Frock Coat Toile

As this is the first time i have made this coat i decided to do a toile as the fabric is rather expensive wool and would rather not have to adapt it on the real thing.  I will probably have to do a bit on the real thing still but just minor alterations.

i used calico for my toile I'm not putting the sleeves in as i will do this on the real thing.  I put extra seam allowance on the pattern i use an inch all around, ( which I'm glad i did as it had to be let out).  Sewing together was quite simple however the pleats at the back took a while to understand which bit goes where and what pleats.  i found that the design for skirt of the coat looked very strange along the design line of the jacket and to me looked as though it should have gone along the waist line at the front.

 

i sewed half of it together first and tried it on finding it too small at the sides.  i then adapted that half by adding an extra 1/2 inch to each seam except c/f and side seam on the front.  i then did the same the other side and finished the toile. 

Trying this one on there were still a few things to adapt:

• Shoulder to tight.
• Shoulder to wide. 
• Armhole too tight.
• Gaped at the back side seam.
• Too long in the front.
• Too big at the C/F.

Basically all i did was re pin the shoulder seam by cutting it open at the seam. This had to be taken out quite a bit probably due to the fact the person I'm making it for is quite broad and muscular upper body so it was tight on him than it would be on another person.  The book did specify that the shoulders may go out of proportion and they were far too long and the armhole too tight so i sniped into it until he was able to move his arm comfortable across his chest and up.  Its important not to let out too much under the arm as it would be more uncomfortable to have to lift the entire side of the coat when lifting the arm as it puts more strain on that area. I then continued to pin around the armhole.

The Hem line needed to be changed as it looked as though he was wearing a dress and he didn't like the length at the front.  I initially sorted the c/f by taking it in 1 inch which made it a much better fit. I then pinned down the c/f into the skirt sloping it slightly more towards the back.  i didn't take anything off the length as it looked strange with a little skirt and big top part, a bit out of proportion.

The final adjustment was the gape at the back i just pinned it where it gaped and will take that off the pattern pieces.

Transfer all the adjustments to the pattern pieces using measurements and by laying it onto it and I'm ready to cut out of the fabric. which I'm very excited about!!!



1870 Frock Coat

Having previously made a waistcoat i wanted to build on this knowledge to create a men's frock coat.  After scouring books for the right pattern i Purchased 'The Victorian Tailor by Jason Maclochlainn' Which is by far the best book i have found on the subject ever.  It explains all the proper techniques used at the time and how to do them and has lovely tips and snippits from other authors.  I will however be cheating and using a sewing machine as this will be worn daily not for a show so needs to be durable. 

The pattern i have chosen is an 1870s American Cut Away Frock Coat as it is closest to the brief which is to look like the short coat worn in the 'Tombstone' film. 

The pattern is drafted with a rather complicated looking table however its not so bad once drawn out and it is done in the way it would have been done then so it was  quite exciting.  As suggested in the book over a 40inch chest may throw the pattern out of proportion so i will be making a toile first and adapting if needed.
A few of the measurements were not on the pattern so i had to do it by eye and looking at the similar patterns in the book.

Here are a few pictures of the drafting process the pattern i cannot up load as my scanner isn't working.

Creating the pattern

Using pattern tape i have marked out the design i wanted onto my mannequin,   It is meant to be a small mannequin size 2 but mine is a 10ish so it will be a bit bigger than they are meant to be.  i have tried to create a different shape for the bust this time with a low dip at the c/f.  I think i will have to put either power net in between the bust or put more that one strap in order to keep it all in place cause you need to think about the movement of dancer and how this could effect the costume.

Here are a few pictures of the pattern drafting:

i really wanted to create a pointed waistline to it.  Having not done this  shape before i wanted to give myself a different shape to try out and advance my skills more.

 My bodice will also have 13 panels in it as i will do the c/f cut on the fold instead of 2 pieces.

After marking it all out i have used calico pieces to drape onto the stand making sure the front grainlines face forward and back one go towards the c/b in a v shape.  This emphasises the waist hopefully. 

Here are a few of my draping and the final pattern pieces marked up and ready to place onto the top fabric and drill to cut out.

i am please with how quickly i have got this far as before it did take quite a while however it was all  new that time.

Romantic Ballet Tutu

After making a romantic ballet tutu for my final project this year at uni i decided to continue and develop this throughout the holidays.  This gives me a bit more creative ground to work from, what decoration i want to use, inspiration etc.  Hopefully i have learnt from my mistakes made last time and should be a far quicker process as i have previously done it. 

Inspiration:

The inspiration for my costume is from the Birmingham Royal Ballet 2012 version of Beauty and the Beast.

I wish to make a dress for Belle using a romantic tutu style.  i really like the colourings of the ballet costumes and the fluting around the bottom of the tutu.  I assume they have used chiffon or a silk crepe as the fabric is kind of crinkled however as it is for a sample piece and being a student i cannot afford to have 5 layers of chiffon.

i had  an amazing shopping trip to Goldhawk Road in London to pick my fabrics and had so much choice so it was hard to narrow it down.  i found a wonderful polyester chiffon which has the same floaty properties of silk chiffon but 1/4 of the price along with this i got a pewter/ purple/ greenish colour silk dupion for the bodice and matched the purple colouring with lilac tulle to go underneath. i really like the colour combination and the peach colour of the skirt with the dupion takes the costume in a different direction but still keeps the same palette as i wanted.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my new blog.  I have set up a new one so it doesn't involve all the extras i had to do with my last university project.  I will still post a bit about what i am doing at uni it just won't be so in depth about reflections etc.  I hope you enjoy my blog i have a few projects in the pipeline including finishing a frock coat and making another Romantic tutu.  Along with this i am going to enter the Janet Arnold Award this term at uni so have been spending my summer in museums looking at the dresses in detail.  I am going to have a practice over the summer with a Regency style dress. Anyway i hope you like my blog and i will try to post as often as i can.

xx