Skirt Making the skirt

1)I wanted to know Area wise for the skirt squares - i tried to work out how many square feet of leather needed for the actual skirt squares and it went terribly wrong :)

2)On a seperate thing i wanted to know how to cut the lace. I would have thought using a thickness of 1/4 and cutting 1mm strips in a spiral would work at first - the lace would then be straight. But the surface of the thonging i would want to dye wouldnt be smooth and cutting 1mm strips is near impossible. Cutting it the other way 1/4 strips on a 1mm hide in a spiral would make the lacing not straight - does this matter? How did you do it?
 
For the skirt squares, you only need a single shoulder (or double shoulder if you want to use the rest of the leather for other purposes). Actually a double shoulder of veg tanned leather is better if you intend on making a belt, a single shoulder may not be long enough. It shouldn't be more than 18 sq. ft. I think.

On the laces, no no no, 1/4th inch is the width of the strand. 1-3oz is the thickness of the hide. The laces could be made from 9 square feet of leather, probably less. It's NOT straight. If you purchase the leather lace tool, it comes with instructions on how to use it. It spirals cuts from in to out, makeing a loooong piece of lace. Read this thread over again, I don't think you are getting how leather works. You can't understand it until you are in a shop touching the vegetable tanned leathers and the tools. Goto www.tandyleather.com and read over the frequently asked questions. I don't understand what you mean by thonging?
 
Thonging is lace :) Nearest good leather shop is 200 miles away so i wont be touching anything unless ive already bought it and had it shipped LOL.

Thanx for the areas :)
 
And don't forget LOTS of extra blades for the lacemaker tool! ;)

Man... I'm still practicing and not getting the laces near long enough... 9 sq feet?!? :lol: I think I'm gonna need a whole herd of cows to make enough leather for my lacing! :D :D
 
Those poor nauga hides... (other thread joke).

Yeah,a 9 sq ft. hide if you cut from inside out, then you should come out with enough lace.
This pic was wiped off somewhere, for the actual squares and a look at the columns. And, I only had 15 going across I think, not 16.
skirtpatrn3.JPG

So, each column should be about 11 feet of lace give or take how tall ya are. Therefore, you would have 1 strand = 11 feet. 17 columns x 11= approx 187 ft of lace. So, we should cut give or take, about 62 yards for the skirt, I think. I somehow remember cutting around 85 yards for some reason. Oh well, better have more than less, cause once you cut a column's worth of lace then the rest of that lace is discarded if it doesn't equal 10-12 feet. I once figured it using 2PiR or 3.14xdiameter somehow. I felt so smart.. and my brain hurt like nuts, but I had 3 strands left over, I was that close! 2 x 3.14 x 12inches (which is a 2 ft circle)would give you like 75 inches of lace for just 1 time around that width. :lol: I won't sacrifice my brain again... I'm sorry, I can't give you anything exact. But even a small 2 ft circle would give you TONS of lace.(2ft circle is 4 sq feet of leather used) But yeah, like 9 sq. ft should be enough (so that you can cut a 3 ft circle). So long as you are practiced enough. ;) And don't forget to tug on the back of the strand once you get it started. It will help lots.
 

Zam I Am wrote:

But even a small 2 ft circle would give you TONS of lace.(2ft circle is 4 sq feet of leather used) But yeah, like 9 sq. ft should be enough (so that you can cut a 3 ft circle). So long as you are practiced enough. ;) And don't forget to tug on the back of the strand once you get it started. It will help lots.

11 feet!!! *runs screaming* Aaaarrghhh!!!! :angry

Still haven't managed to get anything longer than about 3 feet before the blasted thing cuts.... All I can say is that if I run out of hide before I have the lace, I'm gonna just buy the pre-cut stuff ... even though all I have seen isn't as wide as it should be!
 
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Well i cant find Lexol in the UK atm :(

I read youre little tutorial and it says put the lexol on the lacing but it doesnt say put it on the squares. Do you need to do the Lexol application on the squares also?
 
Nope, cause it doesn't matter if the squares are hard, just the laces need softening. If the lace is too rigid, it becomes difficult to pull it through the holes.
 
It may have, but we all need to recall that Zam was first a concept drawing for the clone troopers look and that idea is rumored to have been lifted from a Japanses Anime. And a lot of Anime has clothing and armor styles that take from Samarai era clothing And Armor.
 
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Hmmmm.... sounds pretty good to me! So much of the Star Wars universe is taken from Japanese cultural history - it doesn't surprise me. Good eye! :D
 
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I just remeasured and I came out to 9 feet of lace per column. But, again, that is the conservative side, assuming that the laces are tight. I would air on the side of caution and make 10 feet lace strands per column. I just found a way to lengthen my skirt :D FINALLY.. a mistake on the my skirt has paid off :lol:. I realized rummaging through my piles of leather, I had cut two more rows of squares by accident, and it was already dyed the same color. And, I had left over lace predyed, so all I have to do, is unlace my skirt and seal the other pieces that were left out, and just have two knots in the back of the skirt. I can also make another belt, cause it just gets hidden by the cumberbun. It won't be exactly 15x12, but at least it will be longer. Eh, 15 columns x 14 rows ain't bad. Definately, make your squares 2 1/4th" to 2 3/8" tall. It should yield a 21 1/4" tall skirt (laced) with 15 columns and 12 rows.
 
Hey Yippee!!! I FINALLY got the lace thing down! :D Even managed to get one 15 feet long! *grins*

I dunno... I just sat down to try it one more time... in peace in quiet mind you... and it worked! :D :D I can't believe it... gotta go out and buy a lottery ticket now! :D
 
Not to mention the backache! ;)

Yeah... gotta admit I'm pretty proud of myself on this one! :D Perserverence paid off! Once I finish getting all that lace cut, I get to experience the joy of dyeing all those strands and little squares, holster parts and other miscellaneous stuff! ;)

I'm getting there... I'm getting there! :D
 
Amazingly, I've made some progress on this costume ;) Albeit I did cut out the skirt squares and dye them a couple months ago, we're getting ready to lace it and I'll put up some pics soon. :)

Also, I thought this forum could use a little boost ;) We're slowly working on other parts too, so hopefully I'll have more pics of that stuff also ( ... no not the bodysuit...still no word on that :(:evil )


Here are a couple pics until I can take more:

myskirt02sm1hb.jpg


myskirt03sm5xw.jpg
 
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Hey Very Very COOL! :D

I'm looking forward to seeing it when you get it laced up! Did you actually match up the various darker/lighter squares according to the pics? *yikes!*

I've got about 2/3 of my skirt squares dyed. Ran out of dye at that point because I didn't follow ZIA's advice on how much dye to make! *cringes* Have my lace dyed, but it came out too light, so I have to re-dunk it all... :/
 
Thanks :)

I didn't actually match up the different shades ... exactly ;) I tried to get a decent random affect similiar to the pics. I also added some scratches and blotches. All the squares are the same shade of dye ... and yes, it did take a lot!!. Some are dunked for the dark brownish ones, a few are dobbed and most are airbrushed at different intensities.

We got the lace cut and dyed tonight. Will have to wrap it around a piece of cardboard for the resolene next and finally get this bad boy laced up (y) Here is the lace hanging and dryin:

mylaces01sm3gf.jpg
 
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