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[Ashad Shrynn]

Hello,
So I finally began working on my soft parts, so here it is
It's for my first kit, an "Art Deco Mando" It will have a forest green/black/gold color scheme with geometrical pattern painted on the armor.


What I'm planning :
- Flight suit : 2 pieces, dark green. Trousers almost done.
- Flak vest : black leather. In progress
- Belts : a black leather one, and a green sash or girth, not decided yet.
- Duster : maybe a black leather duster.
- Depending on the boots I choose to use in the end, maybe I'll make some leather spats.
- Gloves : I made some, but brown. Maybe I'll make new ones in black.


I took a dark green flightsuit originally made for gardening. It's a size M for males, but I didn't find any suit to my size in green, so I'm trying my hand at tailoring

Here is the base, with a close to real color :


Here is how it fitted me 


I made it into two pieces and I tailored the trousers (by hand because I don't have a machine yet  ) :


Don't mind the Dr Martens, I didn't have my "real" boots at hand. I still have to :
- cut the excess fabric (it's still inside)
- adjust the waist a little bit, hem the top part and the legs
- add a real zipper because it closes only with buttons.
It doesn't show too much on the pics but I have too much room in the front part, well, because it's a pattern for men... But I don't feel confident altering that part for now. The part just above the boots bunches a bit too much too but the trousers are still too long so maybe it will be better with a hem.

I like the dark green but it's a bit faded, so maybe I'll try dying it a bit darker when I'm finished with tailoring... It's cotton so it should work without problems

I also began making a flak vest from a thrifted leather jacket  :


I removed the sleeves, the collar, and the lining inside of the pockets. I need to sew the pockets shut, finish the shoulders, and the collar (I'm thinking about making a lacing for the later...) But first I'll remove the front zipper, sew it shut, and add side closures. Not sure if I'll go for zippers, straps or metal closures yet 

[Tramp Graphics]

Like I said in your concept thread, I would leave the front closure in place, both for ease of dressing, and saving yourself a lot of extra unnecessary work, as well as the risk of destroying your vest. Also, just so you know, you don’t need to hide the entire zipper anyway. Only the pull tab must be completely covered; the rest of the zipper simply needs to match the vest.  I specifically asked the App team that because I was getting mixed responses from different Ruus’alors. This is my vest:


 
It too has a front zipper. I’m not making any mods to it (except maybe removing the label tabs, but those are covered by the armor anyway). Here’s how it looks under the armor in an early WIP pic:



The collar plate fully covers the pull tab, as required by the CRLs.

If you were making your vest from scratch, then I would see doing a side closure. However, converting a vest from a front closing to a side closing, doesn’t make much sense, and could result in you ruining the vest.

[Kal Garret]

I am no OM  but Super cool kit so far.
If I were to say anything to critique it would that your jumpsuit a bit baggy and just needs to be tailored to your build a little more.
The requirements page say “Flight suit must fit snugly to the wearer.”
So otherwise it’s fantastic.
Please keep us updated.
http://mandalorianmercs.org/get-involved/costume-requirements/

[Ashad Shrynn]

Kal : Thank you For the bagginess, I'm not sure. I agree around the knees, I'll have to fix that, but for the rest my ruus didn't say anything. I guess it will also look different with the armor and everything, so I'll wait to have my plates done before re-altering the flightsuit (and also maybe I'll be able to use a friend's sewing machine instead of sewing all by hand  ) The fabric I used is not stretchy at all, so it will have to remain a bit large so I can move correctly, and I didn't want to go all "leggings fitting" even if I know that's what a lot of female mandos choose.


Tramp : I'm not sure for the front closure. I saw an amazing kit on Facebook, where all was really well made, but you could see the closure between the plates, and for me it broke the "immersion" as I immediatly thought of "biker jacket" instead of "star wars clothing". But I must admit it looks good on your kit and it feels very in universe ! I don't know yet how it would look with my plates, I'll have to test ! 
I'm  not decided yet on the technic I'll use to attach the armor, I think I'll take some time to compare the options.
Actually I'm way more confident about my leather skills than my fabric sewing skills, so I'm not really afraid I would ruin it. Well, except if I really really mess up, which is always a possibilty, but...  (here are some things I made with leather : https://www.deviantart.com/curionomicon/gallery/76251637/leathercraft  ) But I agree it would add more work... I'll also have to test my mobility, maybe I should shorten the flak vest, and then I'll need to remove the zipper anyway. I'll let that sit a bit, work on other parts, and come back to it when I'm decided


For now I will try to make the top part of the flightsuit, and decide on a plate pattern I also got an old police belt and a pouch, and I'll probably make some other pouches (at least one for my phone). And I need to work a bit on my boots too (hid the logo, maybe make them a bit more interesting ?)

[Kal Garret]

Respect that!
Without the stretch the extra material makes sense. Like I said I am no OM or higher so if your ruus sign off its all good.
I think I take rules a little strict because my ruus had me resize my plates by 10%.
Hope I didn’t come across badly.
Your kit is solid and I cannot wait to see it with plates.

[MCarger81]

Like I said in your concept thread, I would leave the front closure in place, both for ease of dressing, and saving yourself a lot of extra unnecessary work, as well as the risk of destroying your vest. Also, just so you know, you don’t need to hide the entire zipper anyway. Only the pull tab must be completely covered; the rest of the zipper simply needs to match the vest.  I specifically asked the App team that because I was getting mixed responses from different Ruus’alors. This is my vest:


 
It too has a front zipper. I’m not making any mods to it (except maybe removing the label tabs, but those are covered by the armor anyway). Here’s how it looks under the armor in an early WIP pic:



The collar plate fully covers the pull tab, as required by the CRLs.

If you were making your vest from scratch, then I would see doing a side closure. However, converting a vest from a front closing to a side closing, doesn’t make much sense, and could result in you ruining the vest.

that's a great looking vest, can you tell me where you picked it up from and the name of it?

[Tramp Graphics]

that's a great looking vest, can you tell me where you picked it up from and the name of it?

Sure. It’s the True Grit “armored” motorcycle vest by Speed and Strength. I bought it online through Eagle Leather.