DIY Step in hooded vest

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

cellowithgills

Registered
Messages
35
Reaction score
4
I dive with a 7mm Pinnacle suit and I'm wanting to keep a bit warmer (I'm in Oregon water). I recently got a Farmer John for free, and the step in jacket fits fairly well over my 7mm suit, however it's uncomfortable over the arms because the jacket is long sleeve too. I'm think about chopping back the arms and sewing in a hood on the jacket, any body done this before?

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
 
I just asked a similar question in the "exposure suit" section. Ive got a 5mm full suit and a 7mm jacket that I want to try to use (Michigan water). Im worried about the arms being too tight also. I wonder if we cut the arms off and found a talented seamstress to put a border on the cuts and sew in a hood it would work pretty good.
 
You could take a normal hood and aquaseal/neoprene cement the bib to the underside of the jacket. You would need to trim the bib so it sits flat without bunches. I think a triangle cut in the bib, with the point going up to the top of the hood, would help it lay seamlessly along the collar of the jacket.

Sewing alone would not prevent water intrusion, so you might as well not sew it solely. If you want two pieces of neoprene to stay put together, you've got to glue it. Sewing with wetsuit manufacturing adds extra structure, keeping the aquaseal from pulling apart. Sewing alone means you're eventually going to tear your neoprene apart along the stitching.


For what's it worth, Neoprene cement is more forgiving for beginners. Follow the directions and when it looks dry, press your pieces together. If you mess up, you have a few seconds leeway to pull apart and do a quick recoat and press together again. After it's set, paint along the edges and press and smooth to make a seal that will catch the edges if you're overlaying neoprene on neoprene, rather than connecting two piece's at the edge.
 
Definitely doable. I agree with g1138, aqualseal it after cutting darts/triangles to make the hood bib lay flat and you'll have reasonable results. Glue, then sew, then tape (another layer of glue over the sewing) for best results. You'll need a heavy gauge needle and an industrial machine or just a lot of patience to sew it by hand. I'd use a locking double zigzag if I were going to do it.
 

Back
Top Bottom