Almost Finished!

Its obvious that I was sewing frantically towards the end of this outfit, because I didn't post anything! I did manage to finish the doublet before our trip to the MD and PA faires this past weekend, though I didn't get to the sleeves. Which was rather unfortunate, considering how chilly it was. Poor Adam....

I really thought I'd have plenty of time for sleeves, but the doublet details turned out to take far longer than expected. I stuck with the slash idea, and because the wool I used was lightweight and thin, it wasnt' the sort that holds slashes. I faced the slashes in the same ribbon that I used along the slop panes, and I slashed it along the doublet the same way. Since I didn't want the ribbon's anchoring stitches showing through to the outside, I had to line the doublet (I chose pink linen), then turn the egding in, and then stitch only through the linen layer. Honestly, the stitches did manage to make it through to the outside in a few places, and they bother me, but I'm sure no one else would notice (too much)...

Here is a pic of the slashing process. Its like Valentine's day puked...

slashes

And some of the whole ensemble, sleeves to follow:

adam close--as you can see, the buttons were nixed in favor of hidden hookneyes. I actually think i'll leave it like this...I think it looks nice with the clean lines.


adam action


adam back--there were many comments on the stuffed "jiggly butt"!

12 Hours Behind Schedule

I expected to be finished hubby's slops by lunchtime today. It is exactly 12 hours later. ;) We won't speak of the great frustration that one experiences when they discover they've made two right legs and completley neglected the left. That really sets one back....

Without futher ado, the Spidey slops (of 293 pieces, weighing somewhere between 3 and 4 pounds):


Front--ugh, look how chaotic my house is! And doesn't this look great with a T shirt? Hehe....


And the back... Never thought of Adam as a pear shape before, but now I have!

Left to do on slops:
1) Codpiece? I do want one, but I might not do it for this weekend's wear. (edit: I totally lied..I did this before I went to bed last night! Its pretty, way better than the walrus. )
2) Couching the canions. I won't do this now, but I think it might look nice as an addition later. LATER.... hehe

And then, of course, I need to do the doublet. I'll hopefully make good headway on that tomorrow.

Math is the Debil!

After sewing numerous straight lines, I got to thinking....

Panes (lining, outer, ribbon edges): 104 pieces
Cords used for couching (thank god this is done!): 176
Base pieces (lining and outer): 8
Canions (outer and lining, yet to be made): 4
Waistband: 1

Which takes these slops to a grand total of 293 pieces. Wowser! I wonder how much these things'll weigh? Good thing we bought hubby that belt!

I'm still working on assembling the slop pains. Mispelling intentional. ;)
Off to bed...

New Shoes, Too.

I've literally taken a page out of Beth's diary and made some "new" shoes for adam, using the same handy instructions.

I used some black men's dress shoes from the goodwill, though mine were $8 instead of Beth's lucky $1.50 find (D.C. goodwill inflation?). They were super shiney to start, so I "polished" them with a sandpaper block. Horrifying idea in real life, but really satisfying for costuming. They're still kinda shiny, but much less "is that plastic or leather?" They are leather, though, I assure you. ;)

I didn't have the good sense to take a before picture, but here is the after. I guess i'm gonna have to trim some of the lining from the instep on the left one, cuz you can see the white peaking through:


"new" shoes

A Snail's Pace...

...better than no pace at all, I suppose.

I think this just over half of the slops-couched, but yet to be fully assembled. If I keep watching TV/movies and couching at this pace, I should be finished before I die. ;) I'm giving myself til Thursday to keep working on these, and then I reserve the right to move onto my own jacobean jacket outfit, since its debut will be before this one. Poor, poor hubby....


couching--Sorry for the extra-special-crappy photography.

Slop Experiments--Round II

So, after deciding the buttonhole approach just wouldn't do/didn't look period/was generally "blah"....
Hubby and I revamped the idea. We decided to do chevrons with a bisector, as seen on a doublet from Janet Arnolds PoF.

Here's my experiment. Imperfect in its straightness, but well, um, that's period, right? ;):

slop prototype

I'm still going to slash the ribbon edges like in my first go round, but its not done in this example.

Anywho...only 27? more to go...This is how i'll be spending my 6 hour ride to NC. We're going on vacation this week!

Gearing Up

I have been reminded that I have but 7 weeks to finish the costume for my next definite faire date. And since I want to finish hubby's before I start mine, that means I have only 7 weeks to finish TWO costumes. That was an inspiring thought...

I didn't get as much done this weekend as I might've liked, but at least I did something! First, I worked on getting Adam's shirt wearable so that I could fit a doublet over it:

shirt collar

The shirt isn't actually finished--there are still buttons and button loops to be added to the sleeve cuffs, and I'm considering doing a black border on the cuffs to make it go better with the top of the shirt. I figure the 6 hour drive to NC we have next weekend will give me plenty of time for such handwork:

trogdorcuff
Having the shirt in hand, I wanted to work on the doublet pattern while the model was available and willing. The flemish doublet, while appropriate for peasant gear, is not structured enough for higher class elizabethan wear. I started with that pattern and altered it until it was snug but comfy, and fiddled for a seemingly interminable amount of time trying to figure out the blasted collar. Collars are a PITA!

doublet fitting

I also wanted one of the v like collar backs, so I'm working on getting this to lie flat. I think its just a matter of carefully handworking it, and I didn't want to waste my time doing that on a mockup:

I think I'm gonna really like this detail (unless it all goes horribly wrong!!!).

That's all for now. Tomorrow I hope to cut out the lining and fashion fabric for the real doublet. And maybe cut out some of the slops so I can have them all ready to couch with cord for my long car-ride. Wish me luck!