Steaming ahead on the project

The project is going well.  The mock up for the client went really well.  It fit perfectly.  Considering he is a friend he asked to hang around and he was able to be an extra pair of hand when I laid out all the fabric.  It made things easier as he could make decisions as I was doing things. 

Surprises happened as we pinned down the wool for the jacket and vest.  Some how we got the jacket, and vest out of the wool, but somehow we ended up with ALOT of left over fabric.  There was so much that there was enough for another vest for the  client and a vest for the DH.  Bonus!

I had not planned on cutting out the entire project in one day, but since we were all sitting around talking, enjoying everyone's company and doing our own projects.  It just seemed to be a great day to start on a great adventure.  The client laughed that I would be calling him later this week to tell him that finished his project.  Would I do that?  As I am sewing to keep my mind off that my daughter is spending the week with her grandmother, it is possible but I'm not going to push to do anything.   I was able to do the front fabric preparations. 

You know tailoring takes alot of extra steps but you wouldn't think about it until you do it.  Just to prep the front piece I had to lay the interfacing, but cut on the lapel curl line cut a 1/8-14" inch gap so that the main wool section could lay smoothly for the lapel. I also hand stitched on stay tape along the lapel line. I probably put 2 hours into just this one piece of the jacket. Once that was done I then had to steam the lapels into the proper shape.  Took two clean damp towels and curved the lapels over them, then steamed them with my iron.  I then had to leave them over night to cool , and dry into their proper shape.  That ended my work on the jacket for the night.  I then got the markings done on the vest so that I could start working on it.  By then it was already 10 PM.  I wasn't tired but I set things aside for the night.  As much as I want to finish the project I am not going to push and get myself hurt, or damage a project.  Besides it will give me something to look forward to tonight. :)

The beginning of a grand project

I got in the pattern last Tuesday, and I've been sitting on it since then.  I didn't want to crack it open until the fabric got in. To my surprise, the Barthea wool from London came in via Fed Ex 5 days after I ordered it.  Now that all the fabric is here, I knew I needed to start the mock up process. 

A couple people have asked me why I didn't just jump in to the sewing of the project?  My response was "The fabric is $35 a yard! Are you nuts????"  Honestly , the reason is that to make sure it is a tailored fit, I am making a version out of the $2.79/ yard fabric to see if it fits and what changes need to be made before I cut into the $35/ yard fabric. Much easier to fix problems on something that costs $7, then on something that costs $100. 

One change I knew I had to make right off was the vest.  Originally I had thought it didn't have a lapel, turns out it did. The client wanted a 5 buttons vest with the coat anyway.  Therefore, I took my pattern for a 5 buttons vest and blended the front into the provided vest front.   One thing I discovered was that the vest is short.  Modern vests actually sit down to the hips.  This actually hits at the waist.  The reason for this is because of how it needs to fit over the kilt.  Fittings will be interesting.

On a side note,  the client has now added another project.  I'll be doing an inverness cloak. Things that happen when two creative people start collaborating.  Oh and a kilt was added.   Yeah, I think my sewing "dance card" continues to get full.