What did you do for the vest?

Snowzard

New Hunter
Hey guys. I'm Nick and I'm new here and I'm stuck on this part. What have you guys done for the vest? Any help would be great.

Nick
 
Hey man welcome to the forums. I really dont know much about the vest but I have had people give me some suggestions. I'm pretty sure most people use leather and make one themselves out of templates. If you go to your local Hobby or Crafts store I'm sure you can ask one of the nice ladies that works at the fabric counter for a pattern of a vest. Some people have also used pillow cases I believe. Another thing that you could use could be a plate carrier but they are a little expensive and I have no idea how you would attach your plates to one. I hope this helps
Jango
 
I found some old fabric in my basement that I don't care about and made my own pattern out of it. I kept refitting it -- pinning and what not -- until it fit me the way I wanted it to. Then I made them as neat as I could so to use them as patterns for the actual vest. I bought the fabric that I wanted, which was black vinyl-like material, and cut out the vest from it. I sewed it up, putting a zipper on one side so I could get it on and off easily. After that, I decided I would attach my plates with velcro. On the plates I use Industrial Strength sticky back velcro but used regular sew-on velcro on the vest (sticky back velcro doesn't agree with sewing machines). The only real difference I could see in the industrial velcro and the regular stuff was the side with the hooks, as apposed to the more "furry" side. The industrial velcro's hooks were stronger and more organized than that of the regular stuff. So I used that in sticky on the plates and the regular "fluffy" on the vest. To position the plates, I put on the vest, marked the plates with chalk and then kind of rubbed the chalk onto the vest (chalk wont hurt the fabric at all and it isn't permanent so it's easy to reposition). Then I applied the velcro where necessary.

I hope that gives you some ideas!
 
There are a lot of people here and on the mercs boards who do custom sewing. A well made and well fitted vest is essential to a good costume, I highly recommend looking in the trading station for soft parts makers and getting in touch with them. They're quite affordable.
 
I have a similar inquiry, I want to go with a vest for the armor to wear over these coveralls for the underarmor. I have 2 coat/jacket liners I found at a Army supply store that can be used as a vest with a little modification to them. Would that be good to use? The're pretty durable.
 
Seriously, for real..cannot stress this enough. By the time you've spent the money and labor on modifying an existing piece, you could have just ordered a vest from a legit maker. ladysewforus is pretty much industry standard...look her up. Modifying jackets/liners/other will not get you the shape and fitment you need to look good.
 
Jay is correct. A well fitted and properly made vest is essential for a kit to look good. Don't try and take a short cut. Save your pennies and get a vest that is well made and will last you. Trooping is strenuous on a costume...and a poorly made vest can come apart in a hurry, I know this from experiance.
 
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