Previous Project Littlefinger Posts:
Sew Very Doomed
Another Adventure
Test Case
Idea Collision
Sweatshop
Poncho Paint
A Needle Pulling Thread
We're in the home stretch now because the show is less than a week away.
On Saturday, the wife helped me position the tabbard atop the robe so we could attach the Velcro. She marked the underside of the tabbard with chalk lines. We didn't need to do this for the robe because the Velcro was going atop the shoulder seams.
It was left for me to sew the Velcro strips. The success with the collar hooks encouraged me to tackle this with gusto. She warned me to attach the hook strips to the robe, and the fabric to the tabbard, and I did.
But -- and this is a big "butt" -- you have to stab the needled through the Velcro strips like you're Norman Bates. It's thick and plastic. It will not yield. You stab it with your steel knives but you just can't kill the beast. And now I know the value of thimbles, because my fingers are perforated. It took forever -- FOREVER -- to get the Velcro strip stationary and wrangle the robe and sew around the collar without sewing the collar to the Velcro strip.
This was the first strip. The lay of the cloth makes it look like the Velcro is tugging the cloth. It's not. I worked hard to keep the fabric flat when attaching the strip, mostly to avoid any chafing when I wear the robe (even through a t-shirt).
I made the second strip approximately as long as the first and lashed it to the other shoulder. "Lashing" is the word because, keep in mind, I hadn't sewn anything before this summer. To keep the Velcro in place, I cross-stitched the strips in place. Overkill, perhaps. But I want this thing to last for two full days of wear and tear.
And this is the robe with both strips. This took hours on Saturday. I could have been playing video games. I mourn my lost time. I'm old. I need every hour.
Monday night, the wife and I double-checked the tabbard placement on the robe, and I added the soft fabric strips to it. I again cross-stitched the additions and again tortured my eyes with black thread and black fabric.
The seams are barely noticeable on the exterior of the tabbard, and only the tallest of folks will see it. I may have to redo some gold dots broken up by thread and punctures with the fabric paint pen, but that should take a few minutes, tops.
The hem needed adjusting, and I clipped the tabbard ends to sew together the next day.
On my Tuesday lunch break, I went back to the fabric store to simplify the belt. The filigree clasp I chose opened too easily, and I initially bound it closed with black thread. I rethought that in the weeks since, choosing instead to sew the clasp ends to my tabbard edges. The cord would then wrap around me and under belt loops I would add that night. The belt cord would be more decorative than necessary, and I wouldn't have to worry about it falling apart in all those convention crowds. Tuesday night would be a bear with hemming (and hawing) and belting. I didn't want to sew anything on Wednesday. That was my arbitrary deadline. I would burn out my eyes Tuesday night rather than put needled to thread the next day.
I got home Tuesday night and hemmed the tabbard. I had earlier Googled hemming tutorials. The first one said hemming was simple. Just grab your sewing machine. I had never punched Google before.
I put on the costume and clipped the tabbard ends based on how they lay over the shoes. I measured the ends to even length and pinned the folds in place. I cut the excess and bound them with a mix of whip stitches and cross stitches.
With both those done, the last detail was the belt. Again, I decided to forgo a cord wrapping around me and instead suggest a belt with the filigree clasp. I marked the positions on the tabbard and attached them with lots and lots of thread.
The tabbard is heavy enough to create tension on the clasp, keeping it closed. The tabbard also now veers together, matching the lay of Littlefinger's. Amid a music shuffle of Evita, Beatles, Huey Lewis, and Pink Floyd, I was done. I finally put on the entire costume. There will be no Wednesday sewing.
Now I just have to shave Saturday morning to match the character.We'll iron the tabbard that morning in the hotel room before the parade. I'm packing a small pile of black t-shirts, slacks, and socks for the bottom layers, and I'll definitely have to change all those after the parade.
We made a costume, she and I. I can sew now. Not great. Not cleanly. But I can patch and secure and hem. If this outfit makes it through two days of packed crowds and hot, hot heat, it's a success. And if people know who I'm dressed as. Recognition will be good too.
Thanks for reading.
Sew Very Doomed
Another Adventure
Test Case
Idea Collision
Sweatshop
Poncho Paint
A Needle Pulling Thread
We're in the home stretch now because the show is less than a week away.
On Saturday, the wife helped me position the tabbard atop the robe so we could attach the Velcro. She marked the underside of the tabbard with chalk lines. We didn't need to do this for the robe because the Velcro was going atop the shoulder seams.
But -- and this is a big "butt" -- you have to stab the needled through the Velcro strips like you're Norman Bates. It's thick and plastic. It will not yield. You stab it with your steel knives but you just can't kill the beast. And now I know the value of thimbles, because my fingers are perforated. It took forever -- FOREVER -- to get the Velcro strip stationary and wrangle the robe and sew around the collar without sewing the collar to the Velcro strip.
I made the second strip approximately as long as the first and lashed it to the other shoulder. "Lashing" is the word because, keep in mind, I hadn't sewn anything before this summer. To keep the Velcro in place, I cross-stitched the strips in place. Overkill, perhaps. But I want this thing to last for two full days of wear and tear.
And this is the robe with both strips. This took hours on Saturday. I could have been playing video games. I mourn my lost time. I'm old. I need every hour.
Monday night, the wife and I double-checked the tabbard placement on the robe, and I added the soft fabric strips to it. I again cross-stitched the additions and again tortured my eyes with black thread and black fabric.
The hem needed adjusting, and I clipped the tabbard ends to sew together the next day.
On my Tuesday lunch break, I went back to the fabric store to simplify the belt. The filigree clasp I chose opened too easily, and I initially bound it closed with black thread. I rethought that in the weeks since, choosing instead to sew the clasp ends to my tabbard edges. The cord would then wrap around me and under belt loops I would add that night. The belt cord would be more decorative than necessary, and I wouldn't have to worry about it falling apart in all those convention crowds. Tuesday night would be a bear with hemming (and hawing) and belting. I didn't want to sew anything on Wednesday. That was my arbitrary deadline. I would burn out my eyes Tuesday night rather than put needled to thread the next day.
I got home Tuesday night and hemmed the tabbard. I had earlier Googled hemming tutorials. The first one said hemming was simple. Just grab your sewing machine. I had never punched Google before.
I put on the costume and clipped the tabbard ends based on how they lay over the shoes. I measured the ends to even length and pinned the folds in place. I cut the excess and bound them with a mix of whip stitches and cross stitches.
With both those done, the last detail was the belt. Again, I decided to forgo a cord wrapping around me and instead suggest a belt with the filigree clasp. I marked the positions on the tabbard and attached them with lots and lots of thread.
The tabbard is heavy enough to create tension on the clasp, keeping it closed. The tabbard also now veers together, matching the lay of Littlefinger's. Amid a music shuffle of Evita, Beatles, Huey Lewis, and Pink Floyd, I was done. I finally put on the entire costume. There will be no Wednesday sewing.
We made a costume, she and I. I can sew now. Not great. Not cleanly. But I can patch and secure and hem. If this outfit makes it through two days of packed crowds and hot, hot heat, it's a success. And if people know who I'm dressed as. Recognition will be good too.
Thanks for reading.
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