BUDGET JACK: Head to Toe Supplies for DIY-ers.

[aelyn000]

Thought I'd start this up so maybe I can empty out all of my bookmarks and put the resources in one spot for us to share! If it's ok, I'm going to keep editing this post to keep the links all together at the top.

Jack's Bandana
Bandana Bay

Jack's Right Dangle
- Black spotted bead ( Venetian skunk bead )
Rex Beads

Jack's beard beads
- Green Yellow Striped
Rex Beads
- Brass Bicone
Rex Beads
- Brick Red
Rex Beads


Zombie Finger
-Coin
China Qing Dynasty Coin - You kind find this on ebay for very, very cheap. It's the one with these inscriptions:


-Red White Heart bead
Rex Beads

-Butterfly Bead
Gems and Knots

Boots
CAboots
Custom Tan, Regular Tan, Regular Dark Brown

[Mojo Turbo]

Great idea!

[MadSparrow869]

that would come in so much handy, thanks

[Guest]

I wasn't sure where to post this so I'm putting it here. You can delete it if necessary
Today I was at Joann's and I saw a few things that may (or may not) be of interest to someone here...?
A butterfly type bead:

And these that may work for the metal tassel end...?

I thought I grabbed a pic of the long tube beads, but it wasn't on my phone.

[TheCursed]

I sense a trip to my local fabric and bead supply stores now! maybe we import those..hope so! good find.

[TheCursed]

Hi Jacks,

I won't lie, I simply can't afford the best kit out on the e-market now. However, whats the best 2nd rate kit you can get? I.e. what did you chaps/chapettes start with that looked good once weathered and did the job?

Am having a hard time making my own wig, the dreads are all fluffing out into giant knots

[Mojo Turbo]

The best second rate "wig" for me was buying a brunette wig and 3 rasta caps and sewing the dreads in by hand. A "first rate" is going to be Yordreem or another vendor... and a "third rate" (poor) is going to be costume base (not even worth it, in my opinion).

Everyone has different skill levels, so if you can't make dreads, buy em. Personally I think buying a really good "dread wig" would even be better than buying a poor Jack Sparrow wig. Find a good one and take it apart and just sew the dreads into the "wavy" brunette wig. Dread wigs and wavy brunette wigs can be found cheap on ebay. I didn't even sew mine, I just gave it to my wife (ha ha) but I know lots of Jacks that just busted out a needle and thread and did it themselves.

Doing it yourself will save you some coin and will allow you to feel comfortable adding to it as you make changes.

There are really no "kits" for Jack Sparrow other than some of the cosplay vendors on ebay.

I got my breeches and shirt from Costume Base and if you write them directly, they will sell you "pieces" of the costume. Their breeches are pretty dog darn good in my opinion. They are strong like a pair of jeans and I have literally beat the crap out of them.

If you want a "second rate" sash, then you are going to have to scroll through pages and pages of sheets or curtains until you find a pattern and price that you like, in other words, you're going to have to do your homework and make it yourself.

Unless someone around here has an old IKEA sash they are willing to part with now that they upgraded to ACME.

"Still rooting for you...."

[callmemilo]

I just so happen to have an Ikea sash I'd be willing to parting with. I just upgraded to an Acme brand one, and my old one could use a loving home. PM me Cursed, and we'll discuss price

[TheCursed]

Thanks mate, and my apologies about posting in the wrong sector..again!

I don't mean second rate as in I can't be bothered or i'm being frugal, since I lost my job just cant find the money but I know that this will help me get some money (Being the nice guy that I am i'm going to start off doing 'real' gigs for free til I get known properly) Contacts help, I can't sew for shiz but have made contacts with a designer today who makes historical dresses etc, met up with her and she said she could help! good times.

I reckon i'll try and get the shirt and breeches from costumebase. Sash, will troll around for anyone selling or buy a cheap one and have her weather it for me as she does her dresses. Wigs going to be hard, not got the kuchi dangle, skull coin, painted coin various other coins but I do have a few bits namely skull beads, feathers, wraps, beads and ZF. (Which btw scared the crap out of a child today..ZF=fear apparently)

Thanks again, i'll keep you updated on my progress as I assume helping hands will be needed. This wigs getting me scared bilgeless. Callmemilo-PM sent skipper!

[Mojo Turbo]

Dude, your story is my story... I started building my costume AFTER I lost my job and was unemployed. I started with a $200 investment in a Costume Base "base" (money I got from a tax return). And then from there... whenever I bought the props to make a costume part, I bought more than one as an "investment" and I sold the extras back on ebay for a profit to cover my expenses. For instance, initially I bought 3 compasses, modded them all and sold 2 on ebay. The two extras went for about $60 a piece and the extra money covered all of my costs. In the end, my costume was.... FREE. It's true, my whole costume has cost me ZERO dollars. I kept track of each penny, on glue, paint, scrap.. the whole deal.

In the end it only cost me my time.

[TheCursed]

Fracking hell!!

My story IS like yours, just one chapter behind (Well, several..maybe a novel) thanks thats really made my day actually I have £60 to spend from this Saturday! whats the most important piece of kit, the essential prime bit?

[Captain McCool]

I would just like to take a moment and say that this is a really inspiring thread to me. I'm right there with you guys. I've been a budget-Jack for years, and I'm all about finding the good deals and "cheats" to make the costuming experience worth the money. Sadly, I haven't been as lucky (or perhaps I should say diligent) in being able to cover my own expenses as Mojo has (and good on ya' for that, mate, because that took a lot of effort), but I've tried to at least make back as much of it as I could one way or the other. Ultimately it's all about how you support your habit (hey look, "habit" is a double entendre, )

Anyway, I would add my two cents here beyond what I've already said, but I think Mojo really covered it all. Follow what he says and you should do alright for yourself! The only other thing I'll add is that doing your own wig isn't nearly as scary as it seems. I've always done mine - and I'll admit, it's not easy - but just play around with it and see what works. Start with a cheapo, costume-shop wig (that's what I did for years), and make your mistakes on that one. By the time you're ready to upgrade, you'll have a whole bunch of skill, and it won't seem half so daunting as it did.

Cheers, and good luck!

[blueyedjack]

Hi, I've been costuming for a few years now and I've always found it cheaper to make the costumes myself from scratch. I've now begun my adventures into the costume I've been wanting to do scince Curse Of The Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow. To begin with I have purchased the cheap items such as the costumebase wig, belt buckels and sash. looking at the quality they will pass for me for now however now my costume is nearing a usable state.

I will soon begin to upgrade to better parts one at a time as my funds allow. As my current costume is aimed at the DMC look I am very temted to replace parts with OST parts and keep the old parts so eventualy I will have the option of which costume to wear.

I am quite pleased with my own work so far, I have hand made the Waistcoat, breeches and shirt and I feel they look great, I think the first upgrade will be the OST waistcoat followed by the OST wig. I think I may have to look into getting some gold fabric paint from the local sewing shop and stenciling it on to some silky blue fabric for the waistcoat, can't wait

[Pirate Daddy]

I, too, started out as a budget Jack. I totally understand the urgency of getting cheaper pieces to assemble a fully functional costume quickly....

.... until "SA-madness" takes over! I spent a little under $300 to get a passable costume ready for last Halloween, but over the past several months, I've spent far more on upgrades (courtesy of ACME, Blackbear, Top Notch, CABoots) than I did on my original costume. Looking back on it, I kinda wish I had built the costume slowly with quality pieces from the beginning. It would have been cheaper in the long run.

I've heard of some Jacks starting out as "Rumrunner Island Jack", with a wig, shirt, sash, and breeches. This would give you a recognizable costume to start out with, plus provide a decent base to build on over time with a waistcoat, boots, belts, etc. If you're willing to sacrifice screen accuracy, you could get cheaper pieces:

a white renaissance shirt on ebay for about $20,
breeches on ebay for about $30,
a dreadlock pirate wig on ebay for $10,
and find close-enough fabrics for a DIY sash and bandana for maybe $10-$15.

This gives you a total of around $75 before shipping, and would probably make you recognizable enough that people on the street would call you Jack. Now, if you wanted to take the accuracy approach, you'd probably spend around $300 to put this same costume together with more SA pieces. Of course, you could always mix the two approaches and supplement a few really nice pieces with some cheaper ones. I would want to spend a little more on the wig and bandana, since they're so prominent. The shirt and breeches would probably be the easiest to "fake", since a white shirt and grey pants could look close enough.

Either way, try to enjoy the journey, mate!

[Captain McCool]

Very true! I've gone through multiple incarnations of my costume, and I know what you mean about just taking the money and effort to do it right the first time (slowly). Ultimately, I think that's what most of us do though - that is, get some basic, "cheapo" pieces and then augment them with more accurate, better-quality stuff here and there, until eventually we try to get around to upgrading everything.

[TheCursed]

It does lighten the load knowing you've all been there. Got 40 mins sleep last night so decided to e-shop at about 3-4am (Rum helps)..((Actually windolene helps!))

Problem is I don't want to spend a silly amount on something thats 'cheap' but looks great..because when it breaks, and it is when, i'm fecked to replace it. Then again and no offence to Acme or yordeem their stuff is amazing and they are great people but its so far out of reach..almost like the holy grail. Do I got for the most amazing looking duds and just wait a couple years to save..or do I buy the costume 'sets' and plastics and risk failing hard?

I'm the only Jack in Walton, Frinton, Clacton, Ipswich, Colchester and everywhere inbetween..literally i'd roll in works of a piratical nature but for that I have to feel great..feeling confident comes with happy appearances. This summers not going to know whats hit it

[SparrowDive]

Have you considered growing out your hair like Jack?

This IS the cheapest way, AND it's authentic!!!

[TheCursed]

Have you considered growing out your hair like Jack?

This IS the cheapest way, AND it's authentic!!!

Exactly! I told my other half I was growing dreads and we swiftly split apart..but you never come between a man and his hair..ALSO! dreads and my usual hair adornments will portray me as some sort of adventurous bohemian rather than the unemployable wretch I truly am

So yes, my hair is slowly growing out..as is my facial hair but now its turning dirty blond >_<

[SparrowDive]

There's just no substitute for a permanent Jack wig...

[callmemilo]

I'm in the process of making my own wig atm. I've been told to buy some kinky afro hair to make my own dreads instead of buying em premade, which is kinda daunting, but if it gets me closer to accurate, then I'm all for it. I do like Mojo's idea though, making multiples to sell on. It's a very good way to support our rather interesting hobby.

[Pirate Daddy]

I'm in the process of making my own wig also. I had originally added some rasta cap dreads to my costumebase wig, which made it look a lot better, but nowhere near SA. The big problem with The CB wig is that you dont get any bangs at the temples, and it's WAY too puffy on top, giving you a huge dolphin forehead.

I bought a regular brown wig, pulled out all of the rasta dreads from my CB wig and moved them to the new wig. I'd like it if the dreads were a little thicker, but it still looks pretty close to my eye, and the total cost was well under $100.

[TheCursed]

Am shopping for a brunette wig, some curled blond extensions and hopefully going to harass a friend/do a trade for her to make me some dreads. Other than that just get some cheap rasta caps and load up..look like i've got a dying squid on my noggin.

Where in the name of satans portion can I get banjara tassle?! I can't find them anywhere not even the components to make my own which would be heave ho easier. Just a silver tube bead, a silver cone and some red wool/fabric. The cone and decent fabric are getting annoying difficult to locate.

[capt.J.j.sparrow]

with the budget I'm on, I cant even afford a new pistol...I hate being on such a tight budget

[Captain McCool]

I hear that.

[TheCursed]

It does suck'eth something terrible

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