Houp, waistcoat, breeches, pouch, chaperone

Been working on Christian's houp today and finally got pics of how I did the pleating, as it was rather challenging to do. Luckily, I had help from The Medieval Tailor's Assistant and one side came out really nice (as pictured of course) but the other I need to redo I think because Christian was being all wiggly in his fitting - even though he's 25, he acts like he's minus the 5 when it comes to fittings : (

I think the buttons really give the breeches and waistcoat a more finished look. I especially like the simple gold buttons on the breeches. Even though the waistcoat had shank buttons, they were oddly a lot easier to sew on than on the ladies' frock coat. I guess the shanks ("stems") come in different sizes from short to tall, with the taller ones being the easiest to sew on.

Also this weekend I started making the frock coat from the extra fabric from my client's coat. It should be done by the first week of October (provided the client gives me the buttons on a timely basis) and I'm hoping it will be posted on eBay soon. It will be my eBay debut regarding my costumes!

Waiting on fabric to come in the mail for my other client's frock coat - I guess once his wife got hers, he couldn't help but be a bit jealous! So he's getting one too, same type of fabric, just with a different swirl pattern, gold on black. Should look very dashing and manly, and quite an upgrade from his first coat, which really wasn't too bad to start off with!

And, since my client is quite talented in the leather-making dept (which I try to stay away from - one mistake and it's ruined - unlike fabric!!!) so he made my fiance a really nice pouch to wear on the belt he's currently making. It's funny receiving something hand-made after making that very person home-made stuff in return! The pic isn't the best, but it's against the beautiful blue wool that his houp is made of. There is a dragon on the button - tried to capture it but I guess I was too close. My client even weathered it to make it look used! How cool is that??

Lastly, I went for a (hopefully) final run to HL yeserday and hope I have everything I need. I got my mom some pink calico solid for her kirtle, white cotton for her chemise, black for Christian's chaperone, and some more silver grommets and quilter's block, totalling about $45.

Learned what not to stuff a chaperone with: scrap fabric. It makes it too bulky and heavy, even when it was cut into strips. Boo. And I was trying to "think green" too. And he still jokes about stuffing it with the hair of dead women, as one source says ....hmmm.....haircut anyone? (I think I'll stick to poly stuffing, although real wool would be cool!)