So I am the happy owner of an estate sale sewing machine. I see all of your fabulous projects and I wonder where did you get the patterns and instructions?

I would like to make an insulated (not fleece) balaclava. I think I could make it out of a jacket I have. But I'm afraid to cut into it without having a pattern and a plan. There was a cuben fiber down balaclava on this site. Where did the plans to make that come from? Or do you guys all just wing it?

I'm not sure about a balaclava, but maybe start by copying a hood and modifying from there.
Hood pattern (and others):
http://thru-hiker.com/projects/hood_pattern.php
Patterns:
thegreenpepper.com
therainshed.com

Start with simple patterns and go from there.

Tip: buy a roll of 200 micron clear builder's plastic and use it to experiment with patterns. I do all of mine that way. Clothing, tents, quilts, gaiters, ...

Cheers

Thank you. I saw the thru-hiker.com patterns but I'm too confused to follow such scanty instructions. It looks like a lot of you are engineers or something, able to figure out how to put a tent or backpack together in your minds.

Ray Jardine has a hat kit using climashield. He claims detailed step by step instructions. I don't have one, but I've been tempted. $22
http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/Bomber-Hat-Kit/index.htm

I'm using Jardine's hat on my thru. I've been pleasantly surprised at how warm this thing is. I'll probably never use a beenie again.

I posted my balaclava pattern and some instructions to the forum some time ago:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=9914&startat=20

> It looks like a lot of you are engineers or something, able to figure out
> how to put a tent or backpack together in your minds.

Physicist, please!
But your point is only half true. Yes, I can visualise a lot of the items I make - today, but I am quite sure most of that comes from practice. No built-in skill, just lots of experience (and mistakes).

Get started!

scroll down and you'll see this guys patterns. It seems simple enough.

http://www.shelby.fi/kaava/403/403.php

another site....
http://sites.google.com/site/windintheroses/balaclava

just google and you'll find quite a few.

Edited by leadfoot on 04/16/2010 05:12:35 MDT.

Roger, great idea to use the plastic. I use muslin.

Hi Donna

I tried something like muslin, but it deformed. The plastic doesn't deform AND you can see through it AND you can extend it in places with sticky tape and more bits of plastic. I do this at times ... :-)

Cheers

> I tried something like muslin, but it deformed

Well, sometimes, you want the trial fabric to drape in a similar manner to the actual fabric, especially on curved areas of clothing. And the properties of the fabric will depend on a number of factors, including whether they are coated.

The same is true of tents, where the tensioned fabric stretches anisotropically, due to the warp/weft fibres. Plastic sheeting and paper don't behave in the same way, so, whilst they're okay for roughing out ideas, they won't give you the true panel shapes for complex or tensioned designs. Close, but there are wrinkles. That's my experience, anyway.

The classic example from clothing is the 'bias cut dress'; the panels are intentionally cut on the bias, and the weave stretches diagonally to the warp/weft so that the dress clings to the body, creating a very flattering look.

Interestingly, very few outdoor clothing manufacturers use bias cut panels, even on panels that could benefit from stretch...

For packs and other simple items, plastic or paper are fine.

Hi Kevin

I use plastic to make the patterns for both my summer and winter tents. The amount of stretch in silnylon is enough to avoid any wrinkles. Or maybe it is the design that avoids wrinkles. Anyhow, it works very well for me.

> 'bias cut dress' ... so that the dress clings to the body, creating a very flattering look.
Ah ... on backcountry clothing? The mind boggles! :-)

Cheers

!

> > 'bias cut dress' ... so that the dress clings to the body, creating a very flattering look.
> Ah ... on backcountry clothing? The mind boggles! :-)

Now I come to think of it, I have seen this on the ski slopes. We were slightly boggled to see a man and a women come down to the start of a chair-lift in full black evening dress. Long clinging dress on the woman. Seriously!

But ... they swept down in sync touching elbows and came to a perfect stop at the end of the queue, still touching elbows. Wish I could ski like them!

Cheers

> Ah ... on backcountry clothing? The mind boggles! :-)

I always carry a taffeta bias cut dress when I'm backpacking. A chap has to maintain standards, you know...

I've tried plastic sheet and paper, but I've not had much luck. Maybe the designs were too complex (and stressed the fabric in ways the toiles didn't respond to). Or it may be that I over-think things, and look for perfectly equi-stressed membranes in my tent flysheets...

I've had some detailed thoughts on modelling flysheets with finite element models, and doing simulated annealing to optimise the panel shape and weave orientation, but never got beyond the thought stage. As I said, maybe I think too much...

Edited by captain_paranoia on 04/20/2010 12:24:19 MDT.

Somebody sent me a bomber hat kit and I can't believe it but I made the hat. It actually came out as a hat. I can't say all my stitching looks that great, but there aren't any big flaws.

As for bias cut, I was actually planning to work my way up to making a hiking skirt. I want it to be bias cut, A-line, below the knee with useful pockets, belt loops and a modesty closure like they have on some kilts.