A Study in Coat - Finished

[jessamygriffith]

Though these are only my iPhone pics and not anything orgasmically GQ, the coat is done. Okay well, I must put in the sleeve linings but I can do that at school tmrw. Free time, whee.

First I must bitch about the sleeves. The original drafted ones were shapely but too narrow - I would never have got a suit jacket into them. I recut a test sleeve (revamped the cuff to something so simple I think I must have been an idiot when I made the first draft). They are lovely, roomy. I set them. One is puffy in the shoulder. They are bunching weird in the armpit. I LOATHE THEM with the poisonous hatred of a thousand hissing radioactive spiders.

"Fuck," says I. But this project is charmed. Why, you say? Must be some Sherlock magic, like he's standing there and saying, 'You're an idiot, but you can do better.'

I agree, Normally a 'real' sewing project for something of this magnitude involves a trifecta culled from the following:

a) Frustration
b) bleeding (makes the gods happy, oils the sewing machines of Satan.)
c) Tears.
d) Throwing the project across the room. I did this once to a commissioned piece and I sulked, It stayed there two weeks.
e) holes in fabric from tearing/ accidental cuts/ ripping things out over and over

I had heaps of frustration but all in all, learned tons. I would definitely use some of these techniques in tailoring again. And I understand completely about how the underlying architecture of a garment makes it look so much better.

I ripped those damned sleeves out and tried again, recutting the armscythe. And hey presto, it worked, I stuffed in the shoulder pads and Bob's my uncle.

You are spared the pics of me fighting the sleeves and instead get a tip for perfect pleats. Do a huge ugly stitch down the pleat to hold it in place, the steam and press the garment with your wooden clapper. Hammer the wool with the clapper if it's really thick.

And now the finished pics, not really nice, but with the Sherlock ones to compare.






That's it folks. The Coat.
Originally by Belstaff for Sherlock BBC. Copied by me.

And yes, it's not as big in the chest as Benny's because, fuck it, I don't want to SWIM in it.
Houndstooth wool, plastic buttons and all materials bought respectively in Nippori Fabric District, Tokyo, and Okadaya, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Notions from Yuzawaya in Yokohama.

Now I can be tortured by not having The Scarf.

Comments

Re: Test coat

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Oh, plz don't make me ill! God, the kids at my school have all been going down like dominoes.

Ah, Caz. I am in Season 2 of Supernatural.. hmm. Think I should watch more tonight. I have some tweaking to do to my Sherlock gloves.

Re: Test coat

[feikoi.livejournal.com]

Any closed classes yet?

If it looks like I have something contagious, I can skip Sherlock night to avoid overexposing you and Marixsa. :( Other people have commented on how I look pale or whatever lately, so it's harder for me to pretend it doesn't exist, le sigh. Was blaming it on weather/insomnia, we'll see if that holds water by Saturday morning. Suppose I should pick up some masks...?

Did you manage to find gloves, then, or did you make a pair? I have...hmm, half of one of Cap's done as a testpattern -- one of the fingers looks twisted, and I've yet to attach the thumb, but not quite as difgicult as I was expecting, once you've got the right sized pieces.

Re: Test coat

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

No, they have announcements every day about the flu and washing up, and because it's that type of school, they DO.

No, I am modding the Gap gloves.

Hope you don't have to skip it! Geez.