Home Made Shemaghs

Alyasha · #1 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:21

OK....Here is the rundown . A while back , I was doing lots of middle eastern theater bashes and kept findin myself unsatisfied with the fabric quality of most of the shemaghs on the market . Either the fabric or the printing ink was too stiff and they never draped right . While at the fabric store one day I happened uppon this really cool gause that looked perfect for some LOTR RingWraith bashes I was working on . Later, while working on Stan bashes again I eyed the same fabric and caught a brainstom . I first made an Adobe Illustrator™ file to mimmic the pattern of a shemagh . The frist ones were the super basic Black/White and Red/White color combos . Next , I took some of the guase and ironed it flat , then spray starched it and ironed again until it became fairly stiff (almost as stiff as paper ) . I cut the ironed fabric to roughly the size of a regular 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper . Placed it in the paper tray of my inkjet printer and pressed "print" . Much to my delight it came out really well . The only problem was that it was still pretty stiff even though the ink had loosened up much of the starch . After cutting away the excess fabric ,I decided to try to crumple it up and viggorously roll it between my hands . At that point ,I said to myself "Self...SIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK !" .
Here is a little " How To " post

1. Ai. file

Alyasha · #2 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:24

Later on I got inspired by a photo of an SBS operator wearing a Black/Yellow color combo Shemagh and re-colored the Illustrator file to this Brown/White/Red combo and the Black/Yellow one as well .

Alyasha · #3 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:28

Here is what you will need :

1. Ink Jet printer
2. Some sort of "drapey" light weight cotton fabric ( I suppose cheese cloth would work ) .
3. Iron
4. Spray Starch
5. Scissors (spelling ?)
6. Scotch tape
7. Sanrio™ Bad Batz Maru candy dispensor , to oversee the whole production

Alyasha · #4 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:31

This is what the fabric looks like before ironing .
It has been cut to roughly the same size as a piece of printer paper .
Keep in mind that is will become considerably larger after ironing .
IMPORTANT NOTE : Make sure to iron it flat once before applying spraystarch .

Alyasha · #5 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:32

This is what the fabric looks like immediately after ironing .

Alyasha · #6 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:35

Here , I have cut the pre-ironed fabric to roughly the same size as the printer pare and affixed it to the paper with a piace of clear scotch tape . The tape side will go into the printe first as to not create a paperjam .

Alyasha · #7 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:39

This photo shows the printed fabric after it has been pulled away from the paper .
Now cut borders to your liking . Some may want long white fringe , others may not . It's up to you .
NOTE : Depending on the amount and colors used , you may find that the "Wavy" pattenr that borders the check pattern in the middle might get a little muddy . You can ammend this problem by simply spacing the lines a little further appart .

Alyasha · #8 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:42

Cut excess fabric away .

Alyasha · #9 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:44

Fortunately and unfortunately , I only have 2 hands , so I could not take a photo of me rolling the fabric in my hands . This is entitled "Crumple".

Alyasha · #10 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:47

Done !

At the end of the day , the key is being able to make the Illustrator™ file , so you can flip the colors to your liking .

I hope this works for you guys

Peace ,

Alyasha

Alyasha · #11 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 21:54

I know this seems like a show of blatant self promotion , but here are some links to examples of this process :

http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/foru...threadid=16904

http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/foru...threadid=16901

http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/foru...threadid=16807

http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/foru...threadid=16903

http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/foru...hlight=Alyasha

LAST IMPORTANT NOTE !!: DO NOT TRY TO DYE OR USE WATER ON YOUR PRINTED SHEMAGHS ! THEY WILL TURN TO MUD !

Alyasha · #12 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 22:22

Here is a close up of the SBS guy . The printing on this one came out pretty well .

medic · #13 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 22:49

Man your siiiiiiiick to self promote yourself. thats gotta be the tip of the week. Ilustrator is my best friend. Question, fabric is 8.5 x 11, how big is art work? 8.5 x 11 seems big

Alyasha · #14 (**permalink**) 10-04-2003, 22:57

Medic...

... The size of the artwok is probably about 7x7, minus the bleed . It really depends on how much scarf you want .

AWM posted a really good template here .

http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/foru...threadid=17307

Not sure if it is to size . I'm not sure mine are either .

MINDXST0RM · #15 (**permalink**) 10-06-2003, 12:54

....it should be here too.

Alyasha,
I have to say it again this is one the coolest.....eh ....I'm mean Siiiiiiiiiiiiiickest 1/6 custom tip I have seen. Thanks for generously sharing the patterns with us and not hoarding this valuable info!
MxS

PSCMATT · #16 (**permalink**) 09-21-2005, 10:58

Does anyone have a templete for a Red and White Shemagh. Hey Aly Im assuming that you dont print on the side that has the starch on it am I correct.

knuckles1970 · #17 (**permalink**) 09-21-2005, 21:36

About how big is a 1/6 shemagh?

Alyasha · #18 (**permalink**) 09-22-2005, 00:19

MINDXST0RM ... It's all about sharing .

Knuckles ... Roughly 7.5 inches square .

PSCMATT ... It doesnt really matter if you print on the starched side or not .
The ink will be absorbed byt the cloth either way .
Here are a few more colors :
http://onesixthwarriors.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=30771

And the Red/White combo you aksed for :

Paladin · #19 (**permalink**) 09-22-2005, 03:15

simply siiiiiiiiiick, i would consider myself creative, but how do you come up with that? incredible....
the fabric looks a bit like the ones used for bandages, is it similiar?

PSCMATT · #20 (**permalink**) 09-22-2005, 09:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palaboon

simply siiiiiiiiiick, i would consider myself creative, but how do you come up with that? incredible....
the fabric looks a bit like the ones used for bandages, is it similiar?

I think he uses cheese cloth which looks like gauze used in wounds.

Thanks Aly for posting the Red & White templete for me.

Paladin · #21 (**permalink**) 09-22-2005, 11:29

Gonna try to create a couple on the weekend

PSCMATT · #22 (**permalink**) 09-22-2005, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palaboon

Gonna try to create a couple on the weekend

Me too.

Sol_Siruken · #23 (**permalink**) 09-07-2006, 23:51

Aly I hate to ask almost a year later, but do you have any OD/Black templates?! Friggen sweet tutorial by the way.

BETTS · #24 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 16:00

Fantastic Piece Ok Kit...cheers

piesix · #25 (**permalink**) 04-15-2010, 11:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alyasha

LAST IMPORTANT NOTE !!: DO NOT TRY TO DYE OR USE WATER ON YOUR PRINTED SHEMAGHS ! THEY WILL TURN TO MUD !

Try soaking the printed cloth in white vinegar. It should set the inks so they won't run when wet afterwards.

Alyasha · #26 (**permalink**) 04-15-2010, 12:18

Nice one! Thanks PieSix

101st_airborne · #27 (**permalink**) 05-26-2010, 18:04

Well, since shemagh´s pattern is not allways even, i tried some time ago a cheap trick to get my own home made (did them by myself!!!) shemags.

I was staring at Walmart looking for a pair of tshirts when i saw a pack of three boxer briefs that had a very particular pattern, light brown squares like the original shemagh ones, so i thought "hmmm, why not?".....

I bought the pack, ran to my house and discovered that my hunch was wight. It was pretty alike, so i took my scissors and began to cut and strip those briefs into shemaghs for my figs.

Well, i paid 8 dollars for a pack of three, got my shemags and an pair of extra briefs... (you never know when you´ll be needing them....)

My two cents (and a big laughter!!!)

ActionMan · #28 (**permalink**) 05-26-2010, 20:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by 101st_airborne

Well, since shemagh´s pattern is not allways even, i tried some time ago a cheap trick to get my own home made (did them by myself!!!) shemags.

I was staring at Walmart looking for a pair of tshirts when i saw a pack of three boxer briefs that had a very particular pattern, light brown squares like the original shemagh ones, so i thought "hmmm, why not?".....

I bought the pack, ran to my house and discovered that my hunch was wight. It was pretty alike, so i took my scissors and began to cut and strip those briefs into shemaghs for my figs.

Well, i paid 8 dollars for a pack of three, got my shemags and an pair of extra briefs... (you never know when you´ll be needing them....)

My two cents (and a big laughter!!!)

That idea sounds pants.

Seriously, one of the reasons I love this hobby is for the opportunities it gives you for lateral thinking. I never seem to switch off looking at stuff in shops and thinking 'can I use that for...'

da Bronx Commando · #29 (**permalink**) 05-26-2010, 20:21

Your shemaghs are dope! You should sell them. I know I'd get a few. I really like ghe od one and the second one from the top.

21brett · #30 (**permalink**) 06-02-2010, 11:19

So im making like a western figure right, could this same process be used for a differnt pattern such as a bandana?