Geesh.....I haven't been keeping on this this thread so well. Bad Fangs, BAD!
I've been working away on several projects, but mostly the Sister of Battle. It wasn't until this weekend though that things started looking like stuff. LOTS of mistakes....lots of lessons learned. I'll try to pass on as many as I can.
First up, my Coverstitch machine. If you do a lot of sewing with stretch fabric, invest in one of these. I LOVE IT!! Of course, it can be used on other fabric as well if you need that type of hem and it does belt loops, binding and a zillion other things. So what the heck is it you ask?
So that's what it looks like. Sort of like a serger really. But what it does is different.
So there's the good side of the fabric. You can have two or three needles/rows of stitches.
And there's the underside....all finished nicely just like if you had done it on a serger! Normally I would have folded the raw edge under before doing this, but the fabric I'm using (ponte di roma) is a heavier weight stretch fabric and I didn't want to have the hems too bulky so I serged the raw edge first and then used the coverstitch. I LOVE looking at those three lovely rows of stitches. It's like sewing porn! ;-)
So, that item I was sewing is the undersuit to my Sister of Battle. I used the basic catsuit pattern from KwikSew. Keep in mind that the hem needs to be flat in order to use the coverstitch machine so you have to do the hem before you sew up the arm or leg seams. Also, if you haven't used the KwikSew catsuit pattern, be aware that the sleeves are ridiculous baggy but because of the differences in stretch between fabrics, I cut the pattern as is, sew up the arms and then take them in from there.
The catsuit is basic black with the zipper up the front. It is covered front and back, but it's easier for me to get in to with the front zipper. Something else to consider. I use a regular zipper on these - long of course - instead of an invisible one. Sometimes invisible ones can be a little tempermental and not as strong because they have such tiny teeth so I prefer when it is possible to use a regular strength zipper.
Next up - working on the details for the Sister of Battle. OMG....so much detaily bits. UGH!
That's an example of all of the layers - this so happens to be for the top of my shin/knee area. First I drew half of the picture with the paper folded in half. Then I cut it out and had two even sides. I then traced it on to more sturdy card stock and cut that out. That was then my template. I then traced one exact copy of the design on to the Wonderflex and cut it out. Next I'd flip that over so I had wrong side to wrong side, and I traced out a second layer of plasitc but less accurate. This gives you some wiggle room and you don't need to worry so much about lining up the two layers. I'd heat up both sides, stick the sides together that you can see the mesh on, and smooth them out. Let them cool so they are hardened and then cut out the bottom layer so it matches with the top.
Some of you right now are thinking...where's the craft foam?? Ahhhh....lesson learned there as well. Some parts just don't need that inner layer. Especially when it is layer upon layer of plastic. So unless you really want some definition in that detail layer, I'm finding that two layers of plastic alone for the layers works just fine for me. And the bigger the piece, the harder it is to get to shape well if you have that inner layer of craft foam. Expensive lesson learned there.
This is my first attempt at the chest plate. I used the two layers of Wonderflex with a sandwich layer of craft foam in the middle. I cut the craft foam to the exact size I needed the chest plate to be and then sandwiched it between the two layers of heated plastic. I was using some steel armor I own to help get the right shape. With that inner layer of craft foam it was FAR less moldable in more than one direction. So the waist area flaring out to the hips was a problem. I eventually gave up on it after hours of trying to get it right - but as luck would have it, it's going to work okay for the back plate so it's not a total loss at all.
Soooooo....second attempt. ARGH!!! Two pieces of Wonderflex with a layer of wax paper between it and the metal armor. Thus.....the wrinkles. ~sigh~ How utterly frustrating. But, it's got great shape and there is a whole bunch of detail layering that will cover all of that up. However, even with no craft foam, it wasn't as easy as I hoped to shape. My conclusion is this - it's the mesh embeded in Wonderflex. Lesson learned - if you want to do big pieces, use Worbla - no mesh to mess with.
Remember those paper cut outs a few paragraphs back? This is what they turned in to....
As you can see, there is some trimming and such that needs to take place....and some shaping so that they are shins and not giant flat things, but that my friends is my knee armor on the top of my shins! In the example I'm basing mine off of, she has skulls in the middle of the knee. But if you look at the shapes....the fancy fleur de lis with a circle on top where the skull goes - you'll see what can't be unseen. A skull with ponytails. Once I saw it, there was no way I could take those knees seriously anymore so another fleur de lis (no the one shown in the picture) will be going in the centre instead. I'm supposed to look tough....not like I need to add a Hello Kitty bow to the top of each skull....hahahahaha
Next up the forearms and biceps:
I'm sure you can see that these still have some things to sort out. I needed the fronts to be slightly flat to attach the fleur de lis to but that made everything go all woobly. So lesson learned. Wait until the piece has completely cooled and THEN start spot heating for stuff like that. Both the forearms and the biceps are two layers of Wonderflex for the base and one layer for the detail bits except for the centre "I" on the forearms. Because this had strips going under it, I wanted it to be a little more beefy so it wouldn't look like it's melting over the strips, so I made it two layers, with the very centre strip being the third layer.
This is the big "I" that goes just below waist height kind of like a giant belt buckle.
This really has some substance to it. The main "I" is floor mat foam covered in one layer of Wonderflex. I did the bottom side up and then the top side down. It worked okay, but I think next time I'll do the top side down and wrapped around the back, and then a piece the extact size and shape as a back panel to cover all of the ends. It seems to work cleaner that way. The detail bits on top are all two layers each. The skull....(kinda, right? Don't laugh...it's my first try....it's a skull of something.....hahahaha) is sculpted out of Model Magic. Once I practice with Friendly Plastic (beads of plastic you heat in boiling water and then mold) or maybe even with scraps of Worbla, I'll redo it. He's cute, no? In a tough way. ;-)
And lastly I built this belt thingy.
I don't know what it is. All I know is a belt comes through it and it sits on your waist. Soooo....I built it. The gold bit is a spot from Tandy Leather. That's what they are called....spots. They have little prongs on the underside and when the plastic is soft, I just pushed it in. Should have been silver though. Oops.
I'm doing the rest of the build with Worbla. The two plastics work together well so that's not a problem. I just wanted the chance to work with both while how each behaves is fresh in my mind. Some other things I've learned - Wonderflex is moldable, if you pull out the mesh. Had it happen by accident but it is doable. Wonderflex is much, MUCH stickier than Worbla. It sticks to anything and everything when hot. Worbla seems to need much more heat to have stuff stick to it, and even then, the non-shiny side seems not to really get sticky.
Verdict so far? Both have things I like and don't like. But I have to admit, I'm leaning towards Worbla for not being as sticky. That may change once painting begins. The Wonderflex is much more smooth than Worbla and something cool I discovered - I work on silicon baking sheets to keep it from sticking to my work surface. Something about that makes the Wonderflex go even smoother when heated. I don't really understand why or why it does it some times and not others, but I like it! Worbla with the wood chips is always going to be rough. So plus one for the annoyingly sticky Wonderflex in that department.