The Man in...Green?

So waaaaaaaayy back in late fall of 2016 I started with an idea for an outfit for my husband that would coordinate with Kate and I's dresses that were planned at the time. We would wear them in April 2017. However, through busy schedules and a bit of miscommunication, I ended up making the green silk dresses and the black doublet for my husband instead. Those turned out great.

Kate has continued to get the originally planned dresses done, and I think it all works out rather nicely, as the bright green was better for the spring, and the oranges, greens, and browns of the upcoming dresses work better for the fall. Now we'll all just have to pray for weather that cooperates...

Anyway, I had a brilliant idea at the time - make his doublet reversible so there would be less clothing to keep track of! Thank goodness the day he wore that true doublet the weather was relatively chilly.  He was still hot.  Since then I bought thin cotton for lining and proceeded with the green version!

The front, unlined so far.

The back. The orange piece is from a silk sari that is going to be my underskirt for the matching dress.

Here it is lined, with the front flap and shoulder epaulets laid on.

While the doublet pattern was the same as the black one (with trim in a slightly different spot) the sleeves on this one are different.  It all started with this picture from Pinterest. 

Sadly, the link from Pinterest back to the original image was dead.  No luck with a tutorial there. 

However, it seemed simple enough - it was just woven strips of ribbon, placed on the bias. I couldn't see how they finished either edge or seam, so I assumed the easy way out with a serger and bias tape. 

My next task would be sourcing that much ribbon. A full sleeve's worth is edging into bulk territory.  Fortunately Google Ad Services worked in my favor for once, and I found Fabric Wholesale Direct, with a reasonable price!

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I had a pattern and material, so how could I let procedure stand in my way? I got started by tracing the sleeve pattern on to paper.

Well... tracing is too soft of a word.  For this project you want a marker dark enough to actually bleed through your paper a bit. 

My marker was watermelon scented, but that's not a requirement for you.

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Then I laid out the ribbon on the diagonal, pinning it with a small gap in between each piece. It's a good idea to trace out a straight line to make sure your ribbon isn't warped.

If you know how to make a lattice crust pie, you know the next part.  More weaving, cutting, and pinning!

Then comes the exciting part - you'll literally feel pinpricks of excitement! Or real pinpricks!

Take the whole thing, pinned to the paper, and sew around the original pattern tracing line. Use a basting stitch and a needle you don't care about dulling.  If possible take out the pins as you go to minimize blood loss and cursing at your project.

After it has been sewn down and all the ouchie bits removed tear off the paper pattern. Sadly it cannot be reused, so for the second sleeve you'll have to start over with tracing another pattern, just be sure to mirror it if your ribbon is single sided. 

You'll have options here on out. You don't have to tack ribbon down. In fact the original picture doesn't look like that was done.  You might be able to get away with fabric glue here and there. 

But I know my husband, and something had to be reinforced from the beginning, plus I wanted to add decoration. Cue the French Knots!  I toyed with adding some green lazy daisy stitches, but after the French Knots I was DONE with embroidery.

And to finish mine off I sewed the underarm seam with the sewing machine, serged the edge, and wrapped some tan grosgrain ribbon at the bottom and top, since this sleeve laces onto the shoulder of the doublet.

​On to other parts of the body!

Last year I actually started a pants pattern for Ryan, only to realize AFTER I got it made that the fabric was mostly polyester and my furnace of a husband would likely sweat to death in them.  

​I had a pattern with what amounts to lounge pants that would work. The top of the pants are covered, as are the bottom, so really it just needs to be two leg tubes of cloth. I cut the pants out one evening and sewed them the next.

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All together it turned out great!  There are only a few alterations I need to make, which is good. I always have another project on the back burner to get to.