Breaking down.

Awkward this.
 Have the man's frock coat all but done, and could have fudged the photos, have the start of the lady's wear to show, and did a one day workshop in breaking down.

some of Karen's kit- play spot the Vaseline and matting agent.

Don't really want to share the coat trauma or really the corset drama until they are sorted out and fit for public appearances.

so....breaking down  - not emotionally, but trying to make new clothes look worn. No point in creating a shabby, tired character, carefully making the costume and then having  them arrive on stage all shiny and new. Not convincing.

Tutor for the day was Karen Stott, and by the time she'd unpacked the buckets, bleach, paints and then the flame gun, it was looking most promising.

Karen described the process as balancing and characterisation. Sometimes the white shirt or a colour is too bright under the lights so a subtle tea, coffee dye or bleach bath will knock the toothpaste  squeaky clean look out. Details on a costume may disappear from a distance so gentle enhancement of contrasts is needed - exaggerating seams, darkening behind buttons to make them stand out and so on. Some details may stand out too much - bring out the acrylic matting agent - good for over enthusiastic sequins or dulling down too shiny buttons. Think of it as make-up for clothes.

steamed distortions on my wool coat fabric.

  It is the characterisation that seems to be most fun- mimicking wear and tear, faking mud, sweat, grease or worse. It would be the most nerve wracking - imagine having put heart and soul into making as perfectly as possible and then .......

We began with aggressive steaming and pressing, stretching, distorting, pulling seams- deliberately
wrecking the precision and fit of the costume. The iron was applied without mercy, shoulder pads wilted, elbows, hems, pockets and vents were tugged, bullied and dragged out of shape. I like the idea of heavy stones and damp newspaper stuffed in pockets  or shoes and left to dry. It really didn't take long to add saggy  age. These effects could be enhanced with colour, abrasion,  etc.

enhanced creases.

Surface wear was even more violent - sanding, grating, abrading- distressing the surface of the fabric. It began with the iron, creating those shiny slick patches on old suits, then reversible wear - changing the surface with Vaseline or various acrylic meduim, rubbing in chalk or  pigments. Sandpaper and files were the favoured method of scuffing the fabric, round files can do wonders for buttonholes.   The least reversible technique was the flame gun, taking the nap off wools, cord or velvets so they go thin and show the underlying warp and weft. The idea is not to set fire to it, honest.

flame damage - look very closely - this wool was all but indestructible! 

Vaseline, chalk and pigment - trying to look more like flamed wear and tear  than the flame actually did

never paint on hairy wool. Looks good from a distance .......

It was an entertaining and informative day - lots of notes, hints and tips, as well as full of advice. 

Next week will be the coat- promise.

1830s Waistcoat Week!

This was the week for waistcoating... in fact it took far less time than this, minimum button therapy and only 2 icecreams.

Recap - 4th week of the course at the  Northern College of Costume, working from Ron Davis' pattern for an 1830s single breasted, shawl collar waistcoat. Patterns were drafted and toiles fitted. This now is the waistcoat proper....

From the toile the modifications were pretty straightforward, just lengthen at the waist  by 2 1/2" at the front and 1" at the back.

The fabric is a grey blue with a dull metallic broken pattern woven in. It is a kind of twill weave and manages to have very little substance - it's like that annoying friend who only says 'I'll do whatever you want to do' or 'I'll have what ever you are having' and then looks miserable for the rest of the day. The lining is a dull, dark duck egg blue, heavier and more substantial but reverts to floss when it frays. I imagine that any natural fibre content was purely accidental.

The fabric was cut and flat lined with a light calico and interfaced on the front and collar pieces.

front - with pocket!

inside front - facing and lining

After flat tacking to mark the key lines assembly began. Initially it is very clear - pockets (perhaps I should admit to pocket traumas - working out how to set them on the slant and how to minimise bulk, distressingly simple once the penny had dropped),  sew the centre backs to make complete back units, attach collar piece to front, collar facing to front lining, and join fronts to backs at side seams.  From this point on life gets more complicated.




side seams done - looks like bat sign




 I have never yet found the definitive simple way of putting a waistcoat and lining together, it seems I am not alone. This time we  placed rightsides together and sewed  around the armholes, front edge and front hem line. This meant that it could  still be turned rightside out.  The top 1/3 of the front
edge was left open so that we could get in  to sew the front shoulder to the 2 backs on machine ( The front lining would be turned under on the shoulder seam to hide all of the raw edges later on). 

Think the bit in the middle
 is the shoulder seam!

The under collar's centre back  seam was joined  and then it was  sewn to the  neck line. The top parts of the collar were sewn at the centre back and then the

centre back joined and sewn
 in place along neck line

front edge seam completed all the way round.  It did get confusing but was nowhere as fiddly as I thought but..... nothing can ever be that easy - we had misread the pattern a little and the facing  did not match to the shoulder seam - emergency surgery was required and with the help of the new best friend, Fray Check, disaster was averted.  Closing the remaining shoulder

back inside - the horizontal seam is the collar edge

seams and closing the last part of the neck by hand calmed the tattered nerves a little and it was on to the final stages.

The back has two layers so the hem allowance was folded up inside ( thanks to interfacing for helping to create a nice firm edge to sew along)  and hand sewn closed. Then key hole style button holes. By hand. All of them.
 Ok, did cheat a little- zigzagged down each side, punched the round edge and fray checked it before hand stitching. These are something to be practiced, and practiced, and then practiced again.

 Add the buttons, eyelets and attach the tabs ( still need ties) and it is all done - one complete waistcoat.

Distractions- let out to play with power tools - refixing Pauline's eyelet punch to its tabletop - starting to look for work placements for after the course, and creating a monument to Wednesday to keep those malevolent midweek spirits appeased.

Thursday was a part day  so did I sit in the garden reading, rescue pets in the on line games, clean the house? Yes, but also made a  waistcoat for Gwen. Went from  drafting all the way through construction.  How sad. But that emergency surgery on the facing had rankled, I needed to work this through and make it happen. Understanding the mistake did make life easier. Instead of days it was completed that same evening apart from the tabs. The fit is good considering  Gwen is definitely female - the back waist is too large and I had to put in front darts but it has worked! Not bad for a 50p upholstery sample and some left over pink and dotty cotton.  May be a bit too much frill on that shirt?














Coats next.......

 

1830s Cossack trousers and excellent distractions

Never heard of these Cossack trousers before  starting this course. It seems to have been a popular style -  pleated front and tapering legs- rather more forgiving than the straight cut. These from the V&A are more gathered  than mine and look to be a split fall front, but the idea is the same. They have a curiously feminine silhouette - narrow flat waist, curving hips and narrowing legs- and are pulled straight by the stirrup loop under the instep.   

We already had the toile made to the Ron Davis pattern outlined in  Men's Seventeenth & Eighteenth Century Costume: Cut and Fashion  so roughly knew our way through the process but this time it was in the 'real' fabric and with all those interesting details like button flies to do, and this time it matters that they are dead straight and fit into the trouser properly.



Step one was revising and redrafting the pattern pieces following the fittings, fortunately not a lot was required - raising the waist at the front by an inch and then compensating for this at the back.  The hems were left over long as we want to put in an arch over the foot which  shapes down into the  stirrup  straps like these.

Step 2 - cutting out in calico - this will be the inner lining layer, they were marked up with all the seam allowances, lines, darts etc and then used to cut out the top fabric. My fabric was fairly fine and stripey in greys, black and brown, it behaved well but could fray for the nation when cut square across the grain.

Step 3 - Prep - The calicos were separated and flat tacked to the back of the top fabric pieces  and each long edge on each piece was overlocked.( go too fast and  the industrial overlocker sounds like a freight train in a tunnel, nearly fast and the poise lamp bounces, less fast and anything on the table dances around before throwing themselves over the edge, or slowly and it purrs ( still have to work on my relationship with this machine)) - The extra layer should help to extend the life of the trousers as well as helping to stabilise the top fabric.  All pleats and darts were sewn in  and then.....

one inside out leg

Step 4-  Assembling !  There is a great satisfaction when a garment changes from 2 dimensions  to 3. Outer leg seams then inside leg, part sew the crotch seam and they look like trousers! Only button flies, facings, waistbands, buttonholes , hems and hand finishing to go.


inside the body, the brown band is the back facing,
 button holes for the fly at the bottom ,
the unfinished pleats for the waist show up clearly in the calico.

 In fact the easy bits were over.

Step 5 - buttoned flies - The fabric was thin enough to be used for all the layers, so an interfacing and overlocking fest later, the buttonhole piece, facing and buttonstand were complete and in place. This was Wednesday so nothing is ever straight forward -  now on sewing machine 3,  it seems even Berninas are not Wednesday proof. We consoled ourselves by rootling through old button tins - some fantastic Deco geometrics and outrageously ornate glittery ones. This should be recognised as an official  therapy in any sewing workroom.




Step 6 - The fronts have a waistband but the back does not, so this was the day to regret deciding to have the stripes horizontal on the band because everything had to be  exactly level and matched. Had to resort to basting!  The back facing was friendly and helpful, went on simply and directly. The facing and the waistband were joined at the side seam, so all that was left was hand sewing the inside of the waistband and turning the raw edges of the facing.














Step 7 - waist fastening - lovely mother of pearl button - inside out, of course, and a mini festival of pressing later, the beasties are complete!

They will need pressing again and fitting to sort out the exact positioning of the hem shapings. They are definitely too long at present, they come up to my shoulders, but pattern outlines for the foot arch, and what I can only think of as bunny ears, are drawn up and prototyped, so it shouldn't be a battle once we have the model's legs to measure against. And pressing again.  May be some more clipping to release the curves, and pressing, and then removing more tacking - each time I look I find more to be taken out! But they are complete - honest......except for more pressing.

Hopefully next time you see them they should have someone in them- and be an amazing fit!

As for distractions -
Pocket flap Monday - Jane gave us some excellent tips on getting real precision in the finishing  but the strain of being organised and tidy and measuring......

Wednesday- the Day of Revenge of the Machines - how many times did the overlocker threads snap?,  my sewing machine had multiple hissy fits, and so did the placement and then the replacement's replacement. (I think we have reached an understanding now) . Pauline must have dreaded the squeaks and mutterings of frustration  preceding the plaintive requests for help.

Thursday was Drop the Buttons Day - all 7 of us crawling around under the table retrieving them. Some made a determined break for freedom and evaded recapture for days.

Friday - 4th of July  and Miriam's birthday celebrations (properly the 5th but we scatter over the weekends) - a general surfeit of cakes and chocolate, including trying to set fire to a cupcake and a trip to York Cocoa House.

Saturday - Start of the Tour de France - stage one went through some of my favourite bits of country -upper  Wharfedale- and it looked beautiful. I think the degree of enthusiasm for the event took the commentators by surprise -  and they needed a better guide book to read out from.

Sunday - Grand Depart from York this morning - just started to tip it down after a lovely early start- hopefully it will clear in time - can't say I will be that enthusiastic about going out  to get soaked  so I can watch men in damp lycra whiz past. But the rain is easing - and some lycra goes quite see through when wet - could well be worth it!
And the Wimbledon Final - a proper day of sport - less of that footybally stuff and over grown scalextric........