Captain of the Anarquendor, part 4
Jun. 20th, 2011 10:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzLast time I showed you all about my chainmail.
Well, underneath the chainmail is the gambeson. And it's finally finished. It was quite a journey though, so this is rather lengthy.
Gambesons are made to absorb the force of being hit by an object and are worn only in part to keep the chainmail from chafing you (even if the sword can't cut you, it can still break bones on impact. Historically speaking, that is, we're not allowed to hit so hard during larp).
To keep all the layers together, the gambeson is usually quilted in a diamon or stripe pattern.
Because I'm playing an elf, I wanted something a little more savvy for my quilt pattern.
Of course I tried it out on a bit of linen first, to see how it would look. And, once I was done quilting it, I tossed the scrap into the washer to see if the marker could be washed out. I'm using a Prym quilt marker (purple)
I really liked the pattern and it wasn't that hard to sew. Just pivot on the square angles. After washing, there was no sign left of the marker. Yay! Disappearing marker!
It was time to get cracking (you may envy my table now, it's an architect's table with the rulers removed and it was the best buy of the last ten years -- for only € 50,-!)
I used some of the scraps to figure out how many layers I would need:
The left piece has only one layer of wool, the other has two layers of wool. I liked the effect of two layers better, so I had to cut out my pattern pieces not once or twice, but no less than four times!
The blue linen I use for the lining is super soft, softer even than the green linen, which makes up for using scratchy (and quite expensive) wool from my stash. This project really helps me diminish the epic magnitude of fabric stash.
The blue wool is nigh invisible in this picture.
After all the pattern pieces are cut, I mark the waistline with some basting and then proceed to mark the center vertical line on each pattern piece. This will be the main ruler by which I'll use the quilt pattern.
Since I know that wool can have a grain and a nap, I am terrified stuff will shift. So I spend a lot of time basting down the four layers to ensure they won't.
At this point, I realise I've not been very careful, and some of my layers don't match up perfectly. Sometimes the green linen is slightly smaller or bigger than the other layers. I should have taken this into account, as I've ventured into quilting a bit. You always cut your batting and lining with a margin!
There's lots of basting to go around. Lots of pattern pieces. Can we be done with the basting yet? Sigh...
Finally! The basting is done and I trace my quilt pattern onto my pattern piece and set to sewing. I am smart... I start with the side-back panel. One of the panels where it won't show if you make the beginner's mistakes.
By the time I reach the waistline, lo and behold, disappearing marker has completely disappeared!
I am not amused.
This means I have to stop sewing every once in a while, leave the needle in my work, and trace the next two or three shapes before continuing. All the while leaving my work in the machine. This is where having a quilting table for my sewing machine really pays off though, it's easy enough if your work is on a flat surface!
I sweat and curse and carefully sew and trace and then the first panel is done and I'm very, very relieved.
Only 11 more pieces to go...2 center fronts, 2 center backs, 2 side fronts, 4 sleeve parts and one side back left.
All that basting...and now I get to remove it again. It's served its function -- the fabrics have hardly shifted during quilting.
These are the center fronts. What blew me away was the fact that without any coordination, they line up perfectly. Yes, I start drawing each time at the waistline, and use rules of thumb when placing my quilt pattern, but it makes me insanely happy to see such symmetry in the pattern pieces without even having planned for it. I guess it shows I'm really quite neat-handed.
Once all twelve pieces are done, I serge the edges. I dared not do this before the quilting was done, for fear of shifting the layers.
The pile of assembled pieces. I used a blue spool, so the insides are as pretty as the outsides and even more pettable.
I was really impressed with how much these all felt like warm snuggly blankies. I guess that's what you get for quilting something over a very soft linen lining.
The next part will be fun. I've cut my pattern pieces without a seam allowance. When working with thick garments like this one, I thought it best to butt the pieces together and add a strip of fabric over the "raw" (serged) edges.
I cut fabric strips on the straight of the grain, each one five cm wide because I have a bias-tape maker that uses that size. The resulting pressed strips are some 2.5 cm wide, probably even wider.
During one fretful night's sleep I figure out how to best go about this. To avoid a lot of handwork, I want to sew the strips on the outside in one go with the ones on the inside. But they'll never match up unless you baste everything into oblivion. Here's how I did it.
1) Pin the tape onto one pattern piece. Make sure your lining side and your right side both have the tape. Fold both tapes open and line them up with the side of the garment, so you have tape-garment-tape.
2) Sew the tapes down, through all layers. I stitch inside the fold so I've got a bit of extra space in the tape and it won't give me trouble when I fold it over.
3) Fold the lining tape into the correct position so you can sew it down. Line up your second pattern piece. Baste where required. Fold the right side tape over both pattern pieces and pin. Stitch through-and-trough all layers on both sides of the tape.
4) Presto!
Not all my pieces were this good, but I really didn't care much about the lining side.
Of course I had to test this theory at the center-back seam, right where it'll show, and it worked marvelously. Thank the Gods.
My quilting matches up nicely down here as well. *big grin*
Ready to attach the side-back panels.
Sewing all the panels together is going great. Some seams require some extra whipstitching to butt the panels together nicely.
Like here, with the shoulder dart (aligned with the seam between center-back and side-back). I use green basting thread to whipstitch the panels together before folding the tape over and topstitching.
And the bust point, which was a challenge in itself.
I had added some extra fabric to the center-front as a cut-in-one facing. I fold, press and then handstitch the facing down on the inside.
Still not sure where I will be placing the garment opening, but I will probably have some sort of split at the center front, in which case a bit of facing will keep the pajama-soft blue linen out of sight for a bit.
Time to cut the collar pieces. These are the five (!!) layers of the collar.
2 layers of wool, 2 layers of linen and one layer of dupioni for the bling factor.
I pin the collar so that it's perfect and flat when it's curved around a neck. That means if you lay it flat like this, it'll buckle a bit. Some vertical basting keeps the layers in check while I run it through the serger.
I put the gambeson onto the mannequin and draft a facing pattern. There needs to be some more dupioni around the neckline, so I will add dupioni facing around the neckline.
The facing is cut on the fold, and I make sure that center-back is on the straight of the grain. Because my shoulders slope down instead of going horizontal, the front bit is not on the straight of the grain. As my buddy Steelweaver put it "Chevrons for the win!".
Press the seam allowance under.
I check with some scraps to see if it's possible to topstitch the facing down with gold thread. As I suspected, my top thread keeps breaking.
Oh well. I can sew this down by hand too...
I will need some more tape. This time, I'll cut it on the true bias, since I have enough dupioni to go around and it will catch the light nicely. More odd directions for the dupioni to be used in!
The collar was also cut without a seam allowance and I can't wrap my head around how I would get rid of the thick layers should I sew it down the regular way. So I butt the pattern pieces and sew the entire collar on by hand.
At this point, I'd like to point out that I have misplaced my thimble and I haven't got the time to buy a new one.
I sew down the dupioni facing by hand. I sew the bias tape on the outside down by hand (covering up the butted seam) and I sew the straight-grain linen tapen on the inside down by hand. Then I get another piece of bias tape and sew it around the collar and the front neckline slit. And then I sew that down by hand on the inside as well.
Anything for a smooth finish right?
...still no thimble.
By the time I finish all this handsewing, I'm down one movie and ready to start on the next. But the results are quite beautiful.
I know you're not supposed to sew your fabrics in every direction you can think of, but I kind of like the effect it creates here. Dupioni catches the light quite beautifully.
Time for the sleeves!
Since you advised me to add a gusset, a gusset I make. It boggles the mind how to sew it down with the "butt seams and cover with straight-grain-tape" method I'm using though.
Once one end of the gusset is sewed down, I take a longer bit of tape and start on the second seam. This time, I'm deviating from the method a bit. I sew both tapes down on the long seam, and then sew only the lining tape like it's a reguar seam (right sides togheter). This way, the seam is already in place and it can't move about anymore.
Whipstitching the butted edges together and then it's time for the machine.
Of course you can't sew an underarm seam on the machine. Sometimes you can manage, but with all these bulky, quilted layers, this is as far as I get. I do the rest by hand.
...still no thimble though.
The shoulder seam caused me to break out in cold sweat. I use the same method as with the underarm seam (sew the lining tape onto both sides) and set the entire sleeve by hand. I cover the whipstitch with the straight-grain tape and sew the entire top strip down by hand. On both sides. On both sleeves. And I still haven't found my thimble.
Oh, and this is what the gusset looks like with the shoulder seam pinned down.
When the sleeves are set, I finally allow myself to finish off the center-front seam. This is easy, compared to the sleeves! Especially since it's a short way -- I leave the rest open as a front split.
The sides will hold the closure. I use my hem ruler to mark every 3 cm to place an eyelet.
I use two-part eyelets. We bought this press a while back for our leather crafting, but there is a die for eyelets too! It's amazing, it does the grommets for leather and the two-part eyelets I need for fabrics.
The sleeves are then finished with a bit of tape. I sew it down on the inside first, and then topstitch on the outside.
I decided against using dupioni here, because this is a spot that will see much wear.
Time for a quick self-portrait with the chainmail!
I-R-Pleased.
I take the thing off again and watch some Heroes on my pc while handsewing the last strips of dupioni bias tape around the hem. At this point, I've finally bought not one but two new thimbles! Woohoo!
The finished collar. The insignia are my captain's rank (gold-coloured) and the regiment's identifier (silver-coloured maple leaf).
The final picture of the finished gambeson!
It was quite a lot of work and I'd do things differently next time. For one, I would spend a lot more time on the pattern. It's too bad I didn't have the time right now.
The gambeson fits me fine, and I wore it to the Midsummerfair this weekend, with the chainmail (pictures forthcoming soon, I hope). The sleeves are a bit loose at the top, but it allows for extra movement. Next time, I would definitely fit the sleeves differently, see how it goes when I crop the armscye closer and have this gusset.
The pattern I drafted is one for "being pretty while standing" jackets. It's not a "let's kick the crap out of these here guys" pattern. So boo.
I've been called a Romulan because of the padded & quilted coat and the awesome high collar. I love the collar...
I would also change the way I assamble the garment. The strips are fine and they work, but I wonder if it wouldn't have been better if I'd added a seperate lining and just assemble the thing in the normal way.
That said, the gambeson was very comfortable, although it did have a tendency to tilt backwards. I will add a small clasp at the front neckline split, between the bias-tape and the start of the chainmail, which might help.
Next time: the overcoat...and I might show you some of my accessories!
-----
Crossposted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
dressdiaries
Well, underneath the chainmail is the gambeson. And it's finally finished. It was quite a journey though, so this is rather lengthy.
Gambesons are made to absorb the force of being hit by an object and are worn only in part to keep the chainmail from chafing you (even if the sword can't cut you, it can still break bones on impact. Historically speaking, that is, we're not allowed to hit so hard during larp).
To keep all the layers together, the gambeson is usually quilted in a diamon or stripe pattern.
Because I'm playing an elf, I wanted something a little more savvy for my quilt pattern.
Of course I tried it out on a bit of linen first, to see how it would look. And, once I was done quilting it, I tossed the scrap into the washer to see if the marker could be washed out. I'm using a Prym quilt marker (purple)
I really liked the pattern and it wasn't that hard to sew. Just pivot on the square angles. After washing, there was no sign left of the marker. Yay! Disappearing marker!
It was time to get cracking (you may envy my table now, it's an architect's table with the rulers removed and it was the best buy of the last ten years -- for only € 50,-!)
I used some of the scraps to figure out how many layers I would need:
The left piece has only one layer of wool, the other has two layers of wool. I liked the effect of two layers better, so I had to cut out my pattern pieces not once or twice, but no less than four times!
The blue linen I use for the lining is super soft, softer even than the green linen, which makes up for using scratchy (and quite expensive) wool from my stash. This project really helps me diminish the epic magnitude of fabric stash.
The blue wool is nigh invisible in this picture.
After all the pattern pieces are cut, I mark the waistline with some basting and then proceed to mark the center vertical line on each pattern piece. This will be the main ruler by which I'll use the quilt pattern.
Since I know that wool can have a grain and a nap, I am terrified stuff will shift. So I spend a lot of time basting down the four layers to ensure they won't.
At this point, I realise I've not been very careful, and some of my layers don't match up perfectly. Sometimes the green linen is slightly smaller or bigger than the other layers. I should have taken this into account, as I've ventured into quilting a bit. You always cut your batting and lining with a margin!
There's lots of basting to go around. Lots of pattern pieces. Can we be done with the basting yet? Sigh...
Finally! The basting is done and I trace my quilt pattern onto my pattern piece and set to sewing. I am smart... I start with the side-back panel. One of the panels where it won't show if you make the beginner's mistakes.
By the time I reach the waistline, lo and behold, disappearing marker has completely disappeared!
I am not amused.
This means I have to stop sewing every once in a while, leave the needle in my work, and trace the next two or three shapes before continuing. All the while leaving my work in the machine. This is where having a quilting table for my sewing machine really pays off though, it's easy enough if your work is on a flat surface!
I sweat and curse and carefully sew and trace and then the first panel is done and I'm very, very relieved.
Only 11 more pieces to go...2 center fronts, 2 center backs, 2 side fronts, 4 sleeve parts and one side back left.
All that basting...and now I get to remove it again. It's served its function -- the fabrics have hardly shifted during quilting.
These are the center fronts. What blew me away was the fact that without any coordination, they line up perfectly. Yes, I start drawing each time at the waistline, and use rules of thumb when placing my quilt pattern, but it makes me insanely happy to see such symmetry in the pattern pieces without even having planned for it. I guess it shows I'm really quite neat-handed.
Once all twelve pieces are done, I serge the edges. I dared not do this before the quilting was done, for fear of shifting the layers.
The pile of assembled pieces. I used a blue spool, so the insides are as pretty as the outsides and even more pettable.
I was really impressed with how much these all felt like warm snuggly blankies. I guess that's what you get for quilting something over a very soft linen lining.
The next part will be fun. I've cut my pattern pieces without a seam allowance. When working with thick garments like this one, I thought it best to butt the pieces together and add a strip of fabric over the "raw" (serged) edges.
I cut fabric strips on the straight of the grain, each one five cm wide because I have a bias-tape maker that uses that size. The resulting pressed strips are some 2.5 cm wide, probably even wider.
During one fretful night's sleep I figure out how to best go about this. To avoid a lot of handwork, I want to sew the strips on the outside in one go with the ones on the inside. But they'll never match up unless you baste everything into oblivion. Here's how I did it.
1) Pin the tape onto one pattern piece. Make sure your lining side and your right side both have the tape. Fold both tapes open and line them up with the side of the garment, so you have tape-garment-tape.
2) Sew the tapes down, through all layers. I stitch inside the fold so I've got a bit of extra space in the tape and it won't give me trouble when I fold it over.
3) Fold the lining tape into the correct position so you can sew it down. Line up your second pattern piece. Baste where required. Fold the right side tape over both pattern pieces and pin. Stitch through-and-trough all layers on both sides of the tape.
4) Presto!
Not all my pieces were this good, but I really didn't care much about the lining side.
Of course I had to test this theory at the center-back seam, right where it'll show, and it worked marvelously. Thank the Gods.
My quilting matches up nicely down here as well. *big grin*
Ready to attach the side-back panels.
Sewing all the panels together is going great. Some seams require some extra whipstitching to butt the panels together nicely.
Like here, with the shoulder dart (aligned with the seam between center-back and side-back). I use green basting thread to whipstitch the panels together before folding the tape over and topstitching.
And the bust point, which was a challenge in itself.
I had added some extra fabric to the center-front as a cut-in-one facing. I fold, press and then handstitch the facing down on the inside.
Still not sure where I will be placing the garment opening, but I will probably have some sort of split at the center front, in which case a bit of facing will keep the pajama-soft blue linen out of sight for a bit.
Time to cut the collar pieces. These are the five (!!) layers of the collar.
2 layers of wool, 2 layers of linen and one layer of dupioni for the bling factor.
I pin the collar so that it's perfect and flat when it's curved around a neck. That means if you lay it flat like this, it'll buckle a bit. Some vertical basting keeps the layers in check while I run it through the serger.
I put the gambeson onto the mannequin and draft a facing pattern. There needs to be some more dupioni around the neckline, so I will add dupioni facing around the neckline.
The facing is cut on the fold, and I make sure that center-back is on the straight of the grain. Because my shoulders slope down instead of going horizontal, the front bit is not on the straight of the grain. As my buddy Steelweaver put it "Chevrons for the win!".
Press the seam allowance under.
I check with some scraps to see if it's possible to topstitch the facing down with gold thread. As I suspected, my top thread keeps breaking.
Oh well. I can sew this down by hand too...
I will need some more tape. This time, I'll cut it on the true bias, since I have enough dupioni to go around and it will catch the light nicely. More odd directions for the dupioni to be used in!
The collar was also cut without a seam allowance and I can't wrap my head around how I would get rid of the thick layers should I sew it down the regular way. So I butt the pattern pieces and sew the entire collar on by hand.
At this point, I'd like to point out that I have misplaced my thimble and I haven't got the time to buy a new one.
I sew down the dupioni facing by hand. I sew the bias tape on the outside down by hand (covering up the butted seam) and I sew the straight-grain linen tapen on the inside down by hand. Then I get another piece of bias tape and sew it around the collar and the front neckline slit. And then I sew that down by hand on the inside as well.
Anything for a smooth finish right?
...still no thimble.
By the time I finish all this handsewing, I'm down one movie and ready to start on the next. But the results are quite beautiful.
I know you're not supposed to sew your fabrics in every direction you can think of, but I kind of like the effect it creates here. Dupioni catches the light quite beautifully.
Time for the sleeves!
Since you advised me to add a gusset, a gusset I make. It boggles the mind how to sew it down with the "butt seams and cover with straight-grain-tape" method I'm using though.
Once one end of the gusset is sewed down, I take a longer bit of tape and start on the second seam. This time, I'm deviating from the method a bit. I sew both tapes down on the long seam, and then sew only the lining tape like it's a reguar seam (right sides togheter). This way, the seam is already in place and it can't move about anymore.
Whipstitching the butted edges together and then it's time for the machine.
Of course you can't sew an underarm seam on the machine. Sometimes you can manage, but with all these bulky, quilted layers, this is as far as I get. I do the rest by hand.
...still no thimble though.
The shoulder seam caused me to break out in cold sweat. I use the same method as with the underarm seam (sew the lining tape onto both sides) and set the entire sleeve by hand. I cover the whipstitch with the straight-grain tape and sew the entire top strip down by hand. On both sides. On both sleeves. And I still haven't found my thimble.
Oh, and this is what the gusset looks like with the shoulder seam pinned down.
When the sleeves are set, I finally allow myself to finish off the center-front seam. This is easy, compared to the sleeves! Especially since it's a short way -- I leave the rest open as a front split.
The sides will hold the closure. I use my hem ruler to mark every 3 cm to place an eyelet.
I use two-part eyelets. We bought this press a while back for our leather crafting, but there is a die for eyelets too! It's amazing, it does the grommets for leather and the two-part eyelets I need for fabrics.
The sleeves are then finished with a bit of tape. I sew it down on the inside first, and then topstitch on the outside.
I decided against using dupioni here, because this is a spot that will see much wear.
Time for a quick self-portrait with the chainmail!
I-R-Pleased.
I take the thing off again and watch some Heroes on my pc while handsewing the last strips of dupioni bias tape around the hem. At this point, I've finally bought not one but two new thimbles! Woohoo!
The finished collar. The insignia are my captain's rank (gold-coloured) and the regiment's identifier (silver-coloured maple leaf).
The final picture of the finished gambeson!
It was quite a lot of work and I'd do things differently next time. For one, I would spend a lot more time on the pattern. It's too bad I didn't have the time right now.
The gambeson fits me fine, and I wore it to the Midsummerfair this weekend, with the chainmail (pictures forthcoming soon, I hope). The sleeves are a bit loose at the top, but it allows for extra movement. Next time, I would definitely fit the sleeves differently, see how it goes when I crop the armscye closer and have this gusset.
The pattern I drafted is one for "being pretty while standing" jackets. It's not a "let's kick the crap out of these here guys" pattern. So boo.
I've been called a Romulan because of the padded & quilted coat and the awesome high collar. I love the collar...
I would also change the way I assamble the garment. The strips are fine and they work, but I wonder if it wouldn't have been better if I'd added a seperate lining and just assemble the thing in the normal way.
That said, the gambeson was very comfortable, although it did have a tendency to tilt backwards. I will add a small clasp at the front neckline split, between the bias-tape and the start of the chainmail, which might help.
Next time: the overcoat...and I might show you some of my accessories!
-----
Crossposted to
dressdiaries
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-06-20 09:54 pm (UTC)You should be very proud of what you have acheived.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 07:06 am (UTC)And thank you, yes, I'm very proud!
no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 07:14 am (UTC)Interesting that you have used bias tape to sew the pattern pieces together! Using the seam allowance would have caused a lot of bulk I guess, so this is a very clever solution.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 07:44 am (UTC)But like I wrote: next time I might do it differently!
no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 08:10 am (UTC)You sure you're not coming to the MEF in 2012?
no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 08:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 09:14 am (UTC)http://www.mittelerdefest.ch/index.php?content=&style=elben
no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 09:26 am (UTC)I would like to visit, but going to Switserland is going to take some planning. I really don't know if I can make it.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 09:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 10:35 am (UTC)Well done!
no subject
Date: 2011-06-21 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 08:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 08:07 pm (UTC)I have not had the time to edit them, since the lighting is not very well done on some of them and I mean to fix that in photoshop later. (you know, life happened this week)
The chain however gleams very nicely in the sunshine! I had one of you in total shadow and it just fell flat, not doing that gorgeous mail any justice.
Let me know when you pulled them off, since I will replace them with lo-res ones.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-22 08:50 pm (UTC)Geweldige foto's!
no subject
Date: 2011-06-24 03:09 pm (UTC)As for the sewing with gold thread, it usually does not break when you use it in your bobbin and use a normal thread for the top. So you'd have to sew the garment upside down to get the pretty gold on the right side.
As long as thread tension is all right the normal thread should not show.
That is how I have done the edge of my belly dance veil. I am not patient enough to do hand sewing on more than a meter of fabric. ;-)
~Brenda~