Discussion: Soft Parts

[Shikkakku]

For updated text on skirts/cape:

Skirts and Cape:

• Made from a red suede or velvet-like, semi-reflective material that is similar in color to the armor
• Near floor length and single layered, the right side of the fabric faces outward
• Vertical and bottom edges of the panels are either all raw or all folded
  -If the edge is raw, it must be free of any fraying
  -if the edge is folded, it may have a top stitch approximately 1/8" from the edge
• The skirt is comprised of 4 rectangular panels; front, rear and two sides that wrap around the costumer's lower body
  -Top of skirts rest underneath the abdominal armor
  -Front and rear skirt panels slightly overlap the side skirt panels near the top (and down the length?)
• The cape is attached between the rear abdominal armor and the back armor

I did some tweaking throughout this portion so it made more sense. The only real question I have at this point is the bottom of the skirt. When standing completely still, should the front/back panels overlap the sides, like a flare style? I was talking with a friend last night about construction/cut and these seem to be very similar to Hakama style skirts which do flare out a bit and would overlap along the length.

Here's a layout for a Hakama skirt. The red lines represent the front/back and the green represent the sides. I think this is a pretty close translation to what I would be doing with my skirts. The cape would essentially mirror front/back but would be longer.

I would think that if the front overlaps the sides at the top then when standing straight that overlap should continue down, or else you just get weird folding or you won't get a skirt, you'll get 3 pieces of fabric hanging off your waist with gaps. Looking at this scene you can kind of see that if the Guard wasn't in motion, the front would overlap the side all the way


Also diving deeper into the skirts, I'm starting to think only the front overlaps the sides, and the back panel is overlapped by the sides. See here:



Thus i propose:

Skirts and Cape:

• Made from a red suede or velvet-like, semi-reflective material that is similar in color to the armor
• Near floor length and single layered, the right side of the fabric faces outward
• Vertical and bottom edges of the panels are either all raw or all folded
  • If the edge is raw, it must be free of any fraying
  • if the edge is folded, it may have a top stitch approximately 1/8" from the edge
• The skirt is comprised of 4 rectangular panels; front, rear and two sides that wrap around the costumer's lower body
  • Top of skirts rest underneath the abdominal armor
  • The front skirt panel slightly overlap the side skirt panels throughout the entire length of the skirt.
  • The side skirt panels slightly overlap the rear panel throughout the entire length of the skirt.
• The cape is attached between the rear abdominal armor and the back armor

[andyman97]

Ooooh very good catch! This also gives some helpful insight on patterning the sides.

[NitroSpartacus]

I've just perused Andy's build thread and saw the two materials against his bucket. May I suggest we elevate the ultrasuede material to an optional level 2 status. It is a very pricey fabric and will probably not be readily available around the world. However, since Andy was able to obtain it I'm sure it will be within other people's reach as well. Back to my original point, since it's so pricey, only those who want the utmost accuracy can achieve it with a level 2 status and we can leave a great option for basic approval.

[andyman97]

I still haven't cut my ultrasuede fabric. As it stands now, both of my suit ups have been with microsuede. The first time I had the fabric with the wrong side facing out, whoops. But I think it should be ok for basic approval.

Regardless, the fabric itself isn't currently listed in the draft, just the characteristics. That aside, I think getting a good color match to the armor should be the most important thing. Are we actually going to have any level 2 details in the CRL?

[andyman97]

Also, two things I would suggest changing:

o Skirt panels are actually trapezoidal, not rectangular.

o Suggest removing velvet like material and semi-reflective verbiage. Looking at the actual ultrasuede, there is absolutely no reflectivity or sheen to it whatsoever. I think suede-like will set folks on the best path and using velvet/reflective opens the door for potentially the wrong type of material.

[Shikkakku]

I still haven't cut my ultrasuede fabric. As it stands now, both of my suit ups have been with microsuede. The first time I had the fabric with the wrong side facing out, whoops. But I think it should be ok for basic approval.

Regardless, the fabric itself isn't currently listed in the draft, just the characteristics. That aside, I think getting a good color match to the armor should be the most important thing. Are we actually going to have any level 2 details in the CRL?

Ive been discussing with Nitro, and the compromise we ended up going with was to have the level 2 statement in order to:

1. Keep the basic features as mandatory and not contrain basic approval to a super expensive material.
2. Allow for the optional use of ultrasuede if available and within budget. Its been done before, like see here for the Qi'Ra CRL which has a specific fabric for L2:
   https://databank.501st.com/databank/Cos ... 5-ITHDbEls

We do have precedence for it in SP, specifically the Senate Guard and Captain Argyus CRL. My other concern was that we actually have no mechanism to deal with L1 vs. L2 approval, but I think that's something that can be developed after the fact.

Also, two things I would suggest changing:

o Skirt panels are actually trapezoidal, not rectangular.

o Suggest removing velvet like material and semi-reflective verbiage. Looking at the actual ultrasuede, there is absolutely no reflectivity or sheen to it whatsoever. I think suede-like will set folks on the best path and using velvet/reflective opens the door for potentially the wrong type of material.

Agree on both counts. Amended below:

Amended CRL text:
Skirts and Cape:

• Made from a red suede material that is similar in color to the armor
• Near floor length and single layered, the right side of the fabric faces outward
• Vertical and bottom edges of the panels are either all raw or all folded
  • If the edge is raw, it must be free of any fraying
  • if the edge is folded, it may have a top stitch approximately 1/8" from the edge
• The skirt is comprised of 4 trapezoidal panels; front, rear and two sides that wrap around the costumer's lower body
  • Top of skirts rest underneath the abdominal armor
  • The front skirt panel slightly overlap the side skirt panels throughout the entire length of the skirt.
  • The side skirt panels slightly overlap the rear panel throughout the entire length of the skirt.
• The cape is attached between the rear abdominal armor and the back armor and is of the same material as the skirts.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable)

• The skirts and cape are constructed of red ultrasuede that is similar in color to the armor.

[andyman97]

Gotcha, I'm all for it, I wasn't sure what the initial reasoning was to not use higher levels but this instance is a perfect place for it.

Only thing I would note about the changed text above is that, by calling it "suede material", it indicates that the skirts be made of actual suede leather, which I'm sure isn't the intent. I'd suggest revising that to suede-like fabric or material to clarify. We know what the intent is but not everyone will.

[Shikkakku]

Gotcha, I'm all for it, I wasn't sure what the initial reasoning was to not use higher levels but this instance is a perfect place for it.

Only thing I would note about the changed text above is that, by calling it "suede material", it indicates that the skirts be made of actual suede leather, which I'm sure isn't the intent. I'd suggest revising that to suede-like fabric or material to clarify. We know what the intent is but not everyone will.

Good point, amended.

Amended CRL text:
Skirts and Cape:

• Made from a red suede-like material or fabric that is similar in color to the armor
• Near floor length and single layered, the right side of the fabric faces outward
• Vertical and bottom edges of the panels are either all raw or all folded
  • If the edge is raw, it must be free of any fraying
  • if the edge is folded, it may have a top stitch approximately 1/8" from the edge
• The skirt is comprised of 4 trapezoidal panels; front, rear and two sides that wrap around the costumer's lower body
  • Top of skirts rest underneath the abdominal armor
  • The front skirt panel slightly overlap the side skirt panels throughout the entire length of the skirt.
  • The side skirt panels slightly overlap the rear panel throughout the entire length of the skirt.
• The cape is attached between the rear abdominal armor and the back armor and is of the same material as the skirts.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable)

• The skirts and cape are constructed of red ultrasuede that is similar in color to the armor.

[Shikkakku]

I've received some feedback re: the single layer clause.

Given that the single-layer is how the screen-used costume was constructed, and from screenshots itself, I originally added that clause to the CRL. However, it has been pointed out to me that this may only be applicable if ultrasuede is used for skirting material. If alternate materials were to be used, a double-layered approach with or without interfacing may need to be used to get the right drape and flow.

Given that ultrasuede is now a level 2 classification, I propose moving that clause to be specific to ultrasuede and to allow basic approval given different materials and construction techniques:

Amended CRL text:
Skirts and Cape:

• Made from a red suede-like material or fabric that is similar in color to the armor
• Near floor length [REMOVE and single layered], the right side of the fabric faces outward
• Vertical and bottom edges of the panels are either all raw or all folded
  • If the edge is raw, it must be free of any fraying
  • if the edge is folded, it may have a top stitch approximately 1/8" from the edge
• The skirt is comprised of 4 trapezoidal panels; front, rear and two sides that wrap around the costumer's lower body
  • Top of skirts rest underneath the abdominal armor
  • The front skirt panel slightly overlap the side skirt panels throughout the entire length of the skirt.
  • The side skirt panels slightly overlap the rear panel throughout the entire length of the skirt.
• The cape is attached between the rear abdominal armor and the back armor and is of the same material as the skirts.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable)

• The skirts and cape are constructed of red ultrasuede that is similar in color to the armor, and are single-layered.

[andyman97]

If the intent is to use a single layer for a thicker material and a double layer for a thinner material, I'd suggest mentioning that. As it reads now, there is only a mention that Ultrasuede and single layer is required for level 2, which means that either/or both could apply to basic, especially considering there is still verbiage for basic about a raw edge.

I'd suggest something along the lines of:

-For material with an approximate thickness of 1 mm, a single layer of material with a raw edge will be used
-For material with an approximate thickness of .5mm or less, a double layer of material will be used