thanks I didn't see the top seam before. I only saw the seam one inch down from the waist line. I am glad you noticed the top stitch. Dat's cool. If you want the neoprene to go all the way to the edges, that works too. No prob. I just thought sewing the lycra over would be easier to sew for the top edge of the pants, cause next to the welt seam, you'd be dealing with three/four pieces to sew through. I just thought the thinner up top of the pants would be the better, cause you want the pants to be tight if there are no zippers and just suspenders. Zippers are a REAL pain, cause the fabric doesn't stay even when sewn together. One piece starts getting larger than the other.

Oh, and cutie- yeah, you're right about that, that's why I said just the top of the pants and maybe the bottom edge of the crop top, cause, the vest/boots etc, cover everything else.
 
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Sorry, the neoprene is still cureing, therefore, it's not in my clutches yet. Still waiting.... I should recieve it early next week.
The dyeing company did something to the lycra giving us this width problem. I called the lycra company and they said the manufacturer only makes it in 60" width. So, someone shaved off six inches off the width or shrank it or something. The dyeing company denies it. I just wish the dyeing co. would give me a break and communicate better with their coworkers. Then she said for the bulk order, if I give it to her in 60" she will send it in 60" width. That scares me, because if the lycra actually did shrank (and she's not letting me know,)and then she re-stretches it, then it could cause neoprene lamination problems. Hopefully, I will be able to talk to her tomorrow. (Got in trouble with my boss for making all these non-business related usage of the internet and phone)
So, I will update on friday night when i get a chance on all these phone calls.
 
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Sounds good.
Man, it also sounds like you're going through a lot of Hell to get this project accomplished both with these fabric companies giving you flack and now you're getting in trouble at work. Well, I'm here to give you a big THANK YOU for doing all this. It'll be good for you when you can move on to something else. I don't know if I can but if you think of anything I can do to help you out or you need a favor with something, let me know!

Good luck..

Cal
 
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Tanks yall fer yer support ;) Just want this dyeing company to be straight with me. I think she got defensive when I told her to ship my stuff on a roll instead of wrinkled in a tiny box. ?Go figure? she asked me to prove that it was at 60" width when she got it..., so that's why I am going to try asking her again today (no boss at lunch time permitting), when she isn't so perturbed.
New job in the music industry in Maryland would be nice :) Or, something without internet/email restrictions. LOL No seriously, just letting you guys know what's happening. Working with textile manufacturers, you need to be precise about what you want and have to ask the right questions. It's hard never knowing what to ask first, so I wind up with a half/A$$ prototype. I will know better for the real stuff. Good thing we did do the prototype first, we could have had a really screwed up the order. Zam on it! hehe

Edit** I talked to the manager of the dyeing company (the other girl didn't know the dyeing process so she gave me false info), he told me if the lycra manufacturer didn't finish it properly, then shrinking would happen. The dyeing company probably caused it to shrink again. (it's strange, because nylon lycra doesn't usu. shrink that much.) Anyways, I know for a fact it was 60" lycra and after the dyeing co. got through with it, it shrank to 54". I will have the dyeing company measure the bulk lycra width before and after they dye the fabric. Then I will have the neoprene company cut the fabric according to the width of the "shrunken" lycra. I wanna try to get two inches of lycra laying over on each side for cutting out the pants tops. Anyone for, or against this trimming of neoprene and/or nylon, to have some lycra hanging over on the edges?

EDIT** #2 Sorry all, we are snowed in over here,probably 3 feet, they shut down everything, so there is no chance I will be recieving the prototype anytime today.

EDIT #3 Sorry all AGAIN!, but I may not see the prototype till sometime next week 2/24-2/26 STUPID UPS!!! They keep on leaving my package at the center and I had my husband go over there to pick it up today, and they said they are so backed logged from the snow, they wouldn't even know where to look for it at the center. They said hopefully Monday, but they won't be smooth sailing till wednesday. Man, what a mess. Thank you all for being so patient.
 
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Well... that's what you get for living back east! ;) *opens window for some fresh air*

Seriously... don't worry about it zam i am... :D
 
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I will be posting pics and prices late tonite, as the fabric arrived, but I won't get home till really late for inspection. Please paypal me at ZamIAm@comcast.net If you can't paypal me and need to send me a check in the mail, please PM me, I will have some questions for you and also so that I can give you my address. I will take the prototype to a seamstress so she can put a welt seam in it then send swatches to you all.

Edit** Horray! :cheers I got the fabric in my clutches! Preliminary look see, here are the pics, and prices are $220.00.
http://www.geocities.com/zamwiam/Zam_Fabric2.html
 
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Great! I'll send you a pm regarding payment.

I'm curious. How is the color in person? It looks pretty blue to me and I'm not meaning the back side :D

thanks


cal
 
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The last pic is a similar to the one of her studio pics color. Not blue at all. My camera settings are off. Sorry. Just realize that the color is a lot more lavender mauve/ plum than what the pics show.
The lab dips pic between color c and d is a better color representation on the previous page of what it looks like in person:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/zamiam/Zam_Fabric.html As soon as my seamstress will put a welt seam in the fabric, I will be mailing you all samples. The great thing, is that it changes with lighting differences. The wonder of nylon lycra at it's best...Just like the movies!!!! Woohoo!!!
 
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