My Zam Project Progress

[JDFett]

beleive me maulmaus...ive search and searched...ive even read just about every thread in this topic

im sure i missed it...but its nice to ask for some simple info sometimes...I know the status quo is go search the thread for yourself and find it...kind of like a treasure hunt, but its easier to just ask and hope for a quick answer....

edit*
just found it...seems 1/8 inch was the consensus...man do i have to disagree with everything...they seem bigger than that on th DTG pictures...im thinking the 1/4 may be more accurate. if you look at the space left when threaded with standard lacing 1/8 inch would just be too small. I have a motorcycle vest that has lacing on the side as well and the eyelets are also 1/4 inch eyelets....i think ill go with that

 

[MaulMaus]

Ill also be looking for the same threads in a second. I have my eyelets, ive measured them and the are supposedly the correct size but i dunno they just look small Right im off to use the search thingy ma doodle!

Can you post a pic of the eyelets next to a measuring tape/ruler? Before you go poking holes in your vest? Those things are a pain in the you-know-what to get out! I'm also sending you a PM!

JDFett: Yes... but the answers you seek are in the threads... Honestly, I just printed the things out because I kept having to refer back to them over and over and over. (If you can save to a PDF File, then you can just print the page(s) you need w/o wasting a lot of paper). The answers aren't straight forward and simple.... there are also links and measurements, etc. on those threads ....

 

[JDFett]

so true...good idea as well

 

[JDFett]

so I've been working on Jamie's vest...we decided to go with a really cheap pigskin for a test run...($18 bucks total!)

the pictures show the final fitting for the test...I will be using the test vest as our pattern for the actual one. the pictures show some comments as well....

actually didnt use a pattern for this test...kinda modified my biker vest ive got a tad to get the general jist of the vest

 

[ItsThatGuy]

I thought the vest was supposed to have a plunging neck line?

Lookin' good so far for a rough draft!

 

[MaulMaus]

Okay... you've got a good start there. But I'm also kinda confused on a few things.

First - if it's a final fitting and a test run so to speak - why not go all out and put a zipper in and the eupulets? (The zipper will really change the way it fits verses just using pins - trust me!). Having a good pattern for those stupid epulates is harder than it looks! It's good practice as well.

Second... Yep.. the front darts need to be extended, it will help the fitting along the bustline as well. (You could even do that on this fitting piece if you wanted).

But my main question is in regards to the "Actual vest" comments. 2 ply leather? Do you mean you will be having it lined with the wedding white pigskin as well? Basically sewing it inside out, then turning it around? Could work - though with the epuletes and the irregular shape of this vest, it won't be easy. I'd try it out on some fabric first - to see how it actually works.

Second on this, I wouldn't get my heart set on one dye/paint color unless you've tried it out on the specific piece of leather already! You might be surprised what color it comes out when you actually airbrush it on to the leather.

ItsThatGuy: Plunging Neckline??? Uh...No...

 

[JDFett]

in response maulmaus...the only reaosn we didnt put in the epulets is because those are really not anything needed for the actual pattern...after i get the other vest done to this point i will most likey do a dry test on this for those pieces before doing the final vest. also with the zipper i actually pined it extra tight in the front to allow a little leeway without wasting a zipper and time on this test vest(hey that rhymes:facepalm )

ya, with the darting, it does need to be higher...but ill wait to make the adjustment on the actual vest as thats just a matter of making a cut adjustment on the other material...I also used a black sharpie to mark all the way around the hem so i know where exactly to cut the other material(adding the extra sewing area of course).

I think that the onyl way to get the correct looking curved hem is by doing the inside out method....once done anything can be turned right side and as long as you stitched it along the line youll end up with a real nice finished edge...plus her vest just seems to have more weight to it than one ply (2 oz) pigskin.

most definatley try out the color first on scrap before the final spraying....you got that right!


Tony, is there even a picture of the front of her vest showing that type of neckline? I assumed you would need it high so you could attach the armor with some clips


thanks for the input...thats what it's all about

 

[ItsThatGuy]

ItsThatGuy: Plunging Neckline??? Uh...No...

Tony, is there even a picture of the front of her vest showing that type of neckline? I assumed you would need it high so you could attach the armor with some clips

::shrugs:: thought I read that some where....guess not...:facepalm

 

[MaulMaus]

This is the only photo I could find - I took it at the FIDM exhibit but its a bit blurry - you can make out the top of the vest though, by the brooch.

 

[JDFett]

another question...today we went looking for a seamstress and everyone wanted like 500 bucks to do the undersuit..SOOOOO...i said the heck with that...im sewing this thing myself! started today and this fabric sews like a dream! no issues at all, and thats with a regular needle...I bought a pattern for a pair of sweatpants and shirt and using that to modify...it working out great!

the question i have is as i was looking at the arm, i thought i could see a double raised area on the arm...in other words...the lines on the outside of the leg and the "breeches" saddle area appear to be one single bump...the arm looks like it has two smaller ones adjacent to each other...is this right???

 

[Langsuir666]

Wow! Our seamstress offered to do this for an estimate of £50 which i think is very reasonable. I would be happy to pay up to £100 for it to be done right rather than me mess it up LOL

 

[JDFett]

well i dont like to put it out there, but im actually an okay seamstress, even though im a guy...not to say sewing is a "girls" job cause i obviously dont beleive in that sort of thing, but a lot of folks are shocked when i tell them i can sew...i guess 7th and 8th grade home economics and a mom who made this Eagle Scout sew all his merit badges and patches himself had some benefits

so any comment on the above problem...is that just an optical illusion?

 

[JDFett]

as you know Jamie and i went out to a seamstress today to see if she could do the undersuit...she said she could for like 500 bucks! NOT IN THIS LIFETIME I figure I can sew, albeit not as well as a professional, but enough to decide it wasnt worth 500 clams right now!

so we went out looking for a pattern we could revamp and picked up this

we figured it would help with a few areas like sleeves and crotches

i went to work on this while jamie was out at her moms and got both legs together...just need a final fit on Jamie..hoping to get them done tomorrow...they are not perfect by no means but they look pretty good..

here you can see the raised stitching on the center of the side of the leg

then here i was reusing the pattern to cut out material for the saddle part

this is a close up of the two pant legs...just need tailor them so they are tight on Jamie and sew them together...

and i long view of both finished pants panels

 

[ItsThatGuy]

Very cool! I'm glad you can sew! We have a great tailor within a mile of our house, they did Aimee's Jawa for $120 - but that was a higher rate because we needed it rushed. Also all we had were reference shots, no pattern. They went above and beyond!

BTW - how did you end up doing the seams? Can you show a close up of the in and out side so I can use as a reference later?

 

[MaulMaus]

There is only a single welt seam on the arms as well as the legs ... you can see it on some of the pics (like at the NY FIDM pics that were posted elsewhere on the forum here ). It just looks like more "seams" on the pic above because the fabric is shiny, the thickness of the fabric and the angle the picture was taken at. The leg "saddle" seam looks smaller because of the way it was sewn. (It may also be just a second layer of the lycra sewn onto the regular neoprene/lycra material).

So, there is a single welt seam on the outside seam of the arms. A single welt seam on the outside of the legs and the welt seam for the "saddle" seams on both the legs. The rest of the seams are regular seams. (Please, if I'm wrong, someone correct me!).

 

[Langsuir666]

Ooooh i thought it was a double welt - ack :s So just a single welt or less all over, no double welt anywhere?

 

[MaulMaus]

*Ack!!!* Better double check my sewing terms here!

Okay According to my Vogue Sewing bible/book: (Paraphrased)

A welt seam (Single Welt Seam) Is a regular seam, with the seam allowance pressed to one side. You trim the lower seam allowance then you then stitch again parallel to the first seam, encasing the lower seam allowance. So what you see is only one row of stitching parallel to your first seam.

A Double Welt Seam - You complete the regular welt seam as above, then topstich close to the first seam you completed. It looks similar to a flat-fell seam (Like on jeans) and you see two rows of parallel stitching.

After looking at the pictures from FIDM and from DCB's Reference CD - I think all the welt seams are Single welt seams. I don't see any second row of stitching at all. That would also explain why all these seams are more rounded, rather than flattened.

 

[Langsuir666]

Oh dear, my seamstress had a look at the pics and i think she sewed us a double welt on a test piece. I really thought the leg saddle type piece seams were double, i better have a close look at the ref CD! :facepalm

 

[JDFett]

well to be honest...i tried a single welt seam on the saddle part and it was a nightmare trying to get it right, so i went with a double so i could get the nice straight stitch lines on the turn...i also did a single welt seam on the leg and will do the same on the arm, but i also stitch the other side becuase to me it looks better...so im not totally exact...not worried...

so while on a sewing break, I thought id finish up jamie's chest armor that ive been working on...here it is finished...I took the shot with the DTG picture in the background so you can see i tried to mimic the actual piece the best i could(no i didnt go fett crazy on it!) Used silver leaf, then detailed it with some spanish copper and some pewter, all R&B stuff

 

[JangoUri]