New and questions on sewing.

[RazzleBIGDazzle]

Hi all, I am brand new and conducting the research on building my first costume to submit to the legion.  My question is weather it would be worth it to purchase a sewing machine? Are a lot of the soft part easily able to be made from things found at thrift stores and such? Any advice or information to share is greatly appreciated. 

[Chopper]

In short -- yes, it's definitely worth it. The price you'd pay to a tailor to even add small things like velcro would quickly exceed the cost of a sewing machine.

Some items are certainly easier to create than others, but most of us didn't have a lot of sewing experience prior to joining.

I'm not sure about picking up items from a thrift store, but most of the scout items can be easily acquired from amazon, jo-ann fabrics, etc.

For coveralls, people typically use either the black Red Kap, or the Kolossus brands. Dickies will work as well.

Some tips and general guidance are contained in the following posts as well:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/19967-soft-parts-best-practices/

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/19259-undersuit-mods/

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/12485-build-your-own-vest-wpictures/

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/22706-cummerbundcod-material/

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/19708-biker-scout-boots-tutorial/

 

[KOtrooper]

For sure, get a sewing machine. The sewing for the Biker Scout is pretty easy and very easy to fix mistakes. The soft parts for the Shoretrooper is a little trickier but doable (even Level 2).

I personally have a Brother SE400 and have been happy with it.

[Aradun]

Sewing machine is the way to go. The learning curve is pretty easy and as mentioned, you’ll quickly recoup your investment in the machine and then some by doing it yourself.

I have both the red cap and the kolossus undersuit and if I had to recommend one, I’d go with the kolossus hands down. It’s light weight and the upper potion has a little more room making it easier to get on and off, at least for me.

[RazzleBIGDazzle]

Thank you all! I saw a couple of sewing machines on FB markets place between $60-$80.  I also really appreciate the advice on the undersuit, please keep it coming. 

[Dart]

If I may add, if you're looking at a second-hand machine, the new ones are fine, but older can be better. The reason being that machines from the mid-late 80s to now have a lot of plastic gears unless you pay for a heavy duty machine and they're best for light sewing (which is much of what the scout is). The older ones are physically much heavier but they're all metal inside and some are able to punch through thick layers and even leather. If you find a good deal on a machine that was made either domestically or in Japan from between the 50's to the 70's, you're golden. Most of them are still able to be serviced, especially if you go with a name brand (google search before buying).

Good luck and happy sewing!