Build Your Own Vest... w/Pictures!

[cmack89]

Awesome tutorial, this has been a piece I've been somewhat confused about for a while!

[ACPIAZZA]

I downloaded the tutorial. Great stuff. Thanks.

[TB-1599]

I will have to give this a shot...

[Burgan]

Amazing tutorial! Thanks for taking the time to put this out here.

[Sop]

Very nice tutorial, this will help a lot. Thanks

[niennumb1]

Aw man.... It's SO cool to see someone figured out a nice solution that is also comfortable. This looks totally doable.

[Starwheels]

i need a flak vest for my TB but dont know how to sew / make one so ..... is there any where where i can buy / get someone to make one for me please ..??

[Rifleman]

this is really helpful, thanks!

[Hilikus]

This is amazing to have, thank you

[Digger]

Great tutorial. going to try it out this week. Lets see how long it takes to learn the basics of using a sewing machine.

[Mikey]

thank you so much, I'll be modifying this for a thicker fabric but I will use a t-shirt as a guide/pattern!

[SeaWaffles]

Awesome tutorial, and I didn't break any of the wife's needles this time  

I recommend using starch and ironing the shirt bits before using them for a pattern. I ended up tracing the shirt onto thicker fabric. Also I ended up using some felt squares that come in a variety of colors ( about $0.40 each and they do have black) Attached below is how I padded the sleeve with the felt pads, three felt pads can make both sleeves if the 'wings' for both arms are from one pad. 

Also, I found the easiest way for me to attach the sleeves was to lay the bust of the fest on the table with the sleeve circled up in the sleeve hole.. it looks similar to how a child drops their coat on the floor taking it off (or sloughing it off their arms). Then all i had to do was pin the shoulder and arms hole/circle and sew.  I do have some cleaning up to do on the final vest, as it turns out I was a little sloppy tracing the bust of the shirt material and my chest swims in it a bit.

If i make this again i will use a heavier shirt and just make the sleeves with different material. And use black felt, i had a few spots where the sewing machine pulled red fiber with the thread. 

 

[mickeymark34]

Thanks for this. As someone who is barely getting started, this is a great resource. A friend of mine is really good at sewing and told me he'd help me do my soft goods. This will be in my arsenal. Thanks again. 

 

[Gree23]

Its been too long since someone has thankd you for this, So THANK YOU! With the growing cost of people producing these items, it helps so much to have a DIY that makes sense. I will be working on this for not only my Scout, but my Swampy, and shadow as well. Great that all three are the exact same!