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.