Basic cummerbund how-to

[Southscout]

So, I thought Id start off the year with a little how-to on how I made my new cummerbund. I call it basic since I'm nowhere near the pros, but the bund turned out nicely enough in my own opinion

 

The bund is made out of beaver nylon, similar to nylon cordura from what I have heard. It's shiny, still a bit heavy looking, and nice to work with.

 

I started out with the popular pattern found around here:

 

http://wallofshemp.f...und_Pattern.jpg

 

First I measured myself to get the corrent height and length. For the height I measured from the bottom of my belt, to the top of the chest armor straps, since that's where I want it to end. When measuring the length, remember to add 2 inches for the back closure. Also add around 0.5" for seam allowance.

 

I then drew up the outline on my fabric. To get perfect angles in the corners, I used our old friend Pythagoras, i.e calcutated the diagonal measurement and then made sure that the intersections between the diagonal and the vertical matched up, then it was a perfect 90 degree angle.

 

I drew my front and back piece "together" along the longer seam. that way I only had to cut out one piece of fabric and there's one less long stich line to worry about. A good tip here is to not cut it to the correct length, instead add 2-3 inches to the end, just to make sure that it's no too short. Remeber the batting adds around 1/2 to your circumference.

 

After this I folded the fabric and laid out the batting on top. I wanted my batting to end just inside the stichline for the velcro so it's a bit shorter than the fabric. This is so I don't get the closure looking too thick. So this is how it looked now:

 

 

Then I just sew the bottom, and one end, together and folded it inside out. After making sure that the batting didn't crumble up anywhere, I added two stichlines, one on the top and one on the bottom, around 1/2" from the edge. This secures the batting along the other (top) line. This is visible in the picture below.

 

Now it was time for the velcro on the right side of the pattern. It was simple to add, just fastened it with pins and sewed it down. Since I had my batting the right length, I fastened it on the right side as well when I fastened the velcro.

 

 

After a measurement check, I cut the left end 1 inch longer than it is supposed the be, folded the extra inch and placed it under the velcro that goes on the other side. Remember, they are on different sides. Then this side was fastened, again the batting went under the stich line so it was fastened again.

 

Then came the dreaded ribs, but some careful measurements and just working slowly with the sewing maching did the trick. I made mine 1" apart, and marked them on the back side.

 

 

With this, the bund part was done. I have in parallell followed Pandatroopers excellent how-to on the cod piece, so no need to repeat that. But here it is: http://forum.bikersc...?showtopic=9972

 

A short test-fit before making the ribs, and finishing the cod piece:

 

Since the groin strap is sewed onto the cod piece, I attached some velcro on the other end of the elastic, and a corresponding piece on the inside of the bund. My cod piece is attached with velcro on the back of my bund, not for any specific reason, I just liked to idea to be able to remove it if needed.

 

Lastly, 2 small pieces of velcro where added, one in the front, and one on the back of the bund, and corresponding peices added to the belt. That way I know that the bund will never slip below the belt and vice versa.

 

Finished back side, notice the small velcro piece on the outside:

 

And finished front, also with the belt velcro:

 

Only thing remaining now is to add velcro top the top of the bund and to the flightvest so it stays up since I want to avoid my previous suspender-solution.

 

Anyway, I hope this helps anyone out there looking to make their own bund. It took me maybe 8-10 hours of work including the cod piece. Material cost was around $70, but the fabric is quite expensive, and I had to order polystyrene, get glue spray etc.

[Chef]

Good job there Patrick.

 

A good tutorial is always a welcome thing.

[Southscout]

Just to add a picture on how it looks finished:

 

 

And here's how it looks with Pandatroopers little cod-piece (is that a plastic insert or are you just happy to see me...)

[silverBoyd]

really awesome

[Griffin-X]

Nice work Patrik.

[bwattsup]

Love it Patrik!

[Donovan]

How many yards of this is needed approx.?

[Southscout]

How many yards of this is needed approx.?

You want enough to be able to cut out this:

 

One piece which is (2 x height of bund + 1-2") times (chest measurement + 2" for closure + 1-2")

Two pieces for the cod piece that are 12" x 10" including seam allowance

 

In my case the width of the fabric was 60", so I could "stack" all the pieces on top of each other. Based on the above I would then need at least 37".

 

I hope it helps, otherwise just ask more

[Guest hel0wrench]

Nice build! I'm going to use this as a reference when making mine.

[Southscout]

Nice build! I'm going to use this as a reference when making mine.

Good luck! Don't be afraid to ask anything if you're not sure on how it's done.