So I pride myself on looking for inexpensive ways to make props, or ways to maximize the usage of any given item. My ammo pouches made from an L.L. Bean Barncoat, radio pack made from the spare material from a helmet cover and camo sleeves and collar made from a Spat bandana all speak to this (obsessive) desire to not waste anything.
This got me thinking about the Service C shirt. Does anyone wear it untucked? Hell no! Does that mean there's a rather significant piece of material tucked into the back of your trousers? Hell yes!
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No one is ever going to see the material from the belt down, so why waste money on a second USMC shirt (and time making sure the material matches) when you can do a simple transplant with a "dollar donor" shirt from the Salvation Army!
First I put the Service C shirt (marked A in the photos) on and had a friend mark the back where it tucks in to my trousers with a piece of masking tape.
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Using this as a guide, I marked a further inch and a half or so down (to give myself room for any possible "untucking"), and measured across for my cut.
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I then did the same on my cheap donor short (marked B), matching the tails of the shirts.
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Running this through the sewing machine and making sure the ends are hemmed gives me plenty of shirt tail to tuck in, and then a very nice piece of material from shirt A to use to modify the pockets!
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Photos of the pockets mods are next...