Thorin BotFA Leather Surcoat - Work in Progress

Whew. It seems it is time for an update. I've been working feverishly these past few days to get my costume for the BotFA premiere ready, and it's been somewhat of a challenge. I get restless when I feel things are taking too long, and a sense of panic begins to set in. 

Anyway, the surcoat is nearly finished. Pictures are kind of tricky, though, because of the dark color. The detail work doesn't show up very well. Took it out for a jaunt in the snow, though, for contrast purposes.

Hard to tell from these pictures, but nearly the entire surface of the leather has been quilted in a diamond pattern, which took ages. It's not showing up well, but I plan to remedy that by using a paste made of French Green Clay and water to create a residue that will bring out the pattern and simulate the weave of the original surcoat. 

The leather was scavenged from a pair of trousers and a coat, both from Goodwill, and I'm amazed I was able to pull it off. It wasn't, by any means, easy ripping apart so many seams, and for a while I wasn't sure if I'd have enough of the leather that hadn't been compromised by buttonholes, pockets, etc.

These leather garments are no longer with us in these forms. Note the high waist on the trousers. *snerk*

It made a dreadful mess...

Drawing the lines for the quilting. That took a while. My sewing process was basically continuous, though, so it wasn't as hard to quilt as you'd think. (I suppose "quilt" isn't technically the term for this process, as I'm not backing the leather with another material, but whatevs.) This particular panel of the leather had a wrinkly defect, but much of it was ultimately cut off and encased in the seam, so it's not very noticeable. It'll be even less so once the weathering is complete.

My test piece. The cloudy substance in the glass is the French Green Clay. 

All assembled (except for the right-hand sleeve flange). My pattern was previously tested in a dark blue vinyl (pictured in a previous blog post), and fits very well. 

I've been working on the jewels for the front. I made them in vegetable tanned leather first, then made a mold and cast duplicates in resin. There are three different types of jewels used, technically, but I've only made duplicates of one thus far. 

My horrific resin-casting mess. The kitchen table is outta commission, guys. 

And here are some of the various elements of the costume, all piled together. The chain maille will be joined with another shirt to make it shin length, and split down the center front. The cloak will be fitted properly and adorned with ornate trim. The fur mantle will be cut into shape and sewn in two layers to afford a very luxurious, 3D look. 

Last night, I made a hem binding to affix to the bottom of the surcoat. Quite a challenge, really. The leather fit perfectly, and it still wanted to bunch and wander. After several mishaps (which involved an unfortunate amount of seam-ripping), I found the solution was to hem the upper edge of the joined piece, position it where I wanted it, and glue it down. Seems a natural solution anyway, since it's basically impossible to sew through the layers of leather folded over each other (5 total) with my current machine. 

Now I've only to hem the front and begin the weathering process. I'll post an update when I'm finished, but I'm planning to continue casting the jewels over the next few days, so that aspect of the coat probably won't be finished for a while. I'll be glad to have this aspect of the outfit done. It's been quite a challenge, and very time-consuming, but I like how it's turning out. 

Also on the docket for today:

1) Trousers (I'll be airbrushing a design on a suede patch that will be sewn over the kneecaps)

2) Fur mantle

3) Belt (will begin designing and tooling. Really excited about this part of the project; it's gonna be awesome)