newbie clothes construction questions

1. Downloaded templates but they all seem to be for women. Isn't there a separate one for men's shirts, coats, pants?

2. Used template successfully to make first stages, but had a complex plan in mind for a headtie, so constructed it in life, from scratch. Was satisfied with its shape, thought it was linked and saved it, but it's in separate pieces. How do I get it to save as a single object?

3. How do I get it to save as a WEARABLE object that will at least head for the head without banishing hair?

4. Once I reassemble and save it, what keywords should I look for to learn how to make edges less rigid looking, or introduce flex?

I really have been reading, but if a kind soul could address these questions, I'd feel an even bigger rush of motivation! thanks

1. The male and female avatars are actually the same mesh with the same UV mapping. The templates apply to both sexes.

2. If you object saves as individual prims them you didn't link it. Select all the parts and then link. The last prim you selected will be the root prim.

3. An object will become wearable after you've attached it to an attachment point and then detached it. The next time you use it and select "wear" from the pie menu, it will return to the previous attachment point. To avoid having it replace attached hair, make sure to use a different attachment point than the hair is using.

4. The best way to learn to use flex is to play with it. Select the parts in your link set that you want to be flexi by using the "select linked parts" (at least I think that's what it's called) checkbox in the edit window. That will allow you to select just one piece of the link set. Then enable flexi on that part and play with the flex settings. Experiment until you get the kind of movement you want. It's a pretty simple system, and easier to learn through experimentation than explanation.

Chip, I could tell from your prior posts just what a champion you are! Thanks so much, it was easy to understand and I can't wait to get back to it. Do I need to lock it, or does that just have to do with sales? VERY grateful.

You're very welcome Can you explain what you mean by lock it? I'm not quite sure what you're asking there. If you mean the permissions then you'll want to set those before you give your item away or put it up for sale. You'd don't need to worry about them before then.

I think what he means is the Lock option in the prim editor window.

Tamsin, when you lock an object what you're doing is turning off your ability to edit it (until you unlock it). This can be handy to keep from making mistakes. For example, if you're moving furniture around a room, it might be a good idea to lock the walls and floor so you don't accidentally move them out of place.

That's really all that locking is for. 99% of the items you make will not be locked.

Huh! you learn something new every day! I never knew about the locking prims option Chosen, this would help me not accidentally wear the floor of my shop instead of the hairstyle or skirt I am working on

Going to login immediately and lock my shop!

Lucky you! I ended up with a barn on my head.