Jumpsuit fabric

[Guest jadedsabre]

I don't know about anyone else, but I have been searching for new jumpsuit fabric for well over a year now, and can't find any anywhere!

 

I hate the shiny PVC-type fabric, and it must be stretchy. I've found that even the 2-way stretch doesn't cut it, and I can't find 4-way stretch fake leather (usually vinyl) anywhere. The fabric I have for my current jumpsuit is perfect - it really looks like leather, and it's soooo stretchy and comfortable (except that it doesn't breath...) - but I didn't make the suit, it's at least 4 years old now, and the woman who made it refused to give up her source, so I'm totally SOL.

 

If anyone has managed to find good jumpsuit fabric, can you post details about what you used and where you found it here?

[Twi'lek Pam]

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Ug... I've had a terrible problem with that, too!

 

My first jumpsuit was made with the most perfect LOOKING fabric... but it didn't have enough stretch. So it looked great, but I was miserable. Since then I've requested or purchased black fabric samples from dozens of fabric stores all over the country, and I've made jumpsuits out of five different materials (and one out of leather) but nothing has worked as well as I want. Fabrics with the perfect sheen aren't stretchy enough. The really stretchy fabric is either too shiny, or it's a matt black that does not show any of the costume details.

 

I finally gave up and made a jumpsuit with shiny material, the least shiny stuff that I could find. It's glossy, but at least it isn't the wet-look stuff. And it is soooooo comfortable! I still wear the original low-gloss jumpsuit to events sometimes, but that thing gives me a backache within an hour of putting it on.

 

The search for the perfect fabric continues....

 

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

I've also looked everywhere for 4-way stretch low-sheen PVC .

It just doesn't exist to my knowlege.

2-way strech isn't nearly as comfortable. I bought some recently to make a suit for shorter events. But I likely will mostly wear my higher sheen 4-way stretch suit.

[Guest Anonymous]

I do wonder what it would take to make it. (Our) Professor was talking about it earlier this week.

[Guest bassclarinets]

i kinda matted out the sheen on my 1st jumpsuit by stretching the HELL out of the fabric before i used it - it kinda pulled out some of the sheen - I'm debating on playing with hairspray or something with my v1 once i finish a new one - but a new jumpsuit is on the backburner right now.

 

jen

[Guest Cleverlilminx]

How about something like Armorall? It's made to give the shine back to leather and vinyl.

[Guest Anonymous]

I don't want to distress the fabric since it likely would interfere with the stretch or integrity of the fabric.

But what I have done at times is rub baby powder onto the black pleather before an event. That takes some of the shine level down. Rubs off eventually, but it does help a bit.

[Guest Sakara]

Theres a fabulous fabric called Cire thats available. Its often called sheen lycra although its nothing like the lycra you see in dancewear.

Its often used for Zentai catsuits to simulate pvc, but doesnt have AS much of a shine as pvc does.

 

here is an example of cire. or liqued lycra as its also known.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shiny-Liquid-Black-spandex-zentai-unitard-catsuit-XL_W0QQitemZ120109142740QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4844QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[ur]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/lycra-spandex-matellic-zentai-Hallowmas-costume-M48_W0QQitemZ320103201132QQihZ011QQcategoryZ3001QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

 

our mara in the Uk Garrison uses this fabric and it looks fantastic

 

http://www.ukgevents.com/displayimage.php?album=742&pos=28

[Twi'lek Pam]

Black Cire is one of the fabrics that I requested a swatch of a while back. It does have a VERY nice level of sheen to it, and a very good stretch as well. In the end I decided not to get it because while the fabric itself is very black, but the way it reflects light sometimes gives it a lighter grayish sheen... and it looked a bit off against my super-glossy shin guards.

 

If anyone is interested, some of the fabric samples I requested were from SpandexOutfitters.com (including the Cire), which is currently having a massive sale of their fabric stock because they are going out of business. I haven't checked to see what they still have available, but there might be a good deal there that a Mara could use!

 

Pam

[Guest Sakara]

yeah i know what you mean. In those two links i posted, the one was called metalic black and i think this is the one that under certain lights has a silvery grey tinge. But the other is more a pure black. Ive used a cire catsuit for a non Star wars costume (Selene - underworld) for the summer months as it looks like latex/pvc but is WAY cooler hehe. in photos, you cant tell the difference.

[Guest Anonymous]

I made a Catwoman suit out of the Cire last year. The thing I didn't like about the fabric is that it wasn't too durable. If you put too much pressure/stretch on the fabric, it degenerates.

I like the durability of the PVC much better.

[Guest Sakara]

yeah there are some Cire's out there that are like that. the trouble with this fabric is unless you test it you dont know how durable it will be. Ive been lucky in the catsuit i made for Selene has lasted very well.

[Twi'lek Pam]

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I've been asked many times for the source of the fabric I used for my current Mara jumpsuit. I've always hated to admit it, but, well... I cleaned them out. Literally! When I bought the fabric, it was the last 5 yards that they had in stock.

 

But, I got into the habit of checking their site every now and then, and last week when I checked it, they had 115 yards in stock again. There was a note saying that they're manufacturing it themselves now, however, so I figured I'd better check and make sure it's still the same material. I ordered a swatch, and it arrived this weekend. It's exactly the same material as my jumpsuit. Yay! And, it's even on sale. (When I got mine, it was $15.50 a yard. Now it's $11.99 per yard.)

 

So, for those of you who wanted to know where I got my jumpsuit material, here you go. It's the black 4-way stretch PVC.

 

http://www.MJTrends.com

 

Like I've said before, this is not the perfect Mara fabric. I believe that it is too shiny and it doesn't have the leather look that I would like it to have. But, it's 4-way stretch, it is incredibly comfortable, it has held up well to many hours of trooping, and it does have the best sheen that I've been able to find so far. My quest for the perfect fabric will continue...

 

 

(One warning though: Make sure your zipper is a long one. If you try to make the waist area form-fitting, but have thunder thighs like me, the fabric does not like to be stretched over the thighs and hips as you're pulling it on. The only big problem I've spotted on my jumpsuit so far is some damage to the narrow waist seams where they get stretched while dressing. I didn't make the zipper long enough.. it only goes to mid back.)

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

Your fabric looks pretty much like my Mara fabric. I got mine from www.thestretchhouse.com

I think its around $15/yd. They always have it in. And they have other colors available in 4-way if you are doing superhero costumes.

But your sale is a much better price!

[Guest mdb]

I have a4 way from MJ Trends. I'm using it to upgrade my Catwoman costume though

 

I have 8m of extremely soft 2 way pvc that I'm going to use but I may wind up doing what they did in the 60s Batman series. Batgirl and the various Catwomen had suits made from 2 way stretch lame so the sleeves and legs at the very least were cut on the diagonal. It works to give you that little bit extra stretch especially combined with as many seams as all these costumes have. I recently cut a 4 way stretch on the bias for a Dawn costume, the effect is pretty nifty with a patterned fabric, but should be imperceptible in a matt-satin finish like pvc. My pvc also has a lot of stretch and a cotton mix brushed lining so should be relatively comfy to wear!

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm currently bidding on 2 different types of 4-way lycra/nylon mix. There's the non-sheeny cheap one that my mockup will be made of, and then there's some 'leather-look' stuff that I might make my real suit out of (on advice from the lovely Twilek Pam, who explained that you want shine so you can see details).

 

The search goes on.

[Guest bassclarinets]

pam - which needles do you tend to use - i am torn between ballpoints and leather needles and was wondering what you use (now i need to find a place that sells elx leather needles or something.. )

 

jen

[Guest Anonymous]

What type of thread do you guys use? As I'm guessing regular cotton thread wouldn't really cut it. Wool? Linen? Something else entirely?

[Guest mdb]

I do not recommend ball points on a pvc/urethane coated fabric. All that will happen is the ball point will stretch a hole through the coating which will then grip your thread causing the machine to skip stitches.

Ball points are made for stretch fabrics (the only choice for a stretch panne for instance) though so if you use a non-coated fabric that will be fine.

 

A leather needle may be over kill because it will actually cut the fabric so if you have a lot of stretch you could wind up ripping your fabric over time. The end of the needle is cast into three wedges at the bottom tapering to a sharp point. Many hand leather needles have the same three pointed shape.

 

What is generally recommended is a 70 Universal. The thing to be aware with is that they are machine made and not all perfectly so. Sometimes one needle will work better than the other in the exact same pack because of minute differences, very frustrating.

I have used jeans needles (recommended by the manufacturers for pvc) before as well but the only size I could get recently was 100 which made holes just that little bit too big. I'm scouting for a better variety of needles tomorrow as well as wider elastic for my piping.

 

I have a wonderful but two way leather look fabric (I'm sure it's urethane not pvc) that in paint terms would be a satin finish rather than a gloss. Ball points failed the "just in case" sewing test (but my foot and thread passed) so I'm about to test my 70 Universals and then if they work get some more and if they fail try jeans and then leather needles.

 

Another hint for sewing, if you can ease the pressure off the pressure foot like you do for velvet (stops velvet creep) it will help prevent the fabric from gripping the foot and the plate. Best for a heavier grade fabric and a steady pair of hands to help guide the fabric through. My friend also offered another alternative to the tissue technique with was to use an old lining fabric that easily shattered. It's easier to get the threads out from under the stitching.

I'm doing my piping in seams so don't have this issue, I do though have the issue of having a machine that doesn't do proper stretch stitches (I'm using a bling hemming stitch) so my piping foot is useless. I'm using a crazy foot attachment for sewing braid I suspect.

 

 

For thread the usual rule of thumb is a thread that is not as strong as your fabric: it is easier to repair a seam than a hole...

But, for stretch fabrics this rule does not work. Anything less than a high quality polyester is going to cause grief of some sort or other. I personally only use Metrosene for my bodysuits. It has very few irregularities compared to even Gutterman ( I adore their pure cotton threads for my historic clothing) which means fewer snarls as you sew and less chance of it shredding in a needle hole that has gotten sharp over long term use or shredding in a close knit polyester.

[Guest bassclarinets]

yeah - my problem comes with serging the stuff - i have to use ELX needles in my serger and finding a variety of needles is not fun at all -

 

i have used (on a regular machine) normal machine needles, and have had thread breakage issues, even when i toy with the tension - so i decided to "screw it" and jump to the serger - (i was basting the thing together)

 

so far, with my serger, my choices come down to regular ELX or regular ELX (i am sure if i went to the serger shop, i could hunt something else down, but i only seem to go there with problems, so ... needlessly avoiding the shop).. but i used wolly nylon thread (it looks like that fuzzy dental floss) -

 

the nice thing about the wolly nylon thread is that it really does STRETCH (a lot) and makes a nice clean seam.. - when i was just regular sewing it, before i got the wolly nylon - i used a really nice polyester thread - it held up great..

 

jen

[Twi'lek Pam]

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Aak! I just typed up a nice long response for this thread, but when I hit send my post went poof!

 

Okay... we'll skip to the short-short version this time!

 

 

Kudos: Good thread with lots of great advice! Nicely done!

 

Thread: Polyester is best for a standard machine, and I highly recommend wooly nylon for a serger. It's good stuff!!

 

Needles: Leather needles leave a visible hole and ball point needles have a hard time punching through the fabric. I tried both, and didn't like the results. I ended up using a standard (universal) sharp point needle in size 80, and that worked pretty well.

 

Tissue: I like this trick as long as I have tissue that is the same color as the fabric, so any stray fibers will be nearly invisible until they come out in the wash. Make sure to sew the tissue with the grain running along the sewn line. Just like when you tear an ad out of a newspaper, it's easier to tear with the grain than against it.

 

 

Pam

[Guest bassclarinets]

ooh ooh.. i have one for the tissue which saved me for the other costume i just made -

 

solvy rawks - its water soluible paper - just cut it into strips to sew, then get it wet, and it will be gone

 

jen

[Twi'lek Pam]

Yup, Solvy is good stuff. It works really well as a paint-on temporary fabric stiffener, too. If you tear some up and soak it in a small amount of water, it dissolves into watery paste. If you then paint that onto fabric and let it dry, you end up with very stiff fabric. Do your sewing, and then rinse... and the fabric gets soft again!

 

I use this trick for embroidering or fancy topstitching on material that might have issues with stretching out of shape.

 

Pam

[Twi'lek Pam]

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I'm always on the lookout for more Mara jumpsuit fabric, and I recently found a potential new source. I wrote to them and asked for swatches, and they sent back 5 types of fabric. One of them looks dead-on like the same fabric I used for my Mara jumpsuit!

 

http://www.leotards.ca/index.php

 

The fabric that looks like what I used is Hydrafoil black, --977. It's four way stretch, and has a good sheen that allows the costume's details (piping and thigh quilting) to show up nicely.

 

The following swatches were not good choices:

--722 - very glittery

--900 - not enough stretch

--716 - sheen makes it look gray

--788 - glittery and nearly see-through

 

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

On the needle subject, I often use the STRETCH needles. They are sized 11 (I think) but the shank of the needle is stronger so it doesn't bend. They seem to work great on all of the stretch materials that I have used so far.

 

And thanks on the fabric tip!