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[Kath Gra'tuur]

I've been working on my soft parts for a few weeks but had not posted anything yet.  I've got my vest pretty much complete.  It is vinyl put together with no-sew adhesive on the hems and also held together at different joints with E6000.  I am lacing up both sides.  Right now I have the laces as black paracord but will most likely move to leather laces (either black or brown).  The shoulder bells are a little small, but with my limited sewing skills, I am okay with this since I will have a little larger shoulder armor. 

[Kath Gra'tuur]

One thing I haved noticed is that with the lacing up both sides, I will most likely have one side laced up completely and the other side either extremely loose laced (which will make for a longer lace on that side) or unlaced all together in order to put it on.  I would like to be able to make it where I can costume up myself but I may have to have someone assist me with lacing up the one side.  Any thoughts? 

Also, can I use a cord lock like the one pictured instead of having to tie the laces together like a shoe lace?

[Kath Gra'tuur]

I am also in the initial stages of creating a girth belth with the clothesline method.  Instead of burlap I am using duck cloth.  I was going to use burlap but it shed so much,  I did not want to have that shedding on my costume.  I will be using parachute buckles to buckle the endsd together. 

Also, instead of hot glue, I am using E6000 as I have very limited sewing skills.  Should the E6000 work okay and hold up on cotton and duck cloth?

[Kryamla Redalur]

My suggestion for the vest is to leave one side laced and just the lace the other side every time. Those little closure thingys don't look too swarsy to me so my guess is that probably won't fly... The alternative is just to have someone lace ya up every time lol.

I haven't personally used e6000 on fabric before but I believe I've seen people use it when attaching armor plates to shoes so i can't imagine it would be too different. Might want to wait until someone with e6000 experience can chime in.

[Kath Gra'tuur]

That's what I was worried about with the cord lock. Never hurts to ask though. I may have to hire an assistant to get in and out anyways.

I've used the E6000 on my best and helmet. It seems to be holding up pretty well. I left the belt curing this weekend. We'll see how it is tomorrow. Thanks for the feedback.

[Fenrir Kyramud]

One thing I haved noticed is that with the lacing up both sides, I will most likely have one side laced up completely and the other side either extremely loose laced (which will make for a longer lace on that side) or unlaced all together in order to put it on.  I would like to be able to make it where I can costume up myself but I may have to have someone assist me with lacing up the one side.  Any thoughts? 

Also, can I use a cord lock like the one pictured instead of having to tie the laces together like a shoe lace?

My vest is also laced up the sides and I do use cord locks. No problem with it at all. I went with these, though. http://poshnpretty.com/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=608. They have a lower profile and have a better look to them.

[Kath Gra'tuur]

How much lace do you have dangling after you have pulled the sides tight? Do you keep one laced and the other loose or not laced at all?

[Fenrir Kyramud]

How much lace do you have dangling after you have pulled the sides tight? Do you keep one laced and the other loose or not laced at all?

Once they're tight, maybe 8". They do extend far enough to tuck under my ammo belt though. This is probably the best shot I have from the side, to show what I mean. I do tighten both sides, this way my plates are mostly evenly spaced.

[Kryamla Redalur]

Well there ya go! Those closey thingys that fenrir suggested look much more swarsy!

I may have to hire an assistant to get in and out anyways.

Just think about it this way: knights had someone dress them lol

[Fenrir Kyramud]

That's what I was worried about with the cord lock. Never hurts to ask though. I may have to hire an assistant to get in and out anyways.

My son's love of all things Star Wars is not the only reason I take him to all my troops. "wink, wink".

[Kath Gra'tuur]

so you just have the excess tucked under the ammo belt and Kama?

[Fenrir Kyramud]

so you just have the excess tucked under the ammo belt and Kama?

Yep, helps hold my vest down too.

[Kath Gra'tuur]

I like that cord lock too. Plus if I'm hiding the excess under the other soft parts you may not see them anyways.

[Kath Gra'tuur]

Update on the girth belt.  I have got everything glued together with E6000 at this point.  I have the back supported with a strip of duck cloth.  Right now, the buckles and elastic are glued in with the E6000 as well.  I intend to add extra support to the elastic strips by sewing them in as well.  I will next be making a cover to go over the ends that will cover the front and back side of the ends and have holes for the buckles to stick through. 

After I finish sewing the buckles and adjusting the ends, I will be ready to dye it.  My plan is either a dark grey or black. 

[Kath Gra'tuur]

Update to belt.  I have made covers to go on both ends.  The buckles stick out the ends.  Does this look okay?



Front:


Back:

[Kryamla Redalur]

I like it. It gives it a polished look

[Kath Gra'tuur]

Once I get the end covers correct and snug in place I plan on dying them silver / gray. Any suggestions on the dying process?

[Kath Gra'tuur]

Okay, here are some updates to my soft parts. 

I have adjusted the Girth Belt to make the end cap a tighter fit.  The next thing will be permanently attach the end caps and then dye the belt.  Here is an updated picture:



Here are some pics of some pouches I have made. The two bigger ones I made using vinyl over a piece of plastic from a cat littler container (recycle).  I made the smaller one using a cheap cell  phone case as the base.  I covered it with the vinly as well.  I intend to dirty it up a bit . I might also add a strip of brown vinyl to give it some flair.  Not sure about that yet. 

[Kath Gra'tuur]

It's been a little while since I updated this post. 

Thought I would share a quick soft parts update.  I have done some work to my vest, girth belt, and pouches. 

Vest: Two things I have done.  1) The glue was starting to come loose in places so I did a leather (waxed string) "hand stitch" all the way around to give it support.  It also makes it look more authentic (I hope).  I also took off the shoulder pads.  They were bulky and more rigid that I liked. 




Girth Belt, pouches and outer belt: I dyed the girth belt a couple of weeks ago.  This is the finished product.  I have also made four pouches and got a belt from goodwill that will be the outer belt.  I will most likely use this to also loop my holsters to. 

[Jorbe Falco]

Looks good to me!

[Kath Gra'tuur]

Thanks vod!