Anyone know where I can find patterns for this type of stuff. Have a expert sewer in the family but no experience in tactical so would like to provide her with patterns. Did a google and site search that came back with nothing. Thanks!

Figure it out... How do you think folks who do this got to that point?

Start visualizing kit... It is 95% creativity.... 5% sewing

If you cant look at existing kit in hand and on the web.. Along with hardware articles
And ascertain what needs to be designed to accommodate, then youre doing it wrong

So no there are no collections of "patterns",

Well I understand that but I am not the one sewing. And they are not a "gun" person. So I was hoping to point them in a direction other than "just figure it out."

This is not a bad post.  I designed quite a few pouches myself and had paul Green at Go Gear tactical sew them up.  It would be great if there were generic patterns available (like there are with clothes) but thats just not a reality with kit gear...  I would sometimes pattern the stuff myself, using paper and stapling it together to give the seamstress and idea of what I wanted. Or, just send a sketch of what i envisioned.  Now, if you seamstress is indeed an "expert sewer" then she should be able to pattern your ideas as well.  Below are a few ideas that Paul made a reality:

Drawing of backpack design:



Misc equipment pouch:






RPK drum pouch:



Cold Steel E-Tool cover:



And Nalgene bottle carriers:

so how do you expect this to work if neither of you have an understanding of the underlying design and guiding principles to make this work.

Well I have the understand and know what personalizations I want and was trying to get the simplest way to impart general information to the person with sewing skills. That was the jist of my question. I can understand the underlying design but have no understanding of sewing or the limitations of equipment or their skills. They have knowledge of sewing equipment ect. So I was tying to communicate with her in the way most common for someone that sews a general knowledge. Architects use blueprints, those who sew use patterns. I wouldn't take a blueprint to a seamstress and expect them to build a building. Nor would I expect an architect to describe in detail how to build a building without a blueprint.  I guess I am confused as to what you think I should have ask? Or why you seem annoyed that I would ask for a shorthand way of communicating information efficiently.

I think you just proved my point. I was not asking for proprietary information nor was I asking for someone to start me at park avenue. By your own definition a pattern would be but a beginning "a blueprint pattern." A beginning point where someone with sewing knowledge and someone with knowledge of tactical gear could start to build toward "Park Avenue," but I have no interest in "collecting rent."  All of your points seem to indicated that one person must have all the knowledge and understanding of both areas, which I gather was your situation, but is not mine. I can assure you the person that designs cars and the person that builds the lines that produce them do not have the same understanding of each others skill sets, but rather started on a basic level and progressed. Also to take your stand point would mean that no new ideas could ever begin with improving upon old ones, no one should ever benefit from the mistakes and experience of others.  Everyone would have to reinvent the wheel so to speak,  and this whole site would be pointless. If you do not wish to participate in the discussion that is your choice, clearly you are proud of your knowledge and there is nothing wrong with that, you have earned it. What I am asking is no different than you reading on the subject of sewing, your standpoint would be akin to the authors of your books simply saying "start at GO and figure it out." But I personally believed this site was about sharing knowledge and experience, to better the whole. Admittedly I am new and still learning. But I hope someday to be able to impart that information to others and continue the cycle that I believe this site was created for.

Just my opinion though.

Need a spoon?  I just gave you the core tenet of how this works and how you go about building on top of that... But apparently youre not getting it

if you cant figure that out,  then there must be some nintendo method of instant gratification with minimal effort that I am not aware of... But you want to play the butthurt angle


Add to what was illustrated earlier by the other poster.... Jeez where do you think architects get their knowledge from... Reading a book  which is exactly how I am proscribing here.... Good luck!

Well apparently you would rather discourage and make 3rd grade comments then understand the post. You apparently have knowledge of both sewing and tactical. That is not the situation here. I have some tactical knowledge. She has some sewing knowledge. I don't need to learn to sew. She doesn't need to learn tactical knowledge. The whole point was a way to get the two together at a simple starting point. NOT to give ONE person all of that knowledge. I am sure that your knowledge trumps ours, you've proved your point, and made clear the pains you have gone to to gain it. I am impressed as is everyone else. But now back to the actual question of the post. And if there is no answer, so be it we will start from "GO." Just like every other post on this site I was asking for advice, sorry you believe that to be wrong.

The Best approach to this is just HAVE FUN! If you make a job out of it, your going to get a sour taste in your mouth. Maybe that's why I still love my job as I look at it as a hobby/game more so a business. Anyone and everyone is going to make a mistake. Look at the mistakes, study them and then correct them. Don't dwell on the screw up or the imperfections, nor worry what some dumb-ass is going to say about it. You WILL be your worst critique! Just remember it's a start. I myself have hurled projects across the room, then I laugh as all the other sewers duck and cringe, LOL!!!!

As mentioned, visualize the finished project, gather your dimensions of what you wish the pouch should be, add allowances for hems, stitch widths, thickness of material if there is to be dividers or optional components on the gear itself to be placed in. Take that info. and draw it down on thick paper for your pattern. A ruler is your best friend.  Include your grommet holes, snap location, or any other hardware that may be used. Also take in factor of stitch shrinkage. Then cut out the outline of the pattern. Once cut out, fold the pattern to form the pouch and then study it and remember to take more measurements to verify the fit. When satisfied, transfer the pattern to scrap material and sew it up. Sewing in a manner of looking at the pouch from the back to the front in some cases. Your going to forget something and make mistakes, No question about it. Then have fun sewing and be prepared to rip out stitches multiple times.
 Once sewn, take a step back and observe what you have accomplished. Could you have done better? Hell YES! But it was a learning experience none the least. If it looks good enough for now, take it out and put it through the pace. You will always feel that you could have done better. So do not get discourage as you can always start all over and incorporate the lessons learned into the next project. If you cannot live with the fact that it sucked, I'm assuming you own a gun. Shoot that piece of crap and you will honestly feel much better. At least you tried!
No need to to get all upset if you fail. Just feel good that you tried. If your suspenseful, Post some Dam pictures!

Gene @ HSGI

Savor this flavor OP: a thoughtful, informative, and helpful post from a master of his craft.  This kind of genuinely friendly and comprehensive answer is unfortunately getting to be a rare thing.

Buy some of the cheap desert camo Molle II gear off eBay to use a patterns and method of construction.



Sign up at www.DIYTactical.com



Lastly, try www.lightfighter.net look in the Roll Your Own section, moderated by our very own Eggrolly. Sources for materials, ideas, dimensions for common military/tactical items. But be warned, your attitude may be cause for a short stay there.  



Google Extreme Gear Labs then rethink your response to what Eggrolly is trying to tell you in a short, concise manner.

Gene was my source for info regarding technique and materials, back when I started, building kit 7-8 years ago and to this day we still chat about various things.  Not once did I ever ask him for "patterns", because lets face it, any existing pocket/pouch/baggit from a reputable manufacturer is a 'proprietary" design.   Take his words seriously.

You will need to understand sewing to the extent that you know HOW to interpret design and constructs into actionable techniques for your sewer, it is incumbent upon you to do the "footwork".  What Gene mentions above holds very much true, but I stand my statements fully based on my own experiences, from GO to now.  No one, will give you a "pattern".  


Albatross showed how he went about it, I can tell you, there are multiple ways to go about something.

What Stoner63 mentioned is actually a good way to understand how something is put together, but again it takes work, and a commitment to understand how things work together.  Again, this is what is required, not an attempt to discourage or dissuade because if for a minute you thought that, then you dont have the commitment to really see this through and understand the bigger picture.  You will get the same treatment at Lightfighter.

Ok I guess I used a word that is a no no in this area. "Patterns" I was not trying to steal anything propriety nor even requesting such. I was not aware the word would draw such emotion. Once again I guess I should have just ask about starting points. To me as a layman I felt pattern was a good place sewing and tactical could start to talk the same language. I was unaware of the stigma such semantics would draw. Thank you to those who responded, and I apologize for hitting on such a sensitive subject. I had no intention of causing such hurt feelings.

Eh, it's just the Internet.  Specialized forums are like that (the afforementioned Lightfighter for example).   You either establish that you are a noob and tread lightly or provide your bonafides as a pro; anything in between will eventually make you the target of the Internet personality type known as the "great arbiter" lol.  In any case, you got some great info all around.

 Don't worry about it.  The term "Pattern" in this instance to me falls in the same category as "BEST" . I see all these threads that ask, "What is the BEST.........". Make me want to puke. That's like saying, " Hey guys, let's all load up and go the to Maternity Ward at the hospital and pick out the Prettiest Baby". Face it, they are ALL ugly little shitheads!  But I keep my mouth shut on those topics/threads. Hard to believe, Huh?
 Patterns are the $64 question. It's hard for any of us to foresee what you are wanting to achieve. It's your project, your dream. No matter what you search for on the .net or in books, you will not find as far as patterns. That's why it will be more of a quest to design your own. It's Not hard to do at all.  And you not need to have the basic knowledge of sewing. Here is where your sewer and you have to compare notes. You know what you want in theory, they know how to stitch. Now you both need to connect the links.

Gene @ HSGI

These type of patterns don't exist to the internets as others are saying. Even if you look for clothing patterns around the internet you get some really stupid one that no one would ever wear and the better ones cost money as for Gear making its a really small community so I don't know what I am saying anymore

Now as to who is the sewer and their experience is the question. I asked my wife to build me gear cause she use to make clothes and other small projects with her machine, I came to find out that clothes and other home machine projects mean nothing compared to sewing 1000d and other tac materials. So what did I do, I got a better machine than my wife's home one and started to do my own designing and sewing. First pouch looked more like a over sized desert condom . I then started to realized that I could not make it without a little help. What did I do was I went out and bought a cheap crappy stitched but good design pouch and reverse engineered it. From there I was designing vests from pictures on the net from the distances of the webbing and webbing sizes then modifying them from there.

I however started doing my own gear cause I wanted stuff in Multicam that did not exisit or was really expensive then from there it became a challenging hobby to see if I could make gear more egro and make new exciting stuff. I have since made some cool stuff that is new to the market as I can tell but am not letting out of the bag even though I never intend to sell my stuff, its strickly a hobby and always will be. Have fun with it.

I started making gear about 5 years ago..I am finally having modest success with some of my gear.  A lot of trial and error, reading posts here, on DIYTactical and Lightfighter in the RYO section.  Be aware, these sights are not for the thin skinned.  

I learned a lot from Egg, Diz, landshark, et. al. (don't mean to leave anyone out) and still do.  I watched Diz disappear, which was a real loss to the community.  I've watched people come and go.

Take ALL the advice you've read here and give it a whirl...worst you can do is fall flat on your face, but even that is learning so have at it.

Eggrolly has a different way of encouraging people, but his words always motivated and encouraged me to keep on keeping on.   His words may seem harsh to some, but they are always accurate and true and I'd rather have that than sunshine up my arse!