Started my Zam

Hello everyone.

I'm Beth, known as Blue on most boards, and a member of both the 501 and Rebel Legion. I met some of you at Dragon Con last year.

After months of collecting pieces, I have started to create my Zam. I have the crop top and pants completed as well as various other little bits here and there.

Thanks for all the great information here.

I'll post some pictures when I get them uploaded.

Can't wait to see some pictures of your progress.

Welcome to the boards.

Great!!! I would love to see some progress pics! Looking forward to seeing your Zam! Maybe it will help some of us erm... slower Zams *cough cough* get motivated!

MaulMaus, if you ever actually FINISH your Zam I think we'll all have heart attacks :P

Anyway, welcome Blue! Good luck!

Yeah... I know! :o I think I should hand out a group insurance policy for everyone waiting for this Zam... The CO and GML of my local garrison are getting rather impatient too -

can never have too many zammers! good luck and have fun! its a lot of hard work but rewarding when your finished! (are you ever finished? really?)

Hi beth. Good luck with your Zam

Any help, please ask away

John

I have finally gotten some pictures up:





I have more pictures here: http://s191.photobucket.com/albums/z.../Costumes/Zam/

I'm not entirely happy with the way the suit turned out. I think I need to re-do the pants at a future date. The neoprene ended up having a little more stretch than I anticipated. Thankfully I should have enough left on the bolt to make a new pair of pants. It was very easy to sew, which surprised me. In the above picture, I had not yet finished off the cuffs, and edges, which I have finished now.

I'm currently working on the skirt at the moment. I have all the squares cut and my fiancé is punching all the holes. I have managed to stain my kitchen countertop purple from the dye as well, but I think I finally got the colors worked out. Hopefully this weekend I can work on dying and assembling the skirt.

Looking good there Blue!! Wow!! Looking forward to seeing the whole set-up!

I didn't think the fabric would be hard to sew... it's more getting the fit. And having to use those welt seams doesn't help. The shirt came off great! The pants are loose though... can you take the inseam in a bit and re-do the outer seam to make them not so loose?

How did you make the "saddle" part of the pants? That's one are that has concerned me. On my mock-up I couldn't get it right...

Ahhh yes... the leather dyeing part... I did that out in my garage (which also has some lovely purple stains on the concrete now!) just because I KNEW I'd make a mess of things!

I think it looks great! It's a relief to hear that the neoprene wasn't too bad to sew; I'm worried it's going to fry the motor of my little ol' Kenmore sewing machine! (I'm still procrastinating on mine... you aren't alone, MaulMaus. ). Where did you get your neoprene, BTW? I ordered mine from StretchHouse, and was wondering if it's the same thickness. I'm working on ANH Leia Senatorial Gown (I know... TURNCOAT! Honestly, just a LOT easier to get done for Halloween!) and Ep III Obi Wan for hubby (DOUBLE TURNCOAT!) now, so after they are done, maybe??? Frankly, I think I'm just too scared of it to start. :o

I didn't think the fabric would be hard to sew... it's more getting the fit. And having to use those welt seams doesn't help. The shirt came off great! The pants are loose though... can you take the inseam in a bit and re-do the outer seam to make them not so loose?

I've been toying with that idea. With both inseam, and side seam being welted, I'm not jumping up and down to go and tear it back apart. It was hard enough to get it all together the first time.. It might come to that though. I think I am going to work on the rest of it and leave that for last and make the decision if I want to make a new pair or try and fix the ones I made already.

How did you make the "saddle" part of the pants? That's one are that has concerned me. On my mock-up I couldn't get it right...

I made up my muslin from a pants pattern that I had. After I got the muslin to fit the way I wanted (not including the extra stretch, woops :o) , I had a friend draw the saddle in and cut the muslin and added seam allowances. That way I knew I had the seams in relatively the correct spot.

I think it looks great! It's a relief to hear that the neoprene wasn't too bad to sew; I'm worried it's going to fry the motor of my little ol' Kenmore sewing machine! (I'm still procrastinating on mine... you aren't alone, MaulMaus. ). Where did you get your neoprene, BTW? I ordered mine from StretchHouse, and was wondering if it's the same thickness. I'm working on ANH Leia Senatorial Gown (I know... TURNCOAT! Honestly, just a LOT easier to get done for Halloween!) and Ep III Obi Wan for hubby (DOUBLE TURNCOAT!) now, so after they are done, maybe??? Frankly, I think I'm just too scared of it to start. :o

My $99 singer handled the fabric great. I have a walking foot, which helped as well. If you don't have one, I would suggest looking into getting one.

The fabric I have is actually from the 1st run they did here. A friend of mine was getting rid of it and I scooped it up.

Have fun with Leia. It's a great costume. Most everyone recognizes it.

Yeah.. I'd leave it for last too! I think the pants look loose but fine - especially once you get all the other goodies (including the skirt) on. I don't know if anyone would notice! Don't worry about it!

Originally Posted by Blue

I made up my muslin from a pants pattern that I had. After I got the muslin to fit the way I wanted (not including the extra stretch, woops :o) , I had a friend draw the saddle in and cut the muslin and added seam allowances. That way I knew I had the seams in relatively the correct spot.

So are the "saddle parts" separate parts or are the sort of applique'd on top of the pants? Did you use a regular pants pattern? I'm thinking it should be some sort of leggings/stretch pants pattern and then make the saddle parts pattern separate like you did (keeping in mind the stretch! ).

Yes! Yes!!! a walking foot (or a roller foot) is a MUST!

Oh, good. A walking foot I have. Thanks! :-)

Originally Posted by MaulMaus

So are the "saddle parts" separate parts or are the sort of applique'd on top of the pants? Did you use a regular pants pattern? I'm thinking it should be some sort of leggings/stretch pants pattern and then make the saddle parts pattern separate like you did (keeping in mind the stretch! ).

The saddle parts are actually separate pieces. I used a normal pants pattern, which is where I think I made my mistake. I should have used a pattern made for stretch material. When I assembled the pants, I sewed the saddle part on each leg piece, welted the seam, then sewed the outside seam for each leg (Front to back), welted the seam, then the inseam, just to where the saddle ended (right around the knee) so I could do the welt there. Lastly I did the remaining section of the inseam. After that all I had to do was sew the two legs together and I had a pretty nice looking pair of pants.

I used Kwik Sew #3455 with a few alterations for the top. It worked great . The neoprene had enough stretch, that it worked with the pattern.

Thanks!

I don't think I've ever used a Kwik Sew pattern...

I'm not too sure how this will come out (first time I scanned and posted something on TDH boards), but this is the pattern I bought for the pants, mainly because the patterns was made to use with stretch material (Spandex, specifically). They look like bike pants, and I'm hoping the neoprene will play nice with them. Green Pepper patterns are a little hard to come across, but might be worth looking at if you really do think you want to re-do the pants, if only because a lot of their patterns seem to be made for 'active' lifestyles (unlike mine ) and ask for stretch materials. Got this online (gotta love the 'net!), but I know Jo-ann's carries them as well.

Hmmm... do these have outside seams? Can't tell from that pic. If not - you could add one, making allowances for the welt seam that goes on the outside. And also adding the "saddle parts" to the pattern. (Oh how I wish there was a Zam-pattern... )

*sigh* No, they are interior seams. But don't we all wish there were a Zam pattern! All of our issues would be solved (although if there were, there'd probably be a lot more running around).

I finished the skirt last night. It took me about 3 weeks, and I have very sore fingers, but it was well worth it. I am fairly happy with the way it turned out

skirt pieces cut, dyed and resolened.


After a few rows


Finished


More pictrues

My boots should be here by the end of the week, I might actually get this done by Dragon Con!

Your skirt looks great!!!! Wow, most impressive!

(I was gonna be a smartmouth and point out that the sandals aren't canon Zam... ) Your costume is really coming along great... I hope you can get it done by Dcon!

I understand about the sore fingers... lacing isn't for the faint of heart! Three weeks isn't bad for the skirt though... I hate to admit how long I took. About the same if you don't count the year long hiatus because I didn't finish dyeing all the leather in one batch. :o

Looks great though... keep us updated on your progress!

Ahhhh!! Beth! It's looking great!! So much better ON you than sitting in my closet gathering dust.

You do me proud girl.



Can't wait to see photos of it all together.

So cool!! I love how the skirt came out. You are rockin' this outfit. Keep it up, you can make Dcon! I'll be there, hopefully I can flag you down for pictures!!

Deunan Shiruba

I had a very successful weekend. Vest and cummerbund are assembled, I just need to dye them. I was actually able to put on most of the costume to get a feel of what it will look like completed.

I took in the pants a bit which made it a little better. I still have to take in the seams on the lower leg and I think that will take care of the bunching on the knees.

The whole costume is starting to take shape





More pics

I'm a little worried about the ankle gaurds. I was having a tough time keeping them actually on the boot. They kept popping off as I walked.

Looking great! You're gonna make one fantastic Zam!

Do the ankle guards have snaps on them? They should have 3 large snaps on the back of each... it'll keep them from falling off!

Wow!! You are moving along so quickly!!!

*looks a pile of Zam stuff* I wish I could get moving on mine that fast.

You are turning into a great Zam!!

Hey hey hey...getting there

Love the belt and vest, very nice

When you tightening the pants that costume will rock.

Keep up the good work

That is looking really awesome!! That skirt looks beautiful, I can't imagine the hours you spent on it!

G-Fett

looking very good! youre doing a great job!

Oh, you're rocking on it now!!

What leather did you use for the vest and belt?

If you take the middle back seam in (make it shorter between your neck and waist), you will get the vest to smooth out more and do less wrinkles. Don't overdo it or it could get too short.

Did you coil your hair up under your helmet? I notice you have long hair too, and I'm trying to figure out my solution to that one.

Do you need red silk for the lining of the front face cloth?

Well done!!

Deunan Shiruba

I can answer the last one... Yes... you do need red silk for the veil lining. (It's not exactly red... more of a deep reddish-orangish color. ) If you don't have a pre-dyed red silk piece - you can custom dye it with silk paint from Dharma Trading Co. Silk paint is easier to use than dye and is just as permanent.

i wanted to add...you did a fantastic job on that skirt..it hangs awesome...curious what weight you used for the leather. my wife's zam skirt still refuses to relax..lol

Oh yeah, that was tired post-SDCC me. I was offering red silk. I have all the facilities here to dye silk any color you need, any thickness of silk you want. Just let me know what shade of red and I can make up a huge batch at once for all Zammers.

I'll need the dimensions of your silk patch, not of all our Zams are exactly the same.

Thanks!

Deunan Shiruba

Ooops... Sorry. That was migrainy me answering too!

Thanks for offering that! The color I chose was the one off the little Zam bust from Sideshow... as it has a bit of the red showing. If you have that - you can get something pretty close in color.

Originally Posted by MaulMaus

Do the ankle guards have snaps on them? They should have 3 large snaps on the back of each... it'll keep them from falling off!

Yup. Got the snaps on. It's more a problem of the front part that goes over the shoe comming up when I walk.

What leather did you use for the vest and belt?

I acutally ended up getting a deer hide. I was having trouble finding lambskin and the pigskin that my local Tandy had didn't dye well at all.

Did you coil your hair up under your helmet? I notice you have long hair too, and I'm trying to figure out my solution to that one

I pile all my hair up on top of my head. I have enough room in the top of the helmet to fit it all in.

Do you need red silk for the lining of the front face cloth

I think it's red silk. I used red poly that I have on hand from another costume I am making. I might replace it someday with real silk.

i wanted to add...you did a fantastic job on that skirt..it hangs awesome...curious what weight you used for the leather. my wife's zam skirt still refuses to relax..lol

I used 4 - 5 ouce cow hide. After I cut and dyed the squares I worked with each one to take out some of the stiffness. Then I resolened them and worked each square again while I was lacing it up. I have spent some time after it was all finished rolling it up in diffrent directions to try and get it to soften up some more. It's still pretty stiff, but it's getting better.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments. I'm getting closer!







More Photos

Whoa! Looks killer. Congrats!

Great job!

Looks a great Zam.

There any chance of telling us where you got all ya stuff from?

Originally Posted by MaldorianGuard

Looks a great Zam.

There any chance of telling us where you got all ya stuff from?

I got bit's from here and there.

The neoprene and helmet along with other various bits I bought from a friend. Helemt was made by DCB and the neoprene is from the first run Zam I Am did. I'm not sure where some of the other pieces are from. The leather work I did myself. Armor/shins/gauntles are from Mon Cal.

Wow!! You are looking great! Moving along way faster then I am.

I am loving your colour scheme there pat very cool looking Zam

May lighten your hoses a tad and shorten the hood a little? Other than that, that's a great looking Zam Wessel and well done on a job well done

Really nice work

Looking fantastic!!

With the faux-hood you might try pulling it up around your neck more to not only shorten it, but to cover your neck more. You might need to take a couple of tucks with a thread and needle (sew it in place) to keep it positioned correctly.

Otherwise... you've got one awesome Zam there! Wow! Most impressive!

Nice job!! Looks great. Can't wait to see it all finished up!

We finally got around to taking some nice pictures over the holidays. I thought I would share them with all of you.







Link for more pictures

It turned out really great, Blue!

G-Fett

In Italy we say :" Che spettacolo !!!

Excellent Zam

You look Snifftastic!

Dang... I must have missed this thread! *slaps self* Blue... FANTASTIC!!!! I love it! Definitely one of the best Zam's out there! Congratulations!

Thanks

Looks great Blue, you had better luck then me. My Zam is a complete disaster.

*DF*

Wow, what a great job! You pull off the character really well.

Great job!

I loved it in person, but I must say, I love those photos. You make a great Zam!

Thanks Kimmy