Pinkertons: Preview

I am so excited to finally get rolling on this project that I just couldn't wait.  I pulled the parts to assemble a vest and laid them out.

Not pictured:  me laughing giddily in the sewing room at 10 PM.

The parts are laid out in columns.  They are:  collar, welt, pocket bag; side front, side front lining, side front hem facing; center fronts; center back, center back lining, center back hem facing; side back, side back lining, side back hem facing; tags.  There is one additional part - the armhole bindings.  They're just long, skinny strips that get folded around the raw edges of the armhole, so not having them on the table isn't going to put my gentle readers at a loss.

I haven't ordered the heavyweight thread they use at the factory yet, so I'll be piecing with regular sewing thread and topstitching with gold jeans thread.  I thought it would look snappy on the green canvas and help with visibility, since all the vest cuts I got were dark colors.  (The others are black and chocolate brown.)

Depending on how much I get done at a sitting, I will post the work on this vest in several posts over the next week.  Next up - sewing the shell.  I have time set aside for this on Tuesday evening and I can hardly wait.

New space

I've just moved to a new apartment and my goal was to have my workspace set up and ready to work by the first of November.  I'm on target for that, with just a little bit of work left to do.

I know y'all are dying to see the new place.  Here you go:

There is enough space to walk around the cutting table.  It's a little close there in the back corner, but c'est la vie.

More behind the cut....

Interlude: White Bird (Part 2)

Well, I wrapped up the wings tonight.  I should have done them on Sunday, but I got distracted - plus I wanted a little input from an observer.  I invited my mother over to snap pictures and consult on how to finish the edges.

One thing to note here... the scale is maybe a little hard to determine in these pictures.  I'm a big girl, both in dress size and height; it may not be really clear, but the wingspan is about nine feet.  Here they are, before we trimmed the edges:

Red Bull did not give me these wings.

(See them trimmed behind the cut!)

Interlude: White Bird

Between larger projects, I am taking time to make a quick costume at the request of my cousin.  She has asked me to make a bird costume to be used at one of her band's performances.

I drew up a quick sketch for her, which she signed off on:

(continued behind the cut)

Upcoming project: Pinkerton vests

In the midst of several other errands, I stopped off to pick up the final parts to assemble some sample vests.  I'll be working on samples and one-offs for Lastwear, starting with the men's vest.  Thom and Lyssa have provided cut parts for several vests to give the pattern a go, and gave the green light to document the process of making the vests.  This works out nicely both for me and for them, as part of the concept for the company is that their clothing is open-source.  In theory this means anyone can download their patterns and make their own - or use it as a launching point for something new.  The patterns aren't actually available yet, but I expect someone truly interested in obtaining a copy could get one if they asked nicely enough.

I'll be putting together one Pinkerton vest on its own, and then assembly-lining a couple more; expect the same kind of photo documentation you saw on the jacket and ticking-stripe corset.  A certain amount of sewing know-how is expected, and I won't be slowing down much to explain the differences between production and commercially available patterns, or on the sort of thing a production sewer would be expected to know.  I will try to recognize those things and provide links to outside tutorials, but if you are following along and don't understand something I encourage you to comment so that I can make sure the instructions I'm providing are adequate.

Art for next project

I've chosen a Turkish theme for SteamCon costumes this upcoming year.  I have a couple of starter sketches, but am not totally satisfied with the designs.  My goal is to have the designs finalized by the 15th of July; given that the female design took me about three hours and has not  been colored, that's a tall order.  I can do it!

Want to see my sketches?  (behind the  cut!)

Workspace Revamp

When I moved into this apartment, my mother expressed concern that there would be nowhere to relax.  I told her it didn't matter, that I'd be able to find somewhere to lounge when the desire to do so came over me.  However, I did a little creative arrangement to make space for a micro-living room.  It consisted of a set of shelves with my ancient, tiny TV (a remnant of my dorm room) and an ugly but remarkably comfortable gold recliner, purchased from Goodwill for $20 or so.  To do so, my sewing space was a little bit crowded and became more so when I brought in the Mercury.

On a whim, I priced out dress forms online one afternoon.  I found a decent one on Amazon, and the seller includes an arm up to a size 12.  I really would have preferred to buy even larger; the "usual" size for a pro dress form is an 8, but I'd really like to be working in the plus range.  Not only did sizes over 12 not include the arm, there was a significant price jump - so if I was going to buy, it would be the 12.  I'm a size 22 myself, but that's OK, I can cope with that.   The real issue was whether or not to get rid of the gold chair and give up my "living room."

I asked my friends.  I consulted my boyfriend.  I checked my bank balance.  I ordered the dress form.

If you didn't know what I meant by "arm" before, you do now.

(more after the cut)