So. The Bilbo cosplay outfit where it stands right now, minus trousers (which I have):
The color in this picture is totally wrong. It's definitely not greenish brown. It's a very nice, bright olive. I hate my iPad camera sometimes. I'll try to get a picture in daylight later on.
Conclusions I have come to after making this shirt and waistcoat? Plackets and welt pockets are evil, evil, EVIL. No matter. I have conquered. They picked the wrong seamstress to tangle with.
The base pattern for both of these was really unhelpful most of the time, as either the seam placement was entirely wrong, or the sizing, or the shape was off and required adjusting. There's nothing like pattern modification to make a project take at least twice as long, and I felt every second of that extension in time and effort.
The Shirt
The undershirt was partially completed in my last post, so I won't spend too much time on it. Basically, I attached the sleeves (check out that amazing sleeve design!), did the placket and collar, and hemmed it.
It works. Not particularly accurate, since this isn't the shirt Bilbo wore on his journey, but whatever. Any men's dress shirt would suffice for that, anyway, and I'll probably buy one at some point.
The Waistcoat
The simple, wool waistcoat gave me a lot more hell than I thought it would. Firstly, welt pockets. These guys are mean. The amount of measuring and marking required makes me shudder, and you have to place everything really accurately, or you end up with a mess, some of it quite possibly irreversible. Terrifying, I know. Anyway, being the smart person I am, I decided to make a mockup first.
The pattern instructions might as well have been in orcish, and the pictures were drawn by a neophyte, so my first attempt was disastrous. Unsurprisingly, I found what amounted to a support group online for people traumatized by this particular pattern. My second mockup was much better, and actually worked, so I finally finished the welt pockets on the real waistcoat.
Then I could actually move on to constructing it, which went relatively quickly. Sewed together the main pieces, sewed together the lining, fitted it to the dress form. Altered and adjusted shape of the lower front, lengthened neckline in front, sewed lining and main fabric together and turned. Top-stitched, and then sewed button holes. Since I've decided this cosplay will be "post-Goblin Town Bilbo," that means there's only one button. One glorious, brass, acorn button. I ordered it from Weta, straight from New Zealand, and I swear a choir of Elves sang all around me when I opened the package. ;)
Beautiful button. Beautiful acorn button. Currently obsessed with acorns for no reason at all. *whistles innocently* I sewed it on the waistcoat, and it brought it all together beautifully. Now I just need better pictures of it.
Fancy Cloak, Original Design:
I also made a lovely green linen cloak over the past few days, which began as a demonstration for a friend and then proceeded to take way longer than it should have. I opted for a gold brocade for the hood lining, a gold web trimming for the front, and a very blingy buckle for the clasp. It actually looks pretty good with Bilbo's costume. *grins* (Horrible pictures, I know. *sigh* Must use better lighting next time.)
Up next, we will have a beauteous blog post concerning everyone's favorite burgundy corduroy frock coat. So iconic. So amazing. So Bilbo. *squee* Can't wait.
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