And I always get the last word.

Which of Henry VIII's wives are you?
this quiz was made by Lori Fury

Zzzzzip! Zing! Zow!

I made the mockup for the doublet today (Frankendoublet, from Butterick 4574 x 5656), and I whipped through it. Since start-to-finish it took less than one afternoon, that's *incredibly* speedy for me. I even managed not to put anything together backward! I was amazed how easy it was to do the collar, and the shoulder tabs/wings/whatsits (which I altered, because the pattern pieces looked silly to me) were a breeze--way easier than I remember them being last year. Hmmm.

Wonder what's going to go wrong when I go to make the real one?

I looks good...ish. It's *very* hard to tell, since the only model available is DH, who is not the same size as the future owner of this garment. I think it's probably too big, still... everywhere. I based everything off of the measurements I took, but that darn modern wearing ease gets me every time.

I think the collar and the turned-out "lapels" are going to be a success. It looks nice on the mockup, at any rate. I'm a little concerned about the closure--there's a large overlap on DH, which is *not* what the pattern was designed for. I wonder if I can put buttons in something and have it look right, if it wasn't designed to overlap?

Not sure when I'll have a chance to do the real fitting. We'll either see them over Labor Day, and I can do it in person... or I'll have to mail it to them, with explicit instructions on how to do the fitting. Which presumes I know, explicitly, how to do the fitting. Harrumph.

Some brief updates

First... thanks to a friend on my needlework BB, I'm getting some code help, and this place will soon get tidied up a little. No major redecorating (though she offered!), but a few structural additions. Fun, fun. When I can wrap my brain around the information she sent me. :)

Second... thanks to more friends on that same BB, I have decided to line the Ren-Friendly Rainwear in color! I'm thinking that the navy blue wants some sort of deep fuchsia (the trim, which is gorgeous, has fuchsia in it). This will also coordinate wonderfully with a certain beautiful hat.... Still undecided on the other colors. It looks like I'm going to have to order the lining (from the same place I got my Coriander), so that'll take a couple of weeks to get here. And fair starts in 3. Ack.

Lastly... I have finally, after *weeks* (no, months in fact. No... actually, about 2 years) of thinking about it, figured out exactly how I'm going to make the doublet! I'll be using Butterick 4574 almost exclusively, but with a straighter cut front and a band collar. I was really intrigued by this doublet from House of Anoria, but after much soul-searching as I was cutting out pattern pieces, decided that that waist seam was going to make my model's fitting issues too hard (for me, at my skill level) to deal with. Alas. But I think that the free form of the Butterick doublet (really more of a jerkin) will make it much more forgiving, on both of us.

I've also been *hugely* inspired by the work of Baroness Doune, especially this doublet she made for her husband. I love the silhouette of it, as well as the turned-back "lapels." I think I can work with something like that, and even better, I think I've figured out how to do it! So I have half the pattern pieces cut out, and had better go do the rest, if I want to get them ironed tonight.

Anyway, I am *determined* to get SOMETHING done this season! Sure, I have that new black bodice, but I'm really not all that thrilled with it.

Well... off to snip pattern pieces, iron pattern pieces, and then decide if I need to do more revision tonight or not.