Creating the Jumpsuit or Coveralls

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I saw the Granda's House pattern a few weeks ago. All three sizes mentioned come in the same envelope.

For starters, you'll prolly need to make adjustments to the initial size, since you're working from the medium pattern. A local seamstress might be able to help.

If you've seen some of the pictures of the costume laid out, you'll notice that the neck of the armor vest is actually attached to the jumpsuit, not the armor vest. I made my own neckpiece without a pattern.

You'll also need the two thigh pockets. They are the same pattern as the large ammo pouch pockets. You may have to create your own pattern for these.

There are two lower pockets for shin tools. Although the same size, the pocket 'dividers' are stitched in different places. These pockets are symmetrical, and the same size, right and left.

And finally, there are the outer sleeves. You'll have to search to find some decent shots, but the outer sleeve comes over the long sleeve and stops right above the elbow. Look closely at the piping. The stitches are what MAKES the Fett jumpsuit.

In the coming months, I'm going to develop a pattern (based on Simplicity 8745) for use by those here on the Forum. If you can wait a few weeks, I'll send what I have. I have bigger fish to fry right now...

For now, my best advice is to gather as many pictures as you can, and bring the pattern and pictures to a qualified seamstress (look in the yellow pages). That person will be able to help you achieve your goal.
 
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Yeah, that's Simplicity 8745, the one we're talking about. It's not longer in production.
 
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I made my vest through trial and error, but after three attempts, finally got a pattern I like, and I've been using it for four years. Mine has a zipper up the back.

If you decide to make your own, remember that the shoulder sections shouldn't be shaped like crescent moons, but rather footballs. I've heard alot of people that got frustrated thinking that the crescent moon shape would work, then ended up having shoulders that looked like they belonged on the cover of a Meco album. Typical 'futuristic-spaceman' design.

When I get the Simplicity 'simplified', I'll be glad to send a copy of the armor vest as well. I need to sit down and write instructions for these as well, I guess.

Patience...
 
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Whew!

I just transferred the Simplicity pattern to brown parcel paper. What a chore. I laid out several sheets of carbon paper and used a pattern tracing wheel (looks like a miniature pizza cutter) to transfer the pattern. The original pattern is still as good as new. My back, not so much.

Over the next couple weeks, I'm going to make adjustments to the sleeves (they're HUGE!) and the bagginess of the pant-legs. Then I'll do a test-suit to see what else needs to be modified.

I will keep you updated...
 
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Hey, BN. I tried something on my j/s with the sleeves and really was very satisfied with the results.

Instead of making a short and long sleeve, I simply made the sleeve extra long and tucked it under for the double-sleeve effect. Worked great, was fast, and especially easy to do. Check my link for pics in my thread on my jumpsuit.

After you've completed that step, you can adjust the sleeve for length at the wrist.

I also pinched and made a false seam down the entire front of the sleeve to resemble the ref pics.
 
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Yeah, I did the piping down the long sleeve, too. I went ahead and made a smaller outer sleeve, so I could get the correct piping on it as well. Wish I had a picture of it..

I was pretty happy with my old jumpsuit, but since I did it from scratch, the crotch always felt a little weird (doesn't it always?). I hope to correct it by using a 'tried and true' pattern base.
 
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Awesome BN!
I know your hard work will be greatly appreciated by a lot of people, especially me.(y)

Will my height (5'5")and skinny legs:( be an issue for the fit part of the jumpsuit?
 
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I think you'll be fine. You can always hem for height. As for the 'fit' part, I'm assuming you mean the waist area? Your belts will keep all that cinched up. You can always take gathers out of the legs of they are too 'fluffy'.

A seamstress will know how to alter it.
 
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I know that S1 gloves are easily lighten the color by damp them a little and putting them in the sun for a while. I'm in the process of sewing my own Jumpsuit but I haven't decided which material to use.
I was wondering if cotton and twill can be lighten like S1 gloves do. I know that twill is a thicker material, like for work coveralls, but I'm looking for something more comfortable and cool to wear (plus the armor, vest, and JP harness...will be pretty hot), besides that I could weather them as well. If someone knows about fabrics and the characteristics of them, give me some feedback here.


Robert
 
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It is definately cotton or a cotton blend of some kind with an almost denim look to it. I've yet to find THE fabric, but it's out there somewhere waiting to be found. Here's some pics of it.

fabric_rotj.jpg

Spats01.jpg
 
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IMHO, you'd be better off, as well as it being easier, to match the texture of the fabric rather than the color. You can easily dye the fabric if it's a cotton. I don't think anyone has found the correct fabric in both texture AND color yet. Anybody?
 
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I think so too. When you imagine it you think it's baggy, but the pictures really show it to be much tighter. It just looks bulky and baggy from the pouches and the way the thighs bulge out from the cinch of the knees.

I say it's definitely more fit than baggy.

Phil
 
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Go twill--I found an entire bolt of light grey twill fabric at my Super Walmart in Omaha, Nebraska. I think is was $2 per yard--I got about 13 yards on the bolt. Twill has the right texture, and it has an awesome weight--kind of like denim. The bolt I found is just a slight shade darker than that vest fabric we all just got. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
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Great advice, MMM. I Think sometimes we get caught up in searching for items/fabrics that fit the entire bill of the real deal. When in fact, some of the found items on the suit have been incredibly altered from it's original form.

Again, I wouldn't look for a color that matches what you seen on screen, because it doesn't exsist. The real suits were dyed-- most likely from white/light grey material. Even the MOM suit has heavy evidence of BLUE dye. Focus on the correct material/texture.


MegalomaniacalMandalore wrote:

IMHO, you'd be better off, as well as it being easier, to match the texture of the fabric rather than the color. You can easily dye the fabric if it's a cotton. I don't think anyone has found the correct fabric in both texture AND color yet. Anybody?
 
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The jumpsuit is one part I've always advised people to try and get done locally to ensure a tailor-type fit rather than mail-ordering and hoping it does the job.

Back when I had very little costuming experience, I made the mistake of ordering a complete outfit. The jumpsuit was too small in places, and the vest was huge. I often wondered if they didn't confuse my order with someone elses. There were sooo many things wrong with the costume, and I always wished I had been more patient and just made an effort to learn earlier on how to do some stuff myself.

I pitched the vest, the gloves, and pretty much started building up from scratch. Kept the jumpsuit, but it was "heavily" modified.
 
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I think it's just the way the jumpsuit is fitted. The torso and arms need to be a bit tailored to fit correctly, the arms need to be tapered so they don't bunch up under the gauntlets, and the torso needs to fit snug, not tight, but certainly not baggy. Now for the legs, I bet these are literly straight legged, the thigh fits, but there isn't much of a taper, if there is one at all, so it seems to be baggy at the ankle ... at least that is what it looks like to me :confused
 
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You definately want a fitted look. It could make or break the costume in my opinion if you are going to wear it. Best suits I have seen were all custom tailored.

You don't want it too baggy in areas, like the butt. I don't think it would be very becomming for Fett to look like he's carrying around a load in his pants. ;)
 
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Guys, I went today for an hour-away-Hobby Lobby/Fabrics store next to it, to find out that they had NOTHING similar to the sample material I had in my hand.

MMM: Thanks for the feedback, and besides that cotton is easier to dye and it's cooler (specially in the summer time).

PF: Thanks to you too for the note as well on the twill, which I think and believe is a cotton blend and it's used for work jumpsuits. Now my question is...can it be dyed or bleached? I found the material, but it was in a darker grey color, and someone else has it in the same gray shade. Please, IF YOU OR SOMEONE KNOWS, LET ME KNOW.

TylerD: I really appreciate your accurate points of view, which makes me feel better and secure at this point, and with all your comments, I'll be looking for the fabric once I make sure and get the answers I need so far.

Robert
 
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