Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
thanks! I am going to tinker with the shape a little but ill stick with that sizing.
The Ultimate X-Wing Pilot Thread
- Thread starter Jimbo890
- Start date
Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
i will be conducting an experiment this weekend..
i found a yard of nomex flight suit fabric in sage in my stash and i wanted to see how different blue dyes might color it. my belief is that the original blue squadron Rogue One flight suits were dyed sage cold weather suits. if my experiment works, i might be sewing a summer version of the blue squadron suit for an extra suit while i continue my orange x-wing project.
The sage material is significantly lighter than OD or Olive Green that i have for my boot cuff, which i have included a photo of them both for reference. ill be dyeing with royal blue and also navy and possibly another shade if i can find a mid-blue shade of dye... just to see if i can pinpoint a color that might be close to the screen used suits when its mixed with the sage fabric. if i discover the secret, i will be dyeing a larger quantity for the purpose of sewing my own xwing flight suit in Rogue One blue. should be fun!
if you are interested in results.. let me know!
Update: Slight delay in this project. I looked into nomex dyeing and realized i had the wrong dye for the fabric, so i have ordered the correct acid dye powder and will have to postpone until i receive it. They dont make the powder dyes in as many colors as the liquid so i will be sticking to navy blue for this fabric and may try to dye a same color different fabric in the other colors for comparison.
i found a yard of nomex flight suit fabric in sage in my stash and i wanted to see how different blue dyes might color it. my belief is that the original blue squadron Rogue One flight suits were dyed sage cold weather suits. if my experiment works, i might be sewing a summer version of the blue squadron suit for an extra suit while i continue my orange x-wing project.
The sage material is significantly lighter than OD or Olive Green that i have for my boot cuff, which i have included a photo of them both for reference. ill be dyeing with royal blue and also navy and possibly another shade if i can find a mid-blue shade of dye... just to see if i can pinpoint a color that might be close to the screen used suits when its mixed with the sage fabric. if i discover the secret, i will be dyeing a larger quantity for the purpose of sewing my own xwing flight suit in Rogue One blue. should be fun!
if you are interested in results.. let me know!
Update: Slight delay in this project. I looked into nomex dyeing and realized i had the wrong dye for the fabric, so i have ordered the correct acid dye powder and will have to postpone until i receive it. They dont make the powder dyes in as many colors as the liquid so i will be sticking to navy blue for this fabric and may try to dye a same color different fabric in the other colors for comparison.
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Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
I worked on some last minute diagrams of vest details before I tackle the build.. mostly about what layers I need and how the straps and buckles attach and such..
can anyone see something that is off or I need to add or change?
thanks!
can anyone see something that is off or I need to add or change?
thanks!
AnthonyD2199
Well-Known Member
All Looks good to me, what I've noticed about some of the vests is that the Tab for the clasp is rather small and most of the way up the side but I don't know if that was the way with all the vests since they weren't all made to exacting standards in 77', Also just wondering with the Shoulder Straps, which version are you going for the ANH Straps or the ESB/ROTJ ones?
Overall though all looks Great to me!
Overall though all looks Great to me!
Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
yeah, i noticed that about the straps too on the photos i could find with them visible.. seems they were near the top of the lower "wrap" part of the vest. It looks like the Rogue One straps are closer to the middle. Also at the bottom of the vest, the OT vests seem to be straight down and squared off, where the RO vests are angled and clipped.
I have seen 2 different types of side connectors. The rounded "Tuck Lock" clips used throughout the OT, and the "ladder lock" backpack clips (Like on the back of the vest) that some of the RO vests have. Looks like the RO vests have either/or depending on the pilot.
The Mandalorian re-used some of the Rogue One equipment so you kind of have a different style in the OT sandwiched in-between old (RO) and new (Mando) in the timeline.
For the shoulder straps, i am going to try to stick with the EpIV strap look, i can always make another vest with the other setup if i decide to go with the backward thing for Hoth. My plan is to use an elastic strap wrapped in the same fabric as the rest of the vest and then stitched with the ridges or stripes. I want it to have a slightly thicker look and i think the elastic inside will allow for the stitching to sink a bit to give a padded feel like some of the pics i have seen... as with all of the other parts, i may just make it both ways and see which i like better and use that for the final vest. At least by then i will have a good feel for how its done and what steps i need to do when. I may also make an extra since i will be in the thick of it anyways.
Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
started working on the flak vest this week. got all my fabric orders in so I could start construction.
today finished the shoulder straps since I need those to be completed first to insert inside the vest.
I used white twill to wrap the 2" elastic band and then sewed the segment portions. I used the ANH pattern but realistically you cannot really tell without a good inspection. the nice thing about sewing the fabric wrapped elastic is that it gives a little thicker look and when you add the segment sewing it gives a slightly padded appearance which I think fits the screen used costume better.
I sewed the segments on about 11" of the middle of the straps since you cannot tell if the rest is done inside the vest. and only did edge sewing on the rest of the strap to keep it all tight.
I'll be cutting the other fabric for a pin and test fitting of the vest with the straps inside before I actually sew it all together so I can adjust if needed. ill be using 5 different fabrics for the vest in different areas so it looks like it has some weight and detail to it. I'll spell all that out when I get the test fit done.
enjoy!
today finished the shoulder straps since I need those to be completed first to insert inside the vest.
I used white twill to wrap the 2" elastic band and then sewed the segment portions. I used the ANH pattern but realistically you cannot really tell without a good inspection. the nice thing about sewing the fabric wrapped elastic is that it gives a little thicker look and when you add the segment sewing it gives a slightly padded appearance which I think fits the screen used costume better.
I sewed the segments on about 11" of the middle of the straps since you cannot tell if the rest is done inside the vest. and only did edge sewing on the rest of the strap to keep it all tight.
I'll be cutting the other fabric for a pin and test fitting of the vest with the straps inside before I actually sew it all together so I can adjust if needed. ill be using 5 different fabrics for the vest in different areas so it looks like it has some weight and detail to it. I'll spell all that out when I get the test fit done.
enjoy!
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AnthonyD2199
Well-Known Member
Those Straps are Gorgeous! Can't wait to see the rest come together!
Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
thank you friend. i hope to start on the test fit this weekend.
Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
test fitting is complete!
so heres how it went down..
i began by cutting the backing fabric at the final size of the vest which was determined earlier with the original templates made, then by testing that against my own torso and adjusting to fit my frame. I did have to adjust a bit to a little longer and about a half inch wider, then adjusting the curve of the vest at the arm areas, both front and back.
next i attached the straps with pins to the front of the vest at the recommended placement for the straps to run all the way through the vest. When that was completed satisfactorily, i put the vest on to make sure the "top" markings of the straps were at the tops of my shoulders, and then reversed the vest to fit the back side. Since Luke wore it backward i figured it would be easy to find a level.
That worked ok, but i needed a second set of eyes to make sure the straps were even, so my wife came in and fitted it to my back. I turned the vest upside down and i had her fit the vest again and mark the undersides of the straps where the top edge of the back vest piece met. Then it was clipped in place and the bottom of the strap alignment was checked since the straps meet at the bottom of the back vest piece.
Note: the pinning took forever on the front panel so i switched to clips on the back for ease and speed. This worked like a charm.
All this being completed, i took it off and did some final fitting on the floor where i layed it out to get a visual and noticed it looked slightly off in my eye, so i took it to the table and measured the straps front panel to back panel and noticed we were about 1/4" off from one side to the next so i decided to have it slightly higher than lower and i moved up the longer side to match the shorter in length at 8 3/4". Not bad. Only 1/4" different from the original template recommendation.
I re-fitted and was happy with the alignment and i am calling the test fitting successful in shape and size and fit.
Next step will be to cut all the other fabric using the backing panels as a guide and then i will cut test pieces to test the ribbing fit and side trim on both panels.
This step took about 90 minutes.
so heres how it went down..
i began by cutting the backing fabric at the final size of the vest which was determined earlier with the original templates made, then by testing that against my own torso and adjusting to fit my frame. I did have to adjust a bit to a little longer and about a half inch wider, then adjusting the curve of the vest at the arm areas, both front and back.
next i attached the straps with pins to the front of the vest at the recommended placement for the straps to run all the way through the vest. When that was completed satisfactorily, i put the vest on to make sure the "top" markings of the straps were at the tops of my shoulders, and then reversed the vest to fit the back side. Since Luke wore it backward i figured it would be easy to find a level.
That worked ok, but i needed a second set of eyes to make sure the straps were even, so my wife came in and fitted it to my back. I turned the vest upside down and i had her fit the vest again and mark the undersides of the straps where the top edge of the back vest piece met. Then it was clipped in place and the bottom of the strap alignment was checked since the straps meet at the bottom of the back vest piece.
Note: the pinning took forever on the front panel so i switched to clips on the back for ease and speed. This worked like a charm.
All this being completed, i took it off and did some final fitting on the floor where i layed it out to get a visual and noticed it looked slightly off in my eye, so i took it to the table and measured the straps front panel to back panel and noticed we were about 1/4" off from one side to the next so i decided to have it slightly higher than lower and i moved up the longer side to match the shorter in length at 8 3/4". Not bad. Only 1/4" different from the original template recommendation.
I re-fitted and was happy with the alignment and i am calling the test fitting successful in shape and size and fit.
Next step will be to cut all the other fabric using the backing panels as a guide and then i will cut test pieces to test the ribbing fit and side trim on both panels.
This step took about 90 minutes.
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Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
does anyone have a good source for the orange flightsuit fabric? I have now struck out 3 times with fabrics so far. All from different sellers. I have been looking for Orange twill or canvas but i have gotten 2 different colors and one flaky retailer. I have not tried denier or cordura nylon because the weight looks to be too heavy.
Any suggestions? Thanks for any help.
Any suggestions? Thanks for any help.
AnthonyD2199
Well-Known Member
First I'm hearing about this, sounds good, what Website did you have in mind?
Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
when is this planned?
Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
can you give me a pre-opening fabric quote? im in the market now but maybe not in a month.
And what is TCSS?
AnthonyD2199
Well-Known Member
That sounds Awesome! I can't wait to see it all put together.
Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
accidental. meant to reply.
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Rawktrooper
Well-Known Member
what fabric is this for? thanks for the offer
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