I thought I would have the costume done and dusted by now, with only two days to go until Bonfire, but I'm only now just finishing the jacket.
I couldn't work out why it wasn't fitting across the front - until I realised I had left out two panels, so I had to squeeze a couple more pieces from the cut-up coat, plus a strip of fabric for the waistband. I've lined the bodice and partially re-set the sleeves. The neckline has been bothering me a bit as it was slightly gaping on one side. So I'm afraid there's been a lot of work-arounds and patching stuff up. This garment would not win any needlework prizes, as the finishing is pretty scruffy. But I should get points for ingenuity!
And then there was the collar. The fake fur gilet turned out to be a washout - literally! I had the idea I could die it, so I bought some 'dark brown' dye and spent a morning sloshing it around in a bucket, but when it eventually dried it was clear the colour hadn't taken. It was a kind of light purple colour - not what I had in mind! So I decided to get hold of a piece of real fur. We have plenty of flea market/collectibles and second hand shops in Lewes, and I did find a surprising lot of fur - little mink stoles, big old fox furs and eventually a pair of revers collars which had clearly been cut off of a coat, so I've used those.
Here it is with the two fur pieces making the collar. My fingers are sore from pushing the needle through - there was no alternative but to do this part by hand. Very fiddly. Also, sorry about the apparent change of colour - the first images were taken on my iphone so not ideal, now I am using a camera so the colours are more accurate. The coat had faded, in some places more than others, so by having to use whatever bits of it I could, not only did mean cutting some pieces not with the grain, but also there are slight colour variations from one panel to the next. Still, in the dark of Bonfire night these things won't be too noticeable.
I've re-used one of the original coat buttons, as it matches those on the cuffs (which I haven't messed with) - but they are of course plastic, what WOULD Jane Austen have said! The jacket does up by way of this one button on the waistband, and two hooks and eyes (possibly 3, I won't know until the next fitting) I haven't yet trimmed the ends of the fur pieces - I'm hoping they will tuck in quite nicely and save me the job of trying to 'tame' them.
One isssue I can't do much about is the join between the two collar pieces. I should have sewn them together but that created too much bulk, so overlapping seemed neater. However, the join is quite noticeable. I may leave this, as I don't want to have to unpick that collar. Oh, and the fur is lying the wrong way, but I couldn't do anything about that, I had to go with the shapes I was given.
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