I was curious if anyone has had any luck having uniforms made from rolls of camouflage fabric. I have a few rolls of relatively unique camouflage fabrics that I was interested in turning into uniforms. This seems to be prohibitively expensive to do at the local tailor shop. Obviously these will not be true collectors items, but it seems a better use than just having the fabric sit there. Any ideas?
3 posters
Making Uniforms from Camo Fabric
LT08- Location : USA
Registration date : 2014-03-02
Number of posts : 6
- Post n°1
Making Uniforms from Camo Fabric
Bolty717- Senior Sergeant
- Name : Bolty
Location : New Zealand
Registration date : 2012-11-22
Number of posts : 331
- Post n°2
Re: Making Uniforms from Camo Fabric
I've done it for a combat jacket way back, where I had access to the current DPM ventile materiel that New Zealand was using and wanted to copy a overseas jacket design (I had an example of the jacket) I got a local wedding dress maker to do the sewing as it was a one off and way beyond my skills. Worked well for me as I got what I wanted and was able to use it for work. Cost wise it was expensive and would not have been a profit maker unless I could have reduce the manufacture cost, which would have been unlikely.
Maybe look at items that have less man hours(bush hats etc) or even just sell the fabric in small lots to guys who have the ability or resources for bespoke projects and happy to pay a premium for the materiel.
Maybe look at items that have less man hours(bush hats etc) or even just sell the fabric in small lots to guys who have the ability or resources for bespoke projects and happy to pay a premium for the materiel.
Tonkatsudon- Location : United States
Registration date : 2019-12-14
Number of posts : 7
- Post n°3
Re: Making Uniforms from Camo Fabric
As someone who does sew clothing, I can tell you it would be a very expensive endeavor. Even copying an existing garment takes a lot of manhours, especially uniforms which often have reinforcements and other complex details. Especially when you consider that most tailors or seamstresses are working alone, its going to take a lot of time, which translates to a large cost. I've seen small businesses do production runs of BDU's and such in special camos, but those are generally runs of 1000+ units, where the economy of scale kicks in.
I wouldn't go into it looking to profit or make uniforms to sell to others. The price it would cost to make them would not be the price people are willing to pay. If you're looking to get items made for yourself, then the only ceiling is how much the items are worth to you.
Now, this probably isn't what you want to hear, but its worth looking into learning to sew yourself. A decent clothing-grade sewing machine can be had for about $200 or less, and things like boonies, field caps, etc. are nice small projects to get started on. Sewing is a useful skill to have, and thanks to youtube, there's a wealth of information available.
I wouldn't go into it looking to profit or make uniforms to sell to others. The price it would cost to make them would not be the price people are willing to pay. If you're looking to get items made for yourself, then the only ceiling is how much the items are worth to you.
Now, this probably isn't what you want to hear, but its worth looking into learning to sew yourself. A decent clothing-grade sewing machine can be had for about $200 or less, and things like boonies, field caps, etc. are nice small projects to get started on. Sewing is a useful skill to have, and thanks to youtube, there's a wealth of information available.