For the past 2 weeks I have been working on the commissioned project for a lady's pirate frock coat, which is evidently very difficult to find, and when found, very expensive.
The (honestly!) overpriced Bailey coat from Samiah (http://www.samiah.com/Samiah-Bailey-Coat.htm) really is beautiful and is the only one currently on the market on the Internet. Being over a thousand dollars, and taking sooo long to make, I figured I could make one similar yet still unique for my friend.
I used Simplicity pattern #3677, which makes a lovely frock coat, especially when contrasting lapels and boarder trim around the hem are added. I made the tails drop longer in a more dramatic way, and had to change all 3 godets so that the drape was correct, because the original just cut straight across at the hem. It was remarkably easy and just a bit time consuming. I used muslin for the prototype and my friend was ecstatic when she tried it on today, which made me VERY happy!!!
The last thing I need to do is create the lapels, which is a bit difficult since a) the shoulder seam is too far back for the front lapel to meet with it, and b) I ran out of quilter's grided interfacing, which I use to create/alter patterns. Boo. At least I have the rest of the fabric, which is GORGEOUS!!! The red and gold brocade was easy to cut (I made sure to sharpen the shears beforehand) but took about 3 hours to do. Lots of laying out, measuring. pinning, and cutting. But it will be well worth the effort.
This is the main part of the coat:
This shows the lovely contrast; the black will be the lapel, boardering trim, cuffs, and faux pockets.
The only disappointment was the velvet; it was $11 a yard and it ended up being sprayed-on crushed velvet. I really hope it holds up, because it's a lot stiffer than crushed velour, and would otherwise work well for the outfit, if it doesn't bald in the near future! (You can thank Hancock Fabrics.) Honestly, for $11 I would expect more than that. Also it's a bit sparkly and looks really nice.
Been working on this project since I'm waiting on some gold eyelets I bought on eBay about a week ago. They should be coming in an envelope, so I'm hoping they will come soon, as they aren't heavy. I ordered like 100 or more of them, thinking we'll use a lot and could probably use the rest in the future for a corset, if I'm feeling really gung-ho between Ren Faire season and Dickens. Once they come in I'll have my kirtle and Christian's doublet finished.
Between yesterday and today I worked on making my chemise smaller. I don't know how big that lady is who had the pattern online, but it came out absolutely huge. The neckline is just too low. So I had the ingenious idea (after thinking for a week or two) to make a large seam starting about 2 inches from the top and widening to about 8 at the bottom. Came out perfectly straight. Weird how I know how to do things I never did before. So happy it came out right, because linen is expensive, and I would hate to make another one with all these other projects going on.
I also finished my purse last week. Some paintings from the 14th century inspired me with the tassels, and also the fact that it's not a typical rectangular shape of a drawstring purse. It isn't much, but I hope to upgrade to another one, preferably gold. I found a fantastic place that does wonderful beadwork (http://www.mayhemltd.com/garb-pouches3.htm). It's probably not period, but then I have yet to see any 15th century purses of any kind for women - it seems the men held the money and such. Such a contrast to today's culture!
Pretty soon I will be ordering my fan (a must-have in Texas - I hope this will jinx the weather and it will be cooler than usual!) and the necklace. Depending on how much the s & h adds up to, I might get the shoes as well, since these are from individual sites that do not have anything else Christian or I need.
That's all for tonight, as it is getting very late. Tomorrow I should get the main part of the coat finished, but I probably won't get too far as I should be going to the beach with Christian.
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