Progress Report

Let's see...

Stained our two folding x-chairs, check.

Stitched up Clarence's second doublet, check.

Pictures soon? ... I sure hope so!

Progress Report:

2 cushions for our folding chairs-check.

Cut out and started pinning C's 2nd doublet-check.

Prewashed the blue linen for C's 4th doublet-check.

Sanded the folding table and touched-uped the paint where I messed it up when was working on painting my first fan-check.

Touched-up the paint on said fan-check!

OK. Back to work

My honey is away for a couple of days so it's a good time for me to buckle down and get back to work on the Pavillion. After I stitch the dragon panel for the front I am planning on assembling that side of the tent and finally committing myself to a plan for extending the bottom part of the bell on each end.

I've been saving some of my blue/green fabric to try and extend the banding on the bell too. We've yet to know if there will be enough to finish all the remaining spots where I'd like to use it (the mottoe on the bell ends, the bottom banding for the whole pavillion, and the dragon panel for the back of the pavillion) so my back-up plan is to visually weight the bottom of the pavillion by using black banding if it looks like I won't have enough.

Did you think I had forgotton this project?

Nope!

By golly, it's a doublet!

I feel so much better.

It's really been worrying me that I hadn't managed to make a doublet for Clarence. I'd gotten close a couple of times, but the shapes just never looked really right to me. And I couldn't work my way past both of our reservations...

Now that I've got a "good enough" version to work from I'm confident that I'll be able to improve the pattern until it fits perfectly and better reflects his chosen period.

Whenever he decides that is!

In the meantime, it's nice to know I won't be sending him out in his underwear.

I still have whole lot of eyelets to stitch on the doublet. I'll post pictures after it is really truly done.

Now that I am over my fit of temper

I'll admit that the doublet is coming together really easily. I'm following advice I read in a pattern review on the Internet and using my usual method of garment assembly rather than the pattern instructions but I've been following along with them so far and aside from my deciding to stay-stich the curves, interline the collar, and line the entire doublet...we're pretty parallel.

I hope to be putting it all together tomorrow.

Since I am recovered from my earlier upset, I feel I should also mention that the pattern I purchased has a copyright date of 1986. It's possible that there is a later, improved version.

'night!

Now I see what they mean...

Having recently aquired a husband I've discovered I also aquired a costuming challenge, to wit, sewing garb for a man. A pretty skinny man. And he is going for about 1470!

It's really amazing how mystified I feel about pattern drafting in this new realm where all my skills at late period garb for fat girls just gets chucked out the window.

So I decided to buy a pattern. To be specific, I've bought Period Pattern's #43 "Mens Italian Renaissance Garments c. 1420 - 1500" and, eeep!

My overwheling feeling is aggravation and disappointment that the pattern maker seems to have been too cheap or to stupid to do really basic things--like define what measurements are being used to define each size, and/or number the pages of the documentation/'instructions' so you can tell what order you are supposed read the sections in.

Come on, what pattern doesn't include a basic size chart!

I was prepared for bad sewing instructions, but this is really inexcusable.

HHHHIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSS

Luckily, I *do* sew quite a bit and I think I can figure out the assembly. It was the shaping I was being squeemish about. My love currently has almost nothing to wear to Pennsic (not entirely bad... ;) ) but I hope to change that situation soon. I'm currently working on a linen mock-up of doublet #1 and keeping my fingers crossed.

I'll keep you posted!

Ok, I admit it, I'm getting scared

I almost have a tent and so I'm at that phase where all I do is worry about all the things which could go wrong with it...and start other projects!

Must sew tent. Must sew tent. MUST SEW TENT!