Re: BUILD THREAD: My Apollo A7L Space Suit
Finally broke out the sewing machine and serger to start the soft parts of the suit, which is what I've really been looking forward to. First, I experimented with a twin needle to do all the double stitching nice and neat:
The majority of my thought experimentation has been devoted to trying to duplicate the look and structure of the A7L suit, but make it light enough for comfortable costuming. I spent the last week putting my thought experiments to the test. I chose 3 different nylon fabrics to test: a heavyweight 420 denier nylon pack cloth (this is what Spaceworks used to make their replica suits as well as some of the online retailers who sell Apollo costume suits), a medium weight nylon "sport" cloth from Joanns, and a lightweight nylon flag cloth that I got wholesale. I also chose 3 different weights of batting (heavy, medium, and light). For the backing, or what will be the lining of the suit, I chose craft velour (the same stuff used on the 1st/2nd Season Star Trek TOS uniforms). The reason for that will be explained below.
I tried a combination of all of these different fabrics and batting weights and evaluated them for how accurate they looked, how comfortable they would be for costuming, and ease of production. I basically sewed 9 different test sleeves and tried them on. I didn't document this. It was VERY tedious, but very important IMO to getting an accurate-looking suit. I think the structure is where so many of the costumes for sale have fallen flat.
Ultimately, I chose the lightest weight batting and light nylon flag cloth. The heavyweight fabric was too difficult to sew. I could do it, but I'd have to be restringing the serger every few minutes. I want to make the suit as cool to wear as possible. Also, the lighter weight fabric ended up draping better than the heavyweight stuff. The real Apollo Thermal Micrometeroid Garment was 13 layers thick and was sewn with industrial sewing equipment, so it had a very stiff, but puffy appearing. If I used the heavyweight fabric, even the thickest batting would not have the body to adequately puff out the outer layer and look appropriate. So if I use a lighter fabric, I can simulate a better structure with only minimal batting behind it.
Here is one of the pattern pieces I created and the light weight batting:
Batting will only give the suit so much structure. In order to get the look of the "constant volume" convoluted arms, I created rigid structures for the inside of the suit made from garment boning strung together with elastic and velcro sewn to it. Here is the joint for the elbow:
The reason for the craft velour lining is so I can secure the rigid structures to the inside of the suit. Craft or "puppet" velour sticks to velcro quite well. I wanted to make the rigid structures adjustable depending on the wearer, so being able to tear them out and reposition them was essential:
The finished sleeve is lightweight and comfortable, but also stiff enough to hold it's shape and give the appearance of being a many-latered pressure suit. Also, thanks to the structures, I can bend my elbow without the entire sleeve collapsing. So it looks more like a pressure garment and not just an empty fabric sleeve.
I created the lower arm as a separate piece because the EVA Apollo suits had a bearing mid-arm that spun around and allowed for greater mobility. I will be making a lightweight version of this bearing and the upper arm/shoulder assembly next:
Keep it up!
