working with the giant zippers

In particular, when making an Organization coat, we actually sew a "decorative" top stitch in the garment vinyl down the front opening before placing the zipper in. We then pin the zip in place (with as many pins as possible...the more pins, the less possibility for wobbly stitch lines), pushing pins horizontally only along the pre-stitched line, so as to avoid extra holes in the vinyl.

Alternatively to pining, the entire zipper -can- be Liquid-Stitched bit by bit to each edge, WITH PRESSURE then applied to the top (a book placed overnight is more than sufficient - but Liquid Stitch needs to be pressed flat as it dries.) This is to keep the zipper even on both sides as the fabric adhesive sets. The bond, once set properly, is permanent but still flexible - however, to be extra safe, stitching once more over the previously only-decorative stitch is advisable - and because the zipper has already been securely flatly with the glue, the garment vinyl doesn't become puckered or wobbly. That last sewing stage is good security so the zipper can be yanked opened and closed often.

When working with a zipper that has been hand-fused: remember that the spliced zipper should not be unnecessarily zipped before or after being secured to the garment, and high-stress bending should be avoided. Spliced zips are for occasional costume use only, and we recommend only attaching to fabric that is at least medium thick and with a slight give (such as with SYFabric's garment vinyl or real leather.) Anything that is too tight or does not stretch enough perpendicularly to the zip may cause the teeth to split on the splice. In addition, be wary when making tight-fitting coats, and be various honest with your measurements, taking also into consideration of how you bend when sitting. Also, if you choose to machine-sew in a combined zipper, do not sew where the small triply-thick spliced area is (which would break a needle.)

If the zipper tape (a.k.a. the strip of polyester fabric that the teeth are mounted on) needs to be cut down vertically slimmer to fit better in a seam -or- cut horizontally to take off some unneeded teeth, the raw edges always need to be Fray Checked or Fray Blocked (or zig-zag stitched / serged) to avoid quick unraveling of the fibers.

For any zipper used only as a decorative trim in areas that won't ever be zipped, Liquid Stitch applied inside the hem seam is more than adequate, and top-stitching is not necessary.

(And if you need to attach your zipper to something non-fabric, like rigid plastic, see the Anti-Sora shoes in the post below.)

"What is your armor made out of?"

The answer varies slightly for each project...

I have used small portions of 3mm to 6mm Foamies (and other similar closed-cell craft foam) and Styrene sheeting such as Sintra (which Saeru uses much more than I do) from time to time in detail areas, but the majority of my armor has been based from the stunningly wonderful "Mystery Foam" that I discovered by fluke from American Science & Surplus.

Some of examples with it in use (in some cases with other materials)





Now, the website claims that it is "Insulite" - which it is not, as it does not share all the properties of real Insulite of which I have procured a sample from the manufacturer to compare. I've been trying to get AS&S to figure out what it -really- is for -years- but nobody really knows. Anyway...

Why I like this stuff:

• It is easily cut with normal tools (scissors, razors, etc. Hot wire cutters not needed)
• It is extremely lightweight and actually soft - which is great to wear and transport, but being thicker than styrene sheeting makes it more significantly-weighted-looking. (Most of the time, this is desirable as it doesn't look like a piece of cardboard. For really delicate joint areas, I still recommend swapping in some thinner hard plastic sheeting like Styrene.)
  
• It can be bent, curved and heat-formed in all ways that Styrene can.
• The corners can be sanded-down and rounded somewhat with a rotary tool.
  
• Unlike Styrene which needs rivets, staples &/or fume-y epoxies or plastic cements, you can validly use hot glue for a permanent connection. Instead of just -adhering- the pieces of foam together, high temperature hot glue will actually slightly melt and fuse the edges of the foam to each other.
  
• It does have -texture- which admittedly isn't great for sci-fi fiberglassy-smooth mecha-stuff, but as I'm always simulating stone or bio-masses or weathered beat-up metals, having a starting texture saves me a few steps. It does -not- have that terrible duct-tape-looking mesh weave that you find on Wonderflex, and only requires thick coatings of paint &/or gloss if you are looking for a smoother effect. If you are looking for a -very- smooth texture, Foamies aren't a bad way to go - the thicker Foamies just don't come in very big continual sheets, is all.
  
• The foam does not like spray-paint very much, but that's okay, because I don't either. XD (Spray-paint, even good Krylon, will flake off pretty rapidly. Spray-paint will not, however, eat-away at this foam as tends to happen with open-celled Styrofoam.) Good medium to high-viscosity acrylic (such as Liquitex) will however adhere wonderfully if you're willing to hand-paint it - the plastics meld together and everything remains flexible so it cannot crack off. And! after painting is complete, the paint-job can be protected and made metal-looking with Liquitex "Gloss Varnish Flexible Surface."
  

This foam is also very very cheap for what can be gotten out of it. If you do not happen to live near Milwaukee, Chicago or Geneva, you can actually buy some of this miraculous foam from the online selection, but it will be the smaller sheets than what can be found in the stores.


(By the way, if anyone can help me identify what my foam truly is, I'd love to know cuz I want to have a back-up in case AS&S ever stops handling it.)

* New * We have a lead that this might be similar to "Lionboard" so I will try to find a sample to compare the two.

* Newest * AS&S no longer carries large pieces of the foam in the stores (just the smaller thicker olive-colored sheets)...however, a blue-colored version of this foam has been spotted in the camping section of Wal-mart marked as a sleeping pad.

Successful Wig Straigthening Log

Supposedly, only human-hair wigs are meant to be heat-styled, at risk of melting, frizzing or nuking. I found this to be true of cheaper costume wigs, and many normal "high-quality" European wigs.
However, every single wig we've experimented on containing Toyokalon (and comparable Japanese fibers) has held up and taken heat-straightening restyling without any damage to the strands. In order to get the results, I use a regular human-hair ceramic flat iron on setting 1 and clamp down briefly, repeatedly overlapping the heated areas.

This black wig came with the long back strands perfectly straight already, but for some reason, the mid-length sections were curled inward originally. The editing is shown in the right of the picture.

	Here's a more extreme example. The side bangs here were originally as tightly curled as the back of the wig.

	This is the wig I mutilated for Riku. (The original state is shown below.) Amongst other adjustments, straightening out the waves worked out well, and I still had a thick wig with good lift to spike the right way.