Babylon 5 Army of Light Uniform

Jadzia

New Member
Here is my Babylon 5 Army of Light Uniform that I sewed myself. The most complicated sewing job I have ever attempted. I am still not happy with the collar...any tips on making it better?

IMG_4500.jpgphoto.jpgIMG_4499.jpg
 
A complicated project for sure, but it looks like you're doing well! Lots of patience went into this, I'm willing to bet!

For the collar, I would say to look at other collars drafted like the AoL uniform. This is an example from my Black Widow bodysuit, but it's applicable for wovens as well as stretchy knits:

collar_before.jpg

You would cut two of these, on the fold. The collar would then wrap around the back of the neck, and have a slight separation at the front, as the screen-used uniforms do. You can pretty easily square the edges, like such:

collar_after.jpg

If you needed to leave the space in the back to get in and out of the costume, then you would move the collar pattern away from the edge, add 5/8" seam allowance to the edge that would be on the fold (seen on the left here) and cut 4, mirroring the pattern for 2 of them. You could then put in a zipper, closing the collar easiest with a hook and eye closure. I believe, however, that the originals had full collar with a zippered front, using the flap to conceal most of it.

To make the collar sturdier and stand up better, you could add interfacing to one side, to be sandwiched in between the two layers. You can learn a little more about it with this tutorial here. Not a lot of pictures, but gives a decent description (on short notice).

Still, a really good start -- especially all that trim, and sourcing the materials! =D
 
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Pretty cool! I keep wondering where all the B5 stuff is because you hardly ever see B5 costumes.

Sluis Van Shipyards
Thats exactly why I wanted to make it...I hadn't seen anyone at cons who had made one. Plus I was going to Space City Con which was going to have basically every B5 actor there that is still alive.
 
Cool costume! Plus you can wear it around to a con and still be comfortable! If you need some hi-res closeups of the B5 costumes, check out the thread in the Original Prop and Costume section. Loads of good photos for helping on fabric selection. Keep up the good work on sewing. I am still learning myself but my wife has helped me along quite a bit.

http://www.therpf.com/f45/babylon-5-costumes-warner-bros-lots-o-pics-158466/

Yes it is comfortable. And I totally used those photos for help in making this costume they were a great help! I found them before I even had heard of the RPF.
 
Hi,

Really great work.

I have the idea about doing a B5 costume during the year but cannot find any pattern to start with. I am no expert in sewing. Did you start your work with something as model?

Shadu
 
Very cool! I am actually working on that costume myself and yours looks great! :) I have to ask: did you use soutache for the trim on the shirt and if so how easy was it to work with?
 
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