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[Hodayc Goran]

So, I ordered my flightsuit, after some discussion in PM's with various authorities. I decided to buy the Large-Tall in Navy Blue of This One.

From what I'm thinking, the hip pockets and slits that allow you to access any pants pockets you are wearing underneath the coveralls will be closed with velcro strips. I will hold off on touching the butt pockets until I have or haven't gotten my kama and my kit is more complete, and then the chest pockets and logo don't need modification at all because they are underneath the flak vest. As for the neck seal, I'm thinking I might see if I can ask my friend, who will be making the vest for me, to incorporate either a neck seal, or sew a separate neck seal.

Issues I see: this flight suit is NOT "snug" as the CRL's state. I have a 32-33" waist, and this flight suit has a 40" waist, so there's plenty of swimming room. To limit the amount of sewing mods, I'm hoping my belt items, leg armor, flak vest, and gauntlets will help hide all the excess fabric and make the flight suit look like it fits better than it does. OR I could try to do my own "basting stitches", but I have no idea if or how long those could hold up under a troop.

Picture coming, eventually.

[Second Son]

You'll have better success and a better overall look actually tailoring the flight suit. If you use the armor and other outer layers to squish it in, it wall always look like it is baggy and you used the armor and outer layers to squish it in.
To take in along the side seams is pretty easy - put it on inside out, carefully pin it to about the right  fit (leave a little ease, work up to the right fit and don't cut away the excess until you've got it just right) and draw the line you want with a contrasting color chalk or pencil, then sew along the line. Look up how to use a machine or hand stitching techniques on the YouTube - it's one of the more useful skills any human can have so I'd recommend learning it anyway. Check with your local library or at a maker space type place if you don't have direct access to a machine. 

You've put a lot of time and effort into researching and learning and designing - looking forward to watching your build develop.

[EricL]

I was pretty intimidated by the hand sewing monster for sure. I’m not sure my scrubs look great but even if I do it over it was good practice. Scrubs, part of a sash, and working on a kama now. Eventually I just tuned out the stitching while I was watching whatever the misses put on the television (or more likely my kids’ seven-thousandth watching of their favorite dinosaur program lol). It feels good to make progress though, and then progress gets kind of addicting. Keep at it vod!

[Hodayc Goran]

Looks like the needle might be mightier than the lightsaber...

I'll check out tutorials. The closest Makerspace is, sadly, on Bainbridge Island. That's why I've been keeping feelers out for if they ever try to get a little campaign going for starting one up at my own Olympic College. It could serve the Bremerton-Port Orchard-Silverdale area, and I know lots of people who could benefit, not the least of whom are us college students.

[Hodayc Goran]

Post bump: I've been quiet on my kit for a while, so it's probably time to post again, and bump the thread up a little.
So, flightsuit is getting more comfortable as I get used to wearing it every now and then. I feel that I shouldn't need to take it in any since the girth belt will do that, and the flak vest/kama will cover any odd pleating in the back. Flak vest sizing is going haywire; I'm working with a muslin mockup made from my measurements over an athletic-fitting T-shirt. Unfortunately, those measurements do not fit the same as my flightsuit, so I may need to re-do sizing with the T-shirt and pins method.

I plan to use plain un-sigil-ed versions of Din Djarin's V2 Beskar gunslinger bells on my shoulders. Any advice for sleeve caps/no sleeve caps to attach this kind of plate to?

Here's the flightsuit:


The flak vest mockup, after some modifications. My mom is helping me adjust only the right armhole and neck; we'll get the right side fitted, then make a template to send back to the friend who is helping me sew the vest.


The vest with a temporary girth belt:


Some sample swatches and seams of the cloth and thread for the vest. I'm picking the thread color that my finger is pointing to in the second picture.

[Second Son]

Glad to see you plowing forward and getting into it vod.
Might think about a dart on the armhole, right at the bottom of the pectoral muscle.
Also: having the flightsuit fit a bit better will help the vest fit better, and the plates...you get the idea. Build from the inside out and there will be joy.  I did a little bit of backwards building and did have some re-tuning to do on my plates.
Having the sleeve pull in a bit around the upper arm, and also pulling the bottom of the armpit opening slightly up might help - pin and baste stitch it in as see how it feels and how it affects the vest's arm opening. If it's just plain uncomfortable pop the basting stitches and no harm done.

Color choices looking sharp.

[Hodayc Goran]

Sorry to ask, but could you offer an illustration of what you mean with the darts and armhole stuff? I'll see if I can get my mom to help me take in the flightsuit. She was pretty certain the belts would do just fine holding it in, and she doesn't want to do more than she has to. I might be able to do the pockets by hand (there's one down near the side of my right thigh and knee that definitely needs to be closed), but as for taking in the flightsuit, I need some help from someone else who knows what they are doing.

I kind of get what you are saying with the pectoral dart, but I'm afraid there isn't much room for the armhole to pull in around the flightsuit. I got my head and arm stuck in it the first time; I just hope there's a little stretch in the duck cloth, or I'll have to add in a few extra inches over my measurements just to be safe so I can extract myself. My arms are long and skinny, so it's sort of like trying to get hinged 2x2 boards in and out of things.

As for taking in the flightsuit, any suggestions on where to start? When I put on the belt, it looks great and flat across the front, but the back has several deep pleats that are each a few inches deep and go from my shoulders down to my thighs (baggy in the rear end too). Maybe basting stitches down the sides and back?

[Second Son]

So: Yes, pulling in at the side seam will reduce the bagginess of the suit. You can also pull in parts of the back to control the fit along your back. It also works on pants, and you could blend the two for a one-piece suit. I pulled in the backs of my legs from the hem to a few inches below the butt in addition to pulling in on the inseam. I would minimize pulling in around the widest parts of your body (hips, right around the armpit/pectoral area) because that's where you also have the most movement.
My shirt is pulled in on the side seams only, and I do still have a little bagginess in the back (which you are inspiring me to think about addressing).
 
Stylish D tutorials have great energy and a DIY Flair that's hard to beat. Here's one for adding Darts to the back of a shirt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLRaKi3hfl0
It seems like that might be helpful in taking slack out of your suit, since you have a lean body type. SD also has a nice tutorial about working the side seams and arms that I found informative.
Real Men Real Style has this offering for the side seams and sleeves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpVrTSe-NFI  and some tips on pants too.
Please check out this one, that I also just found while trying to find the right resource:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8M_TLn_do4
Excellent explanation of how to get your darts finished smoothly. Based around lady-garment tailoring, but the technical skills apply to all humans.

This video looks really good for figuring out those darts and armholes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ6Stv9b8k0

[Hodayc Goran]

Thanks for the tips! By the way, these are one-piece coveralls. They are the Natural Uniforms Men's coveralls I ordered. One piece, zip front, snap closure at top of zipper, flap to cover the zipper, slits to access under pockets, hip pockets of their own, butt pockets, chest pockets, and a side thigh pocket on the right for something like a utility knife or pen.

Edit: update on softparts. I finally went to a local seamstress to see how much it would cost me to get the flightsuit taken in. Surprisingly, she said she would ask about $25-$30. I don't know how expensive getting sewing done is supposed to be, but that seems pretty good to me (either I botch the job, or I pay someone else who has experience a little bit of cash to do it for me). Anyways, flightsuit is getting taken in, so I'm holding off on making the pattern for the flak vest until I stop changing sizes like Alice in Wonderland.

I bought some double mag pouches, but unfortunately they ended up being olive drab to brown vinyl instead of leather, so I'm going to be trying to figure out what to do with them. A. I try to return them to the guy I bought them from and get my money back, B. I try to resell them, or C. I potentially spend a lot of time and money and damage them of any future value by painting or covering them up with something.

[Hodayc Goran]

Okay, bump back to the surface. I just bought something else that I probably shouldn't have  .
So, I have a pair of Land's End light brown leather chelsea boots, but I don't really like them for three reasons: 1. they are too soft, almost moccasin-like, so they are so comfortable I would feel like I was walking around in house slippers rather than scifi military boots, 2. the tops of the boots are a little shorter than I'd like, barely coming past my ankle, and 3. they are light brown, my mom bought them for me a while back, and so dying them darker is not an option  .

So, I've been bouncing around Amazon, Walmart, and other boot outlets keeping an eye out for dark brown pull-on boots (I don't want to mess with hiding laces or zippers). Lo and behold, DSW had an amazing-looking pair of dark brown 10" tall Wolverines on sale for $60, a great discount from Amazon's price of $184. I also got a 25% off coupon as a first-time customer. So, once tax and shipping were figured out, $50 for a really nice pair of boots!!! I just hope I can get rid of all the markings. I can see three in the sales photos: one set of words on the rubber sole (easy: cut it out with a knife, paint over it), one cloth tag in a side seam (easy: cut it off), and one bear-paw shaped stamp.

Does anyone know how to remove a stamp from leather? I've got saddle soap, mink oil, and I will be getting a buffing cloth soon. I've also got a kiwi shoe polish kit. Some suggestions I've seen include using rubbing alcohol, or running the stamp under hot water and buffing out the stamp.



I know there's also the stamp on the pull tab; either that will be covered, or I'll remove it, or I'll try to experiment on that to remove the stamp before I try the heel.

Edit: also, is anyone familiar with DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) and the quality of their boots? I've heard mixed reviews: either perfection, or they are a lower-grade version of nicer boots on the market, sold at a low price because they'll fall apart faster (basically, "D"-grade shoes as opposed to "A"-grade).

[Tramp Graphics]

I had a similar problem with my first pair of harness boots They too have a logo stamped directly into the side of the heel. I ended up ordering a pair of Durangos harness boots. Unlike the first pair, the Durangos had the logo stamped into the back strap. As such, all I had to do was have that replaced. However,I took the opportunity to also replace all of the steel hardware on the boots with brass hardware to better match the blue and gold color scheme of my armor.

[Hodayc Goran]

Hm. I wonder if I could use some sort of latex or flexible material to fill in the indentation, then buff it smooth and dye it to match the leather...

OR

I could 3D print a greeblie and attach that over the heel. Anyone ever heard of vibrospurs? I mean, it is a space western...

I probably wouldn't want to use anything that sticks out far or is pointy, so maybe just a band around the back of the heel, or simply a little button greebly that fits squarely on top of the emblem.

[Tramp Graphics]

Hm. I wonder if I could use some sort of latex or flexible material to fill in the indentation, then buff it smooth and dye it to match the leather...

OR

I could 3D print a greeblie and attach that over the heel. Anyone ever heard of vibrospurs? I mean, it is a space western...

I probably wouldn't want to use anything that sticks out far or is pointy, so maybe just a band around the back of the heel, or simply a little button greebly that fits squarely on top of the emblem.

I would go with the greebie. That wasn't an option for my kit, nor was "battle damage" given that my kit is a "clean" kit.

[mitchard]

I could 3D print a greeblie and attach that over the heel. Anyone ever heard of vibrospurs? I mean, it is a space western...

I probably wouldn't want to use anything that sticks out far or is pointy, so maybe just a band around the back of the heel, or simply a little button greebly that fits squarely on top of the emblem.

This is what I am planning to do to cover a similar logo on mine. I may try to print some sort of armor plate that wraps around the heel to cover it. Seems like bending a small piece of Sintra around it might be significantly less complicated, though.