Below is a brief introduction of the work flow I used to make my inflatable suit.
After writing this out, it would probably be best if I made separate sections that were in more detail for the different parts of the work flow, instead of typing it all in here.
Still, this should give people a starting point as to the steps I took to make my suit.

(1) Design Sketch - This is where your project will start at. Sketch out your idea for a suit first before going any further. Good idea at this point of how you want to get into and out of the suit, in addition to where you will inflate it. Once you are happy with your design, then it is time to move on to the next step.

(2) Body Measurements - Take measurements of you body. This will aid you in figuring out how big to make your suit, in addition to how you suit will align up to your body. Body parts to measure should include the torso, arms, legs, shoulders, and neck.

(3) Angle drawings - Taking your design you sketched before, draw the following angles: Front, Side, Top, and Back. When drawing these angles out, make sure to draw them aligned to a scaled human reference sketch (this does not have to be fancy, can be a stick figure which uses your body measurements from before).

(4) Model Creation - Taking your angle drawings that you created earlier, you will use these to create the model of your suit. There will actually be two models that you will have to make: the inner layer and the outer layer. The inner layer will be the easiest in my opinion, as it can be made by using cylinders which will have the dimensions of your body that you measured from before. The outer layer will require a little more thought.

(5) Seam Placement - With your completed model, you will now create the placement of the seams. This will require some thinking as seam placement can affect the ease of putting the suit together. Some notes to consider about seams: A)This is the order of seams from which are easiest to glue to hardest to glue Straight Seams<- Shallow Curve Seams<- Hard/Tight Curves. Additionally,

(6) Making the 2D Pattern - This is what I will have to say the hardest part and hurdle of making an inflatable suit. Depending on what type of software you are using to model your suit in will affect the difficulty of making the patterns. IF you are using a free tool like Blender, your best bet would be to generate the UV meshes, and use those as a foundation for your patterns. If you are using CAD or 2D pattern making software, these software more than likely include built in tools that will extract the 2D surface from your 3D model based off of where you placed your seams, and flatten it onto a 2D plane. While some of you will say "oh, this is basically similar to making UV meshes", I would say no it really isn't. The difference between a modeling software like blender and dedicated CAD and pattern making software is that blender does not based models off of measurements, it is only based off of what it looks like to the human eye. Dedicated CAD and pattern making software use measurements to define the actual sizes of the model. Thus, when you go to export the final 2D pattern to say a pfd, CAD and pattern making software will export the patterns to the actual dimensions. Modeling software, like Blender however, will not, and this should highly be taken into consideration to ensure that your seams line up correctly.
Additionally, you are going to want to add about 1cm to the perimeter of your patterns for seam allowances.

(7) Export Finished 2D Pattern and Send to get Printed - Export your 2D patterns, and go to either go to an brick-and-mortar print shop, or order from one that is online and get it shipped to your house. Just ensure when you do get your pattern printed that the file is in pdf format, and that you have them print to actual size. Additionally, when exporting your 2D patterns, keep in that not all of your patterns are going to fit onto one piece of paper. In my opinion, it would be best to use a paper size of 36" by 72". Yes, that is right, 3 feet by 6 feet size paper. These patterns will be big, no matter the size of the suit you are making.

(8) Cut Out Paper 2D Patterns - Grab sizzors or a rotary cutter, and start cutting out your patterns. Best to do this on a large hard surface.

(9) Trace Patterns on Latex Sheeting - Take your 2D paper patterns and trace them onto your sheet latex. The best tool to trace onto the sheet latex is going to be a gel pin surprisingly. Many would think this would ruin the latex, but in reality, not really, once you cut out the latex, just wipe off the gel with a damp cloth.

(10) Cut Out The Latex - Best to use a rotary cutter for this, and to do this on a cutting mat, a large one. Or if you have a big work bench, use that, as you are going to need a lot of working space.

(11) Glue the Seams Together - Longest part of the suit making process. Break down of gluing seams together: a)Use a damp cloth, wipe of are of where glue will be applied to seams b)Let the latex dry c)Using a straight sponge brush, apply a thin layer of latex glue on the seams d)Let the glue dry for a few minutes e)Apply the seams together f)Use a seam roller to apply pressure to the seam g)Let the seam sit for a few hours. Applying the seams together usually is the trickiest part, as when you pull on the latex, the latex will stretch in that direction, making it difficult to line up the seams. As stated before in the section 'Seam Placement', straight seams are the easiest to glue, next is shallow curve seams, followed by hard/tight curves. If you need to rework a seam, do it within an hour of applying the seams together, otherwise it is next to impossible to pull apart the seams cleanly without tearing the latex.

(12) Glue on the Zipper - Before you can glue any latex to the zipper, the fabric edges of the zipper need to be soaked in the latex glue. The way I did this was just apply a few layers of the glue to the fabric using the foam brush, and then letting the glue sit for about half an hour. Once this is complete, you can then glue the zipper to the latex the same way you been gluing the latex seams together.

(13) Enjoying the Suit! - Let the glue bond for a few days, and then try out the suit.


So, to give people an idea of how long it took for this project, the design, modeling, and pattern making took about a month to do. And the gluing of the suit itself took about a month to do also. So, about two months for the entire project.


**Items that are needed**
-Latex Sheeting
-Latex Adhesive/Latex Glue
-Cutting Mat/Large workbench/Large Table
-Rotary cutter
-Gel Pen
-Cloth for cleaning
-Foam Brushes
-Rulers