Flightsuit/Jumpsuit pattern?

Anyone know of any patterns that are good to base a flightsuit (X-wing, TIE, Mandolorian) off of?

I have a friend who asked me to help her with this project since standard sized suits would need a LOT of alterations to make them fit her.

Thanks

 

I used Kwik Sew (men's) #KS3389 for my x-wing flighsuit which I found and it worked great. The only really hard part was altering the collar, since as is, the lowest part of the neck line sits on the chest and not at the base of the neck.

 

Kwik Sew (men's) #KS3389 needs just more alterations than taking an existing jumpsuit and altering it with parts from another.

I've used the Kwick Sew to make an accurate as possible jumpsuit for a friend of mine. This took me several tries and a lot of griping with the guy. This is what you need to do:

1) re-draft the the front piece to have the correct T-seams over the chest on each side (I used the back of a jeans jacket as a template)
2) draft out existing pockets, add and position all new ones
3) add cuffs to sleeves after adjusting sleeve length and shape
4) widen the pant legs a bit
5) back shoulder tuck - this is the WORST part
6) change to mandarin style collar (that means fixing the top parts of both the front and back pieces after you've played with both to get them changed)


After I got done, just about every pattern piece of the original Kwik Sew was altered in some fashion. Btw, this pattern runs on the large size. The pattern measurements said my friend was an XL turned out he was actually an L. So if your friend is a S from the pattern measurements, you'll have problems. Not to mention this is a MEN'S pattern, so you'll have issues with the chest and waist area anyway depending on how shapely your friend is.

If you want a decent jumpsuit that looks good and isn't all that work, take two ready made ones (one larger than the other). Use the second (larger one) as a source for the material for the pockets, cuffs and collar alterations. It's a whole lot faster than doing it the Kwik Sew way.

 

this looks like a good start for an x-wing jumpsuit. If you poke around that site some, I think you'll find some in other colors as well.

I'm a slacker, so I'm thinking about just buying of these and wearing it as-is - with all the other stuff on top of it I doubt that anyone I costume with would notice the missing details.

 

Thank you all so much for your help.
Why in the world would KS put coveralls in their Jacket section? That's why I couldn't find it.!

I"ll show this to my friend and see what all changes she would want. Thanks.

 

If your friend decides to go with the KS pattern, make sure you do a test run or two with a couple of old sheets first to get the size right along with all the alterations she wants.

 

There is also the Black Butte jumpsuit pattern. It's made to fit loosly, like the flightsuit. There is a men's version and a women's version. The pattern is good for most sizes.

http://thegreenpepper.com/adults.html
The suits are about half-way down the page, 141 & 142.

 

That pattern looks awesome...I actually have another idea for a costume that would require something like that. And what's more, that poncho looks oddly familiar...did someone say Moon of Endor? ^_^

No, it doesn't look at all like an X-Wing Pilot jumpsuit...the orange Mil-Surplus one is about perfect as-is if I remember correctly. However, I have plans for that jumpsuit pattern. Thanks for pointing it out to me.

 

lavagrrrl - thanks for the link, there's some nice stuff on there!

As far as ready made coveralls are concerned, this one isn't too bad, it's got the evil shoulder tuck in it already... http://www.allseasonsuniforms.com/rca02.htm

 

What about Mandalorians?

 

With how cheap most surplus flight suits are, I think modding a purchase is the best way to go. IT leaves you more time to work on the character embellishments.

 

All the jumpsuits used in the original trilogy were made by the same manufacturer, the only differences were in colour and all the detailing like pocket number, placement and flaps. So any of the ones we've shown can be used. iirc lots of people use the red kap jumpsuit for their mandos with appropriate mods for the collar and pockets.

You could always ask over at Dented Helmet what the going thoughts on suits are.

 

Is there a reference anywhere of this shoulder tuck that people are talking about?

And is there a color reference for the "correct" color of orange? Like DMC floss # or Coats and Clark color/#?

Thanks

 

http://leiacostuming.stormtrooperprincess.com/x-wing/jsresearch.html

 

International or Blaze Orange seems to be the proper name.

Not sure if the original suits used that exact colour,but an old article at Star Wars.com said they used orange to be reminiscent of the international orange used by US Navy pilots.

One warning on converting military flightsuits. They have very different pocket arrangements and zippered pockets that need to be covered up or heavily modified. Worker's coveralls are an easier base to use if you want to go for the modifying an existing suit route.

 

Thanks to the link Stormtrooper Princess posted, if you look at the picture of Wedge, climbing up into the X-Wing, it looks like the Tuck is there on the Canon suits. So it's something you should include to be absolutely accurate.

If you're going the route of the Military flightsuit for the costume, there are some changes that are need to make it more accurate. The most important (not only for Rebel LEgion Standards, but for the overall look of the costume) will be making a tab to close the collar.

Here is a link to a thread on the Rebel Legion I put together to help out.
http://www.rebellegion.com/forum/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=20&TopicID=6523&PagePosition=2&Replies=7

Take a look and see if that helps.

 

StormtrooperPrincess: Thank you sooooo much! That explains it to me and so many more little details as well!
Between your site and the Echo Base one, I should be set when I finally get the time to work on this.