There's been a big hold-up with the matching pirate frock coat lately. There wasn't enough velvet to begin with, and even when I had enough, it gave me trouble all the way, especially with the trim. The trim is a golden yellow gimp, and it shimmies every which way when you try to sew it on the machine to the velvet. I also found out that this type of velvet (probably poly or some other man-made stuff) acts a lot like leather when it's sewn - once you sew it, there are holes forever. *sigh* Had to make the right cuff twice over, but it's all good now. I had to resort to hand-sewing the trim on after machine-sewing the ends. Good thing he only wants the trim on the cuffs, or I would lose my sanity for sure. :-P
Another thing that happened was that I had one lapel all done (buttons and all) and while sewing on the buttons, I realized, to my horror, that there was a small bald spot where there wasn't any velvety fuzz. *sigh* I really can't blame myself nor the guy who sold it to me on eBay, because it is black and hard to notice, but definitely noticable now that it was on the coat. So I had to cut out more and remake the right lapel all over again.
On the flip side, the basic part of it is easy. I used the same pattern (Simplicity 4923) for Richard and Nita. However, he wanted different wider lapels and no gold trim or embroidery on the lapels. (YAY!)
The only thing I have yet to tackle is the pockets. Welts are always tricky, but after struggling with the lapels and trim on the cuffs, I'm thinking it will be a breeze. I've only made real pockets on the vest for Richard and another client, but it shouldn't be much different on the coat.
This costume set will be very useful in the respect that both the trousers and the coat will have fully functional pockets. What a luxury to have at ren faire! I wish my costumes could have pockets! :)
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