Project roundup: Leine, waistcoats, and...stuff

So, I kind of promised that I would work on dress diaries more often...obviously, since my last blog post was over a month ago, I slacked.  Shame on me, I know.

But, here it goes.  In the last month or so, I've been working on three major projects, plus some others; testing my glove drafting (which I later taught a class on, and will write a post on later) with a trial pair in upcycled leather, sewing on the 16th century Irish Leine, and both developing a house waistcoat pattern for myself and making the first piece from it.

The photos are in approximately chronological order, and jump between projects...so pay attention:

To start, gloves.  Since I've been playing with 1560-70s Northern Europe, I wanted to work on a pattern that would be appropriate to that....it was both easier, and more challenging than I expected.  Actually drafting them wasn't that difficult...finding examples from the correct period which show any detail was.  Still, I managed, even if I'm still not certain of whether there should be a gusset into the thumb.

Franken-frock Coat: It's Aaaliiive!!

Almost...done.  When I last last left, I was discussing the pockets, and mourning the fact that I apparently did not take any pictures of the semi-complete garment.  So, an overview it is.

To recap, my Frankenfrock is a frock coat made of 11 different wools, patchworked together; all of the shell materials were upcycled from blazers I purchased at the thrift store.  When I designed the garment, it was partly because I wanted a unique coat, and partly for the challenge of pattern matching and forcing myself towards precision in sewing my seams (the other option would be making a quilt...which just doesn't appeal to me).

Franken-frock, Part Three: What has it got in it's pocketses?

Part One was the shell and patterning, Part Two was about putting it together (at least up to the halfbody) and tailoring.
Part three, on the other hand, will be the pockets and hopefully finish work--unfortunately I didn't take nearly as many photos as I should have at that point.

And for the fun part, pockets.  I actually enjoy making them, in a mildly masochistic way--especially jetted pockets. 

The Franken-Frock, part II: Garment Construction Begins

It has been months since I last looked at posting about the franken-frock project--therefore, I figure that it is time.
They are slightly out of order, in a way--Part One dealt with the construction of the pattern and shell.  Part Two is the internal structure; Part Three will be pockets and finish work--however, in reality parts were done concurrently; for instance, the breast pocket was completed before sewing the body pieces together.

You can see the layers of canvassing and batting here.  From bottom to top; standard pattern chest canvas, on the straight of grain; second layer of canvas, cut on the bias (this layer is barely visible); Chest and shoulder padding, which follows the second layer of canvas; then a second layer of padding, directly over the chest to accentuate.

Latest project, Unveiled. The Franken Frock (coat). Part I

Most people already know about this--it's not exactly a secret--but I have not officially announced one of my latest hare-brained schemes.  Since November I have been gathering materials, and am finally beginning to work on assembly.

A single breasted Frock Coat, based theoretically on the 1870's patterns (mainly the lapel shape), in a patchwork of tweeds I am upcycling from blazers found at the thrift store.  I have affectionately dubbed this project as my "Franken-Frock".  I've seen a few examples of patchworked coats, and personally have found them all to be hideous, with large pieces of material used in random places.  In comparison, part of the point of this project is to force myself to higher accuracy in stitching, since if I don't the pattern will get slightly askew (i.e. Let's challenge myself with pattern matching).