Blackhawk Low Visibility Carrier modified

[bikemike555]

So...
Veering wildly away from my condemnation of low quality, foreign made gear...

My buddy bought an old Blackhawk minimalist "Low Vis" plate carrier. His idea was to drape an alice harness over it, which isn't entirely without merit, but I thought I'd try to add some functionality to it. I did learn that I can't sew a straight line to save my life, and perhaps I'll improve upon that with practice.

The modifications I made would have been easier on my little sewing machine if I'd cut the stitching holding the front and back of the plate bag together. As it was, I had to bunch up the rest of carrier to get the presser foot where I wanted the stitching and it made straight lines very challenging.

I first had to remove the 1.5" straps going around the middle. These are, I think, way less useful for holding two 5+lb plates than an elastic band, so I slapped a panel of loop closure on the belly and lower back of the carrier to allow for a simple 4" elastic cummerbund. I had a spare elastic cummerbund from Arbor Arms for this project, but I may try my hand at sewing one some time, if I can find 4" elastic band in multicam for sale. I was getting the hang of this sewing machine and did some of the ugliest sewing you've ever seen.

Then I took some 1" webbing and sewed a few inches on each side to hang a swiftclip from.

Seeing how appalling the sewing on the panel on the back was, I sewed a "curtain" over it, just a rectangular panel with hook closure on the back and sewed to the plate bag across the top. I also switched to a dark brown thread instead of tan. The thread is some heavy duty upholstery type.

The swiftclips and the front panel cover up the worst of my work on the front, and my friend has about $28 into it so he's not sweating it. I might get some cordura and try sewing my own plate bags.



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[Boy Scout]

It’s all about kit that works for you and functions as it should. I say it looks good! I might add some slim shoulder pads.

[bikemike555]

It’s all about kit that works for you and functions as it should. I say it looks good! I might add some slim shoulder pads.

Thanks, much appreciated. It actually came with some shoulder pads, I can throw them back on.

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[turnburglar]

Here's some sewing tips:

Use the guides on the side of the presser foot, or the presser foot itself as a guide to keep your edges straight.

You are helping the fabric feed, but the machine is pulling the fabric through. Don't force the fabric through the machine.

IDK too much about upholstery thread, but I doubt its good enough. Get some real nylon in like tex45 size.

For sewing on molle loops you want to do 4 passes. Molle loops will force you to become really good with the back stitch.

Really you should be practicing seams on something super cheap. I use muslin thats like $4 a yard. In my typical work flow I will start with either muslin or some kind of left over fabric. Then once I get the fit right, I will make the first prototype on wolf grey. Then the second prototype is when I start busting out the real multicam fabric and will put in real stitching and trim.

[bikemike555]

Here's some sewing tips:

Use the guides on the side of the presser foot, or the presser foot itself as a guide to keep your edges straight.

You are helping the fabric feed, but the machine is pulling the fabric through. Don't force the fabric through the machine.

IDK too much about upholstery thread, but I doubt its good enough. Get some real nylon in like tex45 size.

For sewing on molle loops you want to do 4 passes. Molle loops will force you to become really good with the back stitch.

Really you should be practicing seams on something super cheap. I use muslin thats like $4 a yard. In my typical work flow I will start with either muslin or some kind of left over fabric. Then once I get the fit right, I will make the first prototype on wolf grey. Then the second prototype is when I start busting out the real multicam fabric and will put in real stitching and trim.

Great info, thanks very much! I'm using a Singer model 44s, is that ok to start with?

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[turnburglar]

Great info, thanks very much! I'm using a Singer model 44s, is that ok to start with?

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Honestly I wouldn't know. I have only sewn on Juki 8700's. What I can say is that if your machine starts to stop feeding, but continues to stitch; STOP, and use the hand wheel. A sewing machine isn't a dirt bike. Adding power typically makes the problem worse not better.


Go get some super cheap fabric or even cut up an old shirt and fold the edge at 1/2" and try and sew it straight at 1/4". Just practice a little and you should get the hang of it pretty fast. Stiff cordura is actually very easy to sew on compared to real fashion fabrics.

[bikemike555]

Hmmm. I saw a Juki for like $200 a long time ago within an hour's drive on craigslist but I didn't really have room for it. As it is, I spent a hundred on the used machine I have. I do think it will do some simple stuff but I think it's going to balk at multiple thick layers. We'll see.

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[bikemike555]

Honestly I wouldn't know. I have only sewn on Juki 8700's. What I can say is that if your machine starts to stop feeding, but continues to stitch; STOP, and use the hand wheel. A sewing machine isn't a dirt bike. Adding power typically makes the problem worse not better.


Go get some super cheap fabric or even cut up an old shirt and fold the edge at 1/2" and try and sew it straight at 1/4". Just practice a little and you should get the hang of it pretty fast. Stiff cordura is actually very easy to sew on compared to real fashion fabrics.

Do you ever work with 3d spacer mesh? Know where to source some?

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[turnburglar]

I was just playing with some unique spacer mesh. Didn't end up working out for my purposes though.

I normally use these suppliers:

https://www.rockywoods.com

Rockywoods has good prices but takes awhile to ship.

https://www.wtfidea.com

has some kinda unique items, and they ship really fast but their prices are higher than rocky woods.