Captain of the Anarquendor - Part 5
Welcome back! After last time's big project, the gambeson, it is now time to for something relatively simple.
Follow me behind the cut to see the completed outfit!
Last weekend I had only just finished my gambeson in time to testrun it at a local fair. I was in such a rush to dash out the door I even forgot to bring any kind of (larp) weapons, and I felt right silly without them, but anastaszia took a lovely picture of me in the cloister gardens of the Archeon.
(And since scrapbook is being a right pain in the patella, I can't even repost it here. You can view it on Flickr in the meantime! That's me practicing my "stern Captain" look.)
This is what we'll be working with today. More linens!
The trim was purchased a year or more back at a local fabric market, and it really matched the ideas I had for the outfit well. The mint-coloured linen was purchased to match. The dark green linen is the same colour as my gambeson, but bought at a different vendor at a different time.
I drafted a simple pattern based on the block I also made my gambeson from. The bust dart was drafted out and a larger shoulder drafted in. Big shoulders = impressive person.
Basically I got my inspiration from Stargate (Apophis) and historic samurai garb (First image at the top). Large shoulders, huge armscyes, and worn over the armour.
I didn't necessarily want to be working with (glue-in) interfacing as such, so I tried a different approach. I added an extra layer of the thicker, dark-green linen in between te two layers. To make sure it would stay put, I'd attach it to the lining layer (mint green).
After pinning and stitching all around the dark green "interfacing" pieces, I stitched vertically every inch or so. This would make sure everything would stay put and the added stitches will also lend some support to the structure as well.
I was really not looking forward to the stitching, but it was far less time-consuming than quilting the gambeson. *grin*
Go figure.
Once the center-back seam of the lining was stitched, I pressed it open and realised my mistake. I had sewed the panels inside out. This way, the light stitching on the darker green would instantly be visible. Hey, it's the lining, but it's not pretty... and I want to be a pretty elf captain, yes?
Hello, mr. Seamripper...
I ripped the seam apart, pressed the panels, pinned them the right way around and sewed & pressed some more. At this point, I add a label to the center back.
It's my old company's label -- we quit running it a year and a half back -- and it still carries some weight. It also adds a nice finishing touch.
Once the two layers are assembled, I place first the lining and then the exterior onto the mannequin. This is the point where I can see if the added support layer pays off.
It's not picture perfect, but it holds it shape well enough and still gives it a natural feel. Those brick-hard shoulders of Apophis are not really my thing.
Time for the collar! Another collar? Yes, for extra Romulan-ness!
This is three layers: lining, exterior and an extra interfacing layer; all three layers are from the studier dark linen.
At this point, serging the edges is less important than pressing. So I don't serge the edges, but I do press the collar after I turn it.
The collar is pinned to the dark green half of the garment.
I never get this right. Somehow, one half always ends up further down the neckline than the other. Nowadays, I always check and correct it. That was a lesson learned the hard way...
When the collar is attached, I press it and then flip it back like when I sewed it. The collar is sandwiched between the two layers as I pin the lining to the exterior. I sew down the entire front opening.
Then I finger-press the seam I just sewed (to stubborn to bother with nailing it to the ironing board!), pin, and topstitch. The lining is pushed just a millimeter or two further inside so it doesn't show and I use a presser foot that keeps a certain distance from the edge. This presser foot is a lifesaver!
I don't topstitch around the collar -- it was already pressed before attaching -- but follow the neckline seam I just sewed. This will also prevent the lining from shifting there.
This is the point where I experiment with braiding. I need the coat to tie in the front and I try my hand at three-ply and five-ply braids. The 5-ply is beautiful, but very stiff, so I opt for the regular braid.
The Armscyes are not attached yet. I fingerpress the seam allowances under and pin the armscyes while the garment is on the mannequin. At the side seam I add a few basting stitches to make sure both armscyes are equally deep (the lining was sewed just a wee bit further down than the exterior layer, so I match them up by hand).
Once the armscyes are done, I put everything back on the mannequin (lather, rinse, repeat!) and pull the hem so I'm sure it's draping as it should.
Then I sit my ass down with a pincushion and pin the hem together. At some points the lining is a bit longer, and at some points it's perfectly in line.
Now I could have just bag-lined the whole thing, but for some strange reason that method doesn't quite work out for me. The lining linen is a bit thinner and a bit more stretchy than the exterior layer, so I'd rather not risk it either. This semi-baglining approach works well enough for me.
You could also hem both layers seperately (making sure the lining is an inch shorter than the exterior) before sewing the lining to the exterior around the front opening. This is the approach I use for sewing lined cloaks. Especially if one of the layers is wool.
When the hem is pinned and distributed evenly all around, I use the last scraps of straight-grain tape as a facing on the hem. I pin and sew it to the outside...
(the hem is folded up in this picture)
...press the seam open, and then flip the facing over to the inside and press again.
The facing will add some more weight to the hem (like it needs it, with the amount of trim I'll be adding!) and everything will drape well.
And it will also keep the lighter-coloured lining out of view at the bottom.
After sewing the hem facing down, I pin the trim. I tuck the four bits of braid underneath the trim so you don't see the knotted end.
I fold the garment on center-back, align the front openings, to see the braids match on either side.
For some strange reason I decide to be fancy about sewing down the trim. I sew down the trim on the collar and the bit on the hem with a dark-green spool. Then I switch the spool thread to the lighter green thread and sew down the rest.
Because just in case the coat flips open and anybody is going to take a closer look at my lining, it would be a shame if the thread were to stand out in those parts of the garments where nobody will ever look.
Eh, I just wanted to see if I could. And I can.
The armscye gets trim too. Because the gambeson fabric and the overcoat fabric have exactly the same colour, I need something to distinguish between the layers. I fold the trim over so it matches the other end of the trim perfectly. It also creates a kind of V-shape at the bottom of the armscye.
Tie off some loose threads, press the trim, dress the mannequin and presto!
And you can see that the lining shows at the shoulders a bit.
This weekend we'll have a picknick in costumes, to get acquainted a bit and to practice the names. I'm very happy I got the costume ready in time for the picknick.
There's still some accessoiries I will share with you (but not all have been made yet!) and I will need a new pair of pants to go along with the rest of the costume, but for now... it's finished!
-----
Cross-posted to my journal
Follow me behind the cut to see the completed outfit!
Last weekend I had only just finished my gambeson in time to testrun it at a local fair. I was in such a rush to dash out the door I even forgot to bring any kind of (larp) weapons, and I felt right silly without them, but anastaszia took a lovely picture of me in the cloister gardens of the Archeon.
(And since scrapbook is being a right pain in the patella, I can't even repost it here. You can view it on Flickr in the meantime! That's me practicing my "stern Captain" look.)
This is what we'll be working with today. More linens!
The trim was purchased a year or more back at a local fabric market, and it really matched the ideas I had for the outfit well. The mint-coloured linen was purchased to match. The dark green linen is the same colour as my gambeson, but bought at a different vendor at a different time.
I drafted a simple pattern based on the block I also made my gambeson from. The bust dart was drafted out and a larger shoulder drafted in. Big shoulders = impressive person.
Basically I got my inspiration from Stargate (Apophis) and historic samurai garb (First image at the top). Large shoulders, huge armscyes, and worn over the armour.
I didn't necessarily want to be working with (glue-in) interfacing as such, so I tried a different approach. I added an extra layer of the thicker, dark-green linen in between te two layers. To make sure it would stay put, I'd attach it to the lining layer (mint green).
After pinning and stitching all around the dark green "interfacing" pieces, I stitched vertically every inch or so. This would make sure everything would stay put and the added stitches will also lend some support to the structure as well.
I was really not looking forward to the stitching, but it was far less time-consuming than quilting the gambeson. *grin*
Go figure.
Once the center-back seam of the lining was stitched, I pressed it open and realised my mistake. I had sewed the panels inside out. This way, the light stitching on the darker green would instantly be visible. Hey, it's the lining, but it's not pretty... and I want to be a pretty elf captain, yes?
Hello, mr. Seamripper...
I ripped the seam apart, pressed the panels, pinned them the right way around and sewed & pressed some more. At this point, I add a label to the center back.
It's my old company's label -- we quit running it a year and a half back -- and it still carries some weight. It also adds a nice finishing touch.
Once the two layers are assembled, I place first the lining and then the exterior onto the mannequin. This is the point where I can see if the added support layer pays off.
It's not picture perfect, but it holds it shape well enough and still gives it a natural feel. Those brick-hard shoulders of Apophis are not really my thing.
Time for the collar! Another collar? Yes, for extra Romulan-ness!
This is three layers: lining, exterior and an extra interfacing layer; all three layers are from the studier dark linen.
At this point, serging the edges is less important than pressing. So I don't serge the edges, but I do press the collar after I turn it.
The collar is pinned to the dark green half of the garment.
I never get this right. Somehow, one half always ends up further down the neckline than the other. Nowadays, I always check and correct it. That was a lesson learned the hard way...
When the collar is attached, I press it and then flip it back like when I sewed it. The collar is sandwiched between the two layers as I pin the lining to the exterior. I sew down the entire front opening.
Then I finger-press the seam I just sewed (to stubborn to bother with nailing it to the ironing board!), pin, and topstitch. The lining is pushed just a millimeter or two further inside so it doesn't show and I use a presser foot that keeps a certain distance from the edge. This presser foot is a lifesaver!
I don't topstitch around the collar -- it was already pressed before attaching -- but follow the neckline seam I just sewed. This will also prevent the lining from shifting there.
This is the point where I experiment with braiding. I need the coat to tie in the front and I try my hand at three-ply and five-ply braids. The 5-ply is beautiful, but very stiff, so I opt for the regular braid.
The Armscyes are not attached yet. I fingerpress the seam allowances under and pin the armscyes while the garment is on the mannequin. At the side seam I add a few basting stitches to make sure both armscyes are equally deep (the lining was sewed just a wee bit further down than the exterior layer, so I match them up by hand).
Once the armscyes are done, I put everything back on the mannequin (lather, rinse, repeat!) and pull the hem so I'm sure it's draping as it should.
Then I sit my ass down with a pincushion and pin the hem together. At some points the lining is a bit longer, and at some points it's perfectly in line.
Now I could have just bag-lined the whole thing, but for some strange reason that method doesn't quite work out for me. The lining linen is a bit thinner and a bit more stretchy than the exterior layer, so I'd rather not risk it either. This semi-baglining approach works well enough for me.
You could also hem both layers seperately (making sure the lining is an inch shorter than the exterior) before sewing the lining to the exterior around the front opening. This is the approach I use for sewing lined cloaks. Especially if one of the layers is wool.
When the hem is pinned and distributed evenly all around, I use the last scraps of straight-grain tape as a facing on the hem. I pin and sew it to the outside...
(the hem is folded up in this picture)
...press the seam open, and then flip the facing over to the inside and press again.
The facing will add some more weight to the hem (like it needs it, with the amount of trim I'll be adding!) and everything will drape well.
And it will also keep the lighter-coloured lining out of view at the bottom.
After sewing the hem facing down, I pin the trim. I tuck the four bits of braid underneath the trim so you don't see the knotted end.
I fold the garment on center-back, align the front openings, to see the braids match on either side.
For some strange reason I decide to be fancy about sewing down the trim. I sew down the trim on the collar and the bit on the hem with a dark-green spool. Then I switch the spool thread to the lighter green thread and sew down the rest.
Because just in case the coat flips open and anybody is going to take a closer look at my lining, it would be a shame if the thread were to stand out in those parts of the garments where nobody will ever look.
Eh, I just wanted to see if I could. And I can.
The armscye gets trim too. Because the gambeson fabric and the overcoat fabric have exactly the same colour, I need something to distinguish between the layers. I fold the trim over so it matches the other end of the trim perfectly. It also creates a kind of V-shape at the bottom of the armscye.
Tie off some loose threads, press the trim, dress the mannequin and presto!
And you can see that the lining shows at the shoulders a bit.
This weekend we'll have a picknick in costumes, to get acquainted a bit and to practice the names. I'm very happy I got the costume ready in time for the picknick.
There's still some accessoiries I will share with you (but not all have been made yet!) and I will need a new pair of pants to go along with the rest of the costume, but for now... it's finished!
-----
Cross-posted to my journal