Making the skirt

What are those squares like now? Are they all stiff? I hadn't thought of that (Told you I was tired.. BTW the word was "daubers" ) I don't think you can soften them up afterwards with anything.

The squares I've done aren't stiff at all. Still very pliable. I didn't dampen them with anything. I just airbrushed the sides and front of each piece, let it dry, then picked it up and airbrushed the back, making sure everything had at least some coverage. Then, I would go back and go over the pieces I wanted with a second coat. Time consuming - yes.

Thanks for the good wishes for my munchkin... she's watching "Cars" right now and laughing. Yeah... I think she'll llve!

Now, this is what happens when we're all posting at once!

That's what the solvent is for ... thin out the color. If it's totally way off base, you gotta start over. *Been there... done that* Start with MonCal's recipe... then go from there. You may need to add more red or blue or purple depending on your leather color. Remember, more Solvent doesn't change the color only the intensity of that color.

I messed my squares up This is what happens when you try and dye squares with a 6 year old running about the place lol, he was pestering me and i spilled it all so tried to make more and it was wrong so desperately started adding everything in the mix. I left loads in too long and they went super purple LOL. My hands, kitchen, fav Tshirt, well everything is some shade of purple LOL

Oh well i think some are still ok but im breaking into my second hide now. Need to order a load more stuff when i got the cash now. No solvent left as i washed my kitchen in it hahahaha!

Ahhhh the joys of Zam - i really feel for anyone like you Zam I Am who messed up there squares at some point, i gotta say i "had something in my eye" for a bit there LOL

Oh well - onwards!!!!!!

Yep... The Joys of Zamming!!! Welcome to the Club Becky. Now you're an Official Member!!!

My Zam "Roadkill" as MonCal called it - I can't even blame on my then 7 year-old. It was my own stupid fault! (And yes, when it tipped it hit some of my leather too.) It's still there... maybe I should go take a picture and frame it? Make a scrapbook page out of it or something?

Yah, you should dye outside, the fumes are bad for the kiddies. Hehe, I haven't even really started zam 2.0 and I am thinking mebbe, I should bow out, and not fix what I have, cause my toddler is getting into temper tantrum phase. I can't imagine him getting into everything then having a purple son for the rest of my life. The skirt, I messed up three times. Always test on scrap leather- not your squares and put your concoctions in a book with the recipe next to it. Then, when you get every thing right, double it to make more. I think I used a quart worth of dye when all was said and done.

Yeah my dye was suspended in water so nothing airbourn as fumes like from an airbrush.

This is what i got anyway, well what i salvaged

i think that looks really good so far becky....i wouldnt get to frustrated

Bee they look awesome!
The ones you're happy with rub some leather moisturiser in them. Furniture stuff should do it.
And yes! Always test on a scrap. They look cool to me x

Go buy some alcholo or isopropol and soak the ones you're not happy with. See if they get any paler. We can always airbrush over the top of those?

I really dont wanna do anything else to em to make them "final" until you have seen them John. They look different in real light and i dont wanna have to redo more cause ive sealed these and they look wrong

Don't bow out ZIA.... hand the munchkin off to Grandma for a day! Dye yourself silly so you don't have to explain why you have a purple son! It was hard enough explaining why I had purple fingers... (Yes... I wore gloves! )

The squares look good Langsuir666 - Don't fret too much. You're having fun... remember!

Hi all. I'm a newbie, so please be gentle. :-) I'm getting research for my future Zam outfit, and you guys are GREAT! There's just so much stuff here. Maybe I'm speaking out of turn, Langsuir666, but I think they look pretty good! Honestly, I know we're going for EXACTLY as we see on the screen, but if you think about it... this girl (thing? Do Clawdites have genders? Oy) is a BOUNTY HUNTER! She's not going to fret too much about her clothing. :-) Sorry, I'm teasing. I do think that they look fine. I'm hoping that mine (when I finally get to that point!) will look one tenth as good!

Ouch Ouch Ouch
I've offically bleed over Zam. I cut my hand on the thumb tacks i used to hold the squares while spray painting.

I'm doing the lacing right now. 3 rows completed but my fingers are KILLING me. Any helpful hints? Does a lacing needle work better than your fingers?

Yep!!

Depends on the lace you're using and how thick it is compared to the holes you punched into the leather. I definitely needed a lacing needle. And I needed pliers to pull it through sometimes! They aren't very expensive ($3 for a pack of 10 I think.. something like that).

Definitely pliers! Oh, the best are the angled pliers and the if you cut the end of the lace at a 30 degree angle so that the needle nose bent pliers can pull it through, you don't even need the lacing needle. I gave up on threading the lacing needles and just used the pliers. Pliers like this I think I used 45 degree pliers.

Originally Posted by BlueRoommate

it appears to me that there is a piece under the skirt to help it flare out when it's hanging flat- i'm going to use the word bustle for a lack of better words... maybe this is part of the flair going on with the skirt...

~Maryanne

I would call it a butt pillow. I think it might be to prevent the harsh leather rubbing against the neoprene and thus making it 'pile'.

*Dark Flower / ZAMber*

Still on going but quite happy with the result. Next step is the leather belt. Does anybody got an idea how to attach both skirt and belt?

The wide belt (Cummerbund) is actually not attached to the skirt. The skirt is separate from everything else, because it is too heavy and would pull everything else down. If you look carefully at some of the closeup pics in the gallery, you'll see that all the greeblies are attached to the cummerbund or around it. There is a thread on the boards here just for the cummerbund - you can find more information there about how it is made and fitted to the costume.

Thank you. I'll check it out and keep you posted.

I'm hopefully going to be starting my skirt during the summer.. My dad works alot with leather so he's going to be helping me A LOT!!!

Lucky you

I have started my skirt now. Managed to get 7-8oz off-cuts, (4 kilos), from fleabay for £25. Is that about $40?

These tutorials have been a great help.

That's sure less than what I paid!!! What do you Brits say? "Brilliant?" And I think £25 is about $40-$43 ... Somewhere in there, because we pay a tax after purchase - don't remember is you do or not, or if it's included in the price. In the end... you got the better deal mate!