fabric and supply shopping yay

[shamankid]

i know i probably skimmed the forum and missed something so im going to go ahead and ask this and write everything down so i dont forget when i do my shopping the next few month thank god for sales. ok to start of with the fabrics i dont have a sewing maching so most of this is going to be done by needle. the fabric shopping is for the neck seal and gloves. i plan to hit joans and other stores in one go.

1. i know most people buy the gloves for membership but is it acceptable to make your own if you have small hands like mine for basic membership? the reason this will tell me how much fabric i need to buy.
2. i love pandatroopers tut on the neck seal and that leads up to the second question for the neck seal does style matter for making the neck seals because  really love panda's style .
3. since i dont have a machine does anyone one know what kind of thread and needles i need to buy to make work with the material and what kind of material should i be looking for for the neck seal and bib shown in pandatroopers tut (and gloves if they are approved).
4. i  read about the amount of glue but are there any brands i should buy or avoid when im assembling the armor and padding.
5. if i found the boots would bleach work on turning them white or would that be a waste of money
6. for the belt i read about how the vendor uses canvas to make it.  are there tuts on how to make the basic belt before you add the kits parts.
7. i know this is not a supply question but i read that the suits are hot and people put fans in the helms to stay cool in the summer time are there methods to stay warm in the winter such as thermals that can be worn under the suit that wont ruin the over all look and where can i hide a candy bar or something of that nature because i have hypoglycemia. also does the manufacturer of the compression pants and shirt matter because my walmart is always sold out of under armor but not starter and my local hibbit sports store prices are way to high.

thanks for reading sorry if its to little or to much been recovering from little sleep

[gazmosis[501st]]

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Question overload!

[Tusken RTT]

LOL- yep a lot!  

1- yes you can make your own, I must admit I have never seen it though. 

4-E6000!!!!!

5- Paint all the way, white fabric and white leather paint.  Or buy white boots

6-yes tutorials here on the belts

7.  I dont see why a pair of long johns underneath your undersuit would hurt anything.  Hide a candy bar in your TD.

 

Good luck! 

[gazmosis[501st]]

Sometimes it is just easier to buy something. We all understand the sense of ownership when it comes to actually making something from concept to completion, but if you don;t have a sewing machine, hand sewing these items is just very impractical. Find someone close to you who has one and knows how to use it.  E6000 is definitely the adhesive of choice. I always like to have a bottle of CA (superglue) around for gluing certain straps in place. I still go over them with E6000.  Gloves....buy them. Don't even waste your time. There seem to be many ways to make belts. There are some very serious guys with serious talent at the sewing machine. The originals were actually very uncomplicated. IT was a 5 layer construction with cotton twill outside, satin on the inside a 3 layers of a material I am not certain of. I have used duckcloth and have held everything together with interfacing. This gives a nice rigid body to the belt. A single stitch line all around with velcro at the ends...done. In my experience, the suits aren't nearly as hot as the helmets. Fans are always something you can add later. 

[shamankid]

thanks for the help sorry for the over load. been busy from selling items to buying items along with the normal joys of Christmas. some of the stuff i wasn't to sure on i came across the bleach idea after i tripped over a jug of bleached and magically turned my nice navy blue work boots to a lighter blue. the other questions were more on the lines of not ruining the armor or the clothes with chemicals that eat thru the material. had that happen to me once building a model and i grabbed the wrong glue and that was 40 down the can but on the bright side of that accident it helped someones diorama of a star wars mobile suit gundam cross over. again thanks and happy holidays