A Study in Coats - Part 1

[jessamygriffith]

So. So, I am embarking an a relatively ambitious project. Although there are cosplay places to buy The Coat, I don't want to bother because:

A. I can sew.
B. I have freakishly long arms. Nothing store bought fits them.
C. I like stupidly ambitious projects.
D. I want to try out some tailoring techniques, see if that helps the look of the coat.
E. I can SEW. So I will.

Well, where to begin? The Coat.
Some pics:


Product description: The Belstaff ‘Milford’ Coat is made from pure Irish wool tweed bonded with a sophisticated, ultra-light microporous film, to make it waterproof without altering the natural qualities of comfort and breathability.

My Take - Pretty sweet, except why didn't you guys at least try to get matching buttons? I mean, really. The red buttonholes are apparently an add-on feature by the costume department.

So - Details first.

Original - houndstooth check of black on grey. Buttons of brown pressed leather with edging of rope design in GOLD. (Why for God's sake???)
Me - found a medium weight wool with some nasty shiny mylar thread. Japanese made. Houndstooth, the grey is a little more predominate than I would like, but it is 700 yen a m, so I am good with that, besides not finding anything remotely suitable. The picture lightens the fabric a bit but it is not a bad match. 80% ok,.
Buttons - black plastic with stitching pattern on the edge. I'll touch it up with gold paint, though I hate to.

Next - Pattern analysis

Comments

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Oo er. I AM 38. (Hello, fellow aged fandom twin! Doesn't it depress you when you realize your porn/stories are being enjoyed by 18 year olds, and you think, 'Gosh, this is the intellectual level of my writing?!?') So, been sewing off and on for ages... Still want to improve though!

PLAID ugh. I have made kilts. And what you did sounds crazy hard, don't think I would do it except for a friend. I have enough problems just scaling down to make things for Asians.

I usually make costumes pieces for reenactment or whatever. I do make the odd set of normal clothes - winter coats, sometimes work pants, a suit a few times...

Most of my reference books follow my hobby, however. So, if you are interested in a huge list of my books...

*Thinking* At work now, and can't check my shelves... I think the only normal sewing books I have are the tailoring ones. The rest are references for historical things.

I kind of skipped the stage/need for those giant Singer books for Sewers or whatever they are called, because either I know it, or a pattern I've bought will tell me, or I am winging it as usual. I never had any formal training.

[arcsupport.livejournal.com]

Doesn't it depress you when you realize your porn/stories are being enjoyed by 18 year olds, and you think, 'Gosh, this is the intellectual level of my writing?!?') No. It depresses me when fans whose fic/porn I read (and like) get on Tumblr and post photos of Martin Freeman and witter, "Oh, I just find him so sexy even though he's the SAME AGE as my Dad and he's really old!" because I was born the same day.

You don't need to check your books; I have five or six books that seem to be good refs. Oh, small-scale Asian women with their lack of 32E breasts; how I envy them.

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Ah that's great !! And yeah a bit depressing... I would never publicly announce my age anywhere.

Gosh. If I had pursued writing in my 20s... I wonder where I'd be?

( I want to be Neil Gaiman but I suspect everyone does.)

True, I have never met a Japanese lady that qualified as even a western d cup...