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[Ronin Tavic]

First up is my stellar find of the week! Found this leather jacket at Goodwill for $10. The sleeves will be removed, and used both as a flap to cover the zipper, and for some extra pouches.

This is the flight suit I'm going to have tomorrow, found at a surplus store nearby for $25. it's a little big, but the tailoring will give me fabric to cover the zippers(and it shouldn't be that hard to take in a little.) All in all a good week to start making armor. 
Question about the belt though: can I use the leather only for the front and use a lesser grade fabric for the sides and/or back? I'd like to have it to official standards, so if you veterans could help the new guy thanks

[Serim Merec]

35$ and 1 week and you've got what I've been looking EVERYWHERE for fer months! 
Lol Nice pick up on the jacket. When you cut the sleeves off you might wanna take that collar off too. I doubt it's against the rules but it looks better when it's your flightsuits collar that's coverin' your neck 

[Ronin Tavic]

To be a good Mando you gotta be good, and lucky, I got a little luck Ner'vod  I was thinking I'd remove the collar, but I don't know yet if I can start yet, cause I'm not sure how much of the sleeves to leave for the shoulder bells. My armor hasn't gotten here yet so I'm not 100% sure on the measurements, and I'll need to save as much as I can for the extra pouches.

[Jobatt]

Definitely a good find on the jacket. Looks a little small on you, is that why you're opting to vestify it rather than keep it as a jacket?

[Ronin Tavic]

yeah it is a bit small, but as a flak vest it fits perfect(or so I assume, I've heard they're supposed to be tight). That is part of why I'm "vestifying" the other part being that it's a woman's jacket... don't judge me, it was cheap and fit right. you won't even be able to tell when I'm done with it.. hopefully lol
I don't understand what you mean about the color? If you mean the quality of the pic... yeah my camera sucks.

[Jobatt]

I thought it looked like a standard women's-cut jacket, but I wasn't sure. I can't wait to see what you do with the design, honestly, especially covering up the jackety bits like the zipper and collar.

[Ronin Tavic]

well once the sleeves are removed i'll have some fabric to use to cover up the zipper. and scissors and a seam ripper should take the collar off nicely. yes its a women's... goodwill probably thinks I'm into that sorta thing.. especially since I bought a skirt the same day to use for the kama.... lol

[Jobatt]

a kama isn't too difficult to make actually, if you want I could post some pics of mine when I get a chance. You have access to a sewing machine, right?

[Ronin Tavic]

im always up for help, vod. I know it wont be too difficult, but the skirt was cheap fabric in the relative size and color needed, so I figured why not?

[Jobatt]

Well, I'm heading to ECCC this weekend where I'll be debuting my kit. After that I'll get some good pics of the kama's design for you. But to sum things up, I used some nylon webbing/strapping, a simple plastic pinch buckle to fasten it, and then some sheets and strips of cloth acquired at jo-ann fabrics.

[Jobatt]

Alright, I'll see if I can maybe get some pictures for you tonight of how I did my Kama. Until then, you can click the link in my signature to see the finalized pics of my costume to get an idea of how I did it.

[Ronin Tavic]

I love the kit! The kama looks nice, but I was going for a more ARC trooper kama. (my back story for my Mando involves the Cuy Vel Dar [sp?]so the paint and accessories will be similar in nature to clones.) I'll have a picture up of my armor sketch in the next few days.

[Jobatt]

Still interested in pics of how I fastened it on and such though? Looking at the ARC kama, I imagine it could be easily used for that.

[Ronin Tavic]

I never turn down help, Ner Vod. post away 

[Jobatt]

Alright, then here's what I've got. Here's my kama as I put it together. I apologize for the blurry/low rez pictures, I don't have a camera at the moment, so all I have is my old flip-phone.


Here you can see my kama laid out without thee tabard/loincloth. It basically started as a bit of a curtain that I determined to get my money out of that I got at Goodwill. I used the fabric for my kama and my cape. In this case, I started by measuring out how much I wanted to go around me, and cutting out the rectangle. I folded a little bit back upon itself along each edge, and sewed it down to get a nice even edge without any cut marks. Next, I cut a line up the back of the kama to give myself a little more flexibility. Again, I folded a little bit back and sewed it up in order to maintain the nice edge. I also added a strip of suede across the top of the kama, attached along the sides (though not along the top edge... I just fold that over the top) It gave it a nice tiered effect and covered the top of the slit in the back, prettying it up.
All of this was attached to a nylon strap, with either end of a parachute-release click-buckle on either end.


Here you can see how that's hidden behind the kama, but how the suede is not fully attached in back. I find it has a little more give that way.


The parachute-release buckle, at the front of the kama.


Now, I don't know if you're doing a cod or if you're doing a tabard, or what. But I found the best way to hide the buckle was with a cloth, though I imagine a similar set up could be done to attach a cod, whether hanging free or attached at the front and back like the boba-thong. Regardless, what I did was sew some velcron strips along the strapping (fuzzy half) and some velcro strips along the tabard edge (hooked half). This allows me to both hide the buckle, and provide an easy and hidden way to secure my tabard.


And here it is on me without my waist sash or belt obscuring it.

Any questions?

[Ronin Tavic]

This is great! I don't think I have questions at the moment, but that could change in the next few days when I start working on the kama.
My plan is using a belt and skirt I got at goodwill(love that place) I'll cut the skirt in the front so it will be a flat piece, rather than a tube. Then I'll sew up the edges to clean them up, and hide the belt in the inside much like you did. From there I'll probably leave the belt buckle visible since its just a plain rectangle. Maybe add pockets. Again, I'll be sure to ask questions as they arise 

[Jobatt]

Good luck vod. I can't wait to see some progress pics.