Finally.... a source for matte vinyl!

[Twi'lek Pam]

I was beginning to think we'd never find one, but I've finally come across a source for 4-way stretch matte black vinyl... yay! When I came across this website they had the matte vinyl listed as being out of stock. It stayed out of stock for quite a while, so I finally contacted them and asked about getting it back in stock again. It took nearly a month, but they do have it now! I wanted to check it out before recommending it, so I went ahead and ordered enough to make a less-glossy Mara jumpsuit with. The fabric has arrived, and I do like it. The vinyl is definitely matte, and the stretch is good. The spandex base fabric is a bit thinner than the stretch vinyl I've worked with previously, but it seems durable enough. It will be a while before I'll have time to work on another jumpsuit, but I look forward to having one with a more leather-ish and less shiny wet sheen to it.

 

http://www.spandexhouse.com/products.as ... me=Stretch Vinyl

 

They don't take payments online, by the way. You make your order on their website, and then they call you to get your payment info. I made my order on the weekend, and they called on Monday.

 

Pam

[Guest Sakara]

oh that fabric does look good.

[Guest Anonymous]

How much (in yards) is needed for the bodysuit? My wife is average, skinny, but tall. She's 5',6" / 5',7", and she has more from CHEST rather than hips (skinny legs and flat....."back there").

 

Please, let us know.

[Guest mdb]

Dependong on how you cut it is how much you need

 

I did full length seamed piping so I had to include additional seam allowances which took me past the full width of fabric. I used just over 2 yards of the shiny PVC but I bought more so I could use the rest on other projects.

I can do a full sleeves catsuit with gloves and corset from 3.5yards.

 

If this has the same sort of stretch as 4 way pvc I would highly recommend getting the fabric and taking a wide swatch to your local fabric store and find a test fabric with the same stretch. I was lucky and found some mechanical twill with very similar stretch in both directions.

 

Thanks Pam I have no idea how their site never came up in my searches and I have been searching for matte vinyl stretch for a while now

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks Pam!

[Guest mdb]

Wow. I have had amazing luck lately. I just found 12m of a matt black four way black vinyl too. And it got bundled up with a tie of matt four way fluro yellow for fun

 

This is a fairly heavy grade fabric as it was from a closure of a sportswear manufacturer here (which is very sad, I have some of their stuff and they always used interesting fabrics). I was also very lucky as there was a woman grabbing all the shiny black stretch fabric there was There was also some very stretchy neoprene she snaffled before I got a chance.... not that I have a use for that. If it was purple I'd have started Zam

She may well have been a buyer for a costume company as she really was going for all the "hero" type fabrics there.

 

That is pretty close to the real colour. Anyone who has matt vinyl will know how hard it is to photgraph well! It does show how hevay the fabric is. The stretch is a little softer but similar maximum stretch to the MJ Trends shiny PVC.

 

The underside is a true black and because of the matt surface of the vinyl it looks a little charcoal in some light. It is black though. I'm going to experiment with a dry silicon spray to see if I can get it to the satin sheen of my very soft two way vinyl. This should also bring it to a deeper black.

 

Oh and it was only $NZ 4/m

[Guest Sakara]

That is a lucky lucky find. Gods i love when you stumble across stuff like that.

[Twi'lek Pam]

Ha! I got in another sample of matte 4-way stretch vinyl! It's showing up all over the place now! This is very similar to the fabric that I found at Spandex House. It's a lightweight backing, and more of a leather look in gloss and color than the traditional vinyl or pvc look. (aka, it's more of a dull grayish black than a super glossy super black wet look.)

 

http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/5909

 

 

 

Here's an overview of how the different fabrics look when compared to each other:

 

 

 

 

From left to right:

 

Metallic stretch vinyl. This is a similar look to cire fabric, but with a vinyl coating over the fabric. While they do look nice, they seem a little bit too "glittery" for my taste. (I know, I should have added a sample of cire fabric, too... I just need a while to find a piece of it in the mess known as my samples drawer!)

 

Glossy stretch vinyl. This is what you see most often. It's very shiny. This fabric makes all of the details on your jumpsuit show up better, such as the piping and thigh quilting. But Mara is never really shown wearing a wet-look outfit, so it's not the most accurate. I used it in my costume becaues it was the only thing I could find at the time, and it looks great in pictures.

 

Matte stretch vinyl. This is the same as the gloss vinyl, but without the clear coating that makes it shiny and dark. It looks much more like leather, and far more accurate to what Mara wears... but it doesn't look like a true black and the details won't show up as well because there is less light reflecting off of them.

 

Plain spandex. This stuff is the most comfortable, but also the most inaccurate. It looks like ordinary fabric, and the jumpsuit details barely show up at all. It is not recomended for making a Mara jumpsuit.

 

Pam

[Guest Sakara]

i think if the detail was clearly outlined, say as in the banded panels on the inner legs then they'd show up ok. thicker seams perhaps

[Guest Anonymous]

I've wrote an order for 3 yards of the matte vinyl last month, but never got a response. I'd probably want to reorder and see what happens.

[Twi'lek Pam]

I've wrote an order for 3 yards of the matte vinyl last month, but never got a response. I'd probably want to reorder and see what happens.

 

I would suggest using the "contact us" link on their website, and ask them for the status of your order. It may be that the order didn't go through because of an internet glitch, or they simply lost track of it. Or, they may have run out of the fabric so the order was cancelled. Most fabric stores that have a presense online are pretty good about answering emails right away, so that's always your best bet. That way you won't end up with a double order if both the first and second attempt go through!

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

I just found some four-way stretch lycra on Amazon with a little bit of shine, 6.99 per yard

 

http://www.amazon.com/Fabric-Lycra-stre ... B002S44494

[Guest Anonymous]

Dagnabit Pam! How dare you put my secret supply houses out in the open like that!

 

I order from both companies pretty regular. Good stuff.

 

If anyone is looking for some great high performance, moisture wicking fabric check out the the Dri-Tek Performance Tricot on the Spandex House site. I use it for the back of my Vader builds and it makes Under Armor Heat Geat look like chump change.

[Mira_Darkstar]

I was at there site and there are 2 different Matte Finish 4-way stretch fabrics matte vinyl, one that is labeled "leather looking" and the other as "Vinyl Matte." Which one did you order Pam?

 

Also about that Dri-Tek stuff would you make a whole Mara suit out of it??

[Twi'lek Pam]

Darn it, it's still stormy and our internet connection is continuing to be uncooperative today... I can't get the fabric websites to load. I'm afraid I don't remember offhand which version of the vinyl I got (I don't remember there being different options when I bought it), and I can't see the sales pages to check it out. Sorry!

 

Pam

[Mira_Darkstar]

I got samples in the mail today but they didn't identify which ones where which. but I wonder if the one on there website they have labeled as "Vinyl Matte" is supposed to be labeled "Vinyl Metallic" because all my samples match your pictures Pam.

[Mira_Darkstar]

I bought the matte vinyl from that site. Pretty sure if it was the leather looking one.