Costume-Making 101: The Coat Maketh the Man

Hello again and welcome to a somewhat delayed entry in my costuming adventures in and around the Asssassin's Creed costumes I'm working on.  Since we last left the action another bout of illness and general life has made progress a little slow, but I'm happy to report that we're back in top gear and surrounded by fabric off-cuts and pattern pieces once again.

So, having finished up the top part of my new coat in my dyed corduroy and denim, it was decision time as to how to progress on the lower half - whether to build it as per the pattern for a long, trench-coat look or to carry on with my attempt to recreate the pattern of the Connor Kenway coat from AC:3.  This actually turned into a bit of a dilemma, slowing down production for quite a few days as I swayed back and forth as to which way to go with it; to stay faithful to the original vision of the project and replicate the in-game coat or to stick with a pattern I knew and work on something original.  Hmm.

While I liked the idea of recreating the Connor coat in a new fabric, in the end I decided to stick to a tried and true pattern, mainly because if it all went wrong it would be very hard and time-consuming to order in more fabric from Germany, dye it to match and re-cut all the pattern pieces.  Fear not though, I've already teed up the Connor pattern for a future build so more on that in the months to come!  Sorry family...

One thing I wanted to include with my coat was a split in the skirt to allow for easier movement and to make the design more my own, so after cutting all the pattern pieces I started to assemble the skirt.  The side and back panels went together as per Simplicity 2333's instructions, but when it came to attaching the back seams, I only stitched them together for about a fifth of the length, as shown below:

Once this was finished off, time to add the pockets - as anyone who's been to a convention will tell you, the most frustrating thing about wearing a costume is the lack of somewhere to keep your wallet, cigarettes and business cards...  The pockets were placed as per the pattern, but I decided to line them with the denim fabric to give them more stability.  I'll run through how I did this quickly.  Warning, lots of pictures and lots of time to do this, especially given that no-one but me will see it...

First off, cut the outer fabric to size and the lining fabric to the same size, minus the seam allowance:

To ensure no stray edges inside the finished pocket, fold over and iron/press the seam allowance so it is a double thickness and half the width, with the raw edge touching the lining fabric:

Next, fold and press the seam allowance over on itself again so that it overlaps the lining fabric.  This will ensure the outer fabric's cut edges are enclosed before sewing in place and will ensure no loose threads or fraying from the inside.  Then, run a line of stitching along the top opening of the pocket to finish the top edge:

I pinned the turned over lining in place after pressing to hold them securely and trimmed any folds that were too bulky:

Now position the pocket on the coat and pin in place.  I left the pins from the previous stage in place to ensure that nothing moved during assembly.  I ran a stitch around the pocket edges to secure it in pace, around 6mm in from the edge:

Make sure to double stitch the seam at the top where the pocket opens and try not to dip the pocket in your tea like I did before attaching...

Lastly, I ran a stitch around the very edge of the pocket using a zipper foot, resulting in a double hemmed extra-strong pocket for my coat:

So, pockets attached (minus a flap, more on this to come), I was left with two halves of a coat, ready to attached and finish.  The lining went in as per the pattern instructions, with some modification around the back split.  The fabric for the lining is a dark red-wine (mmmm) coloured poly-cotton with a slight linen weave to it, and against the advice of the pattern I stitched this along the entire length of the top where it joins the body; I'd tried to follow the pattern once before and have my own way of finishing it off - I find the Simplicity instructions confusing and illogical.  Here's a bad photo to illustrate:

Now it was simply a case of attaching the two together, remembering to include the two gathers on the back.  Some pinning, adjusting and sewing later, we have this:

The fit is a little off as I'm having to hold it closed at the front, so here we are again on a mannequin torso, stood on my ironing board:

I was very pleased with how well the coat held its structure across the top, thanks mainly to the denim lining.  The lower half has very little weight as both the corduroy and the lining are very light and floaty, meaning a great hang while being worn.  In a previous attempt at this pattern I'd used a heavy lining through the skirt part and it ended up pulling the whole coat out of shape when worn due to the weight of the lower half.

So, many weeks of work, a lot of cutting, many, many cups of tea later and we have the basic structure of the coat finished.  Next time I'll document adding the cuff turn-backs, finishing the seam between the body and the skirt plus the start of the (extensive) detailing, include almost 30 (!) buttons and button-holes I had planned.  Oh, and more on the hood to come:

Enjoy the sunshine and more to come!

Costume-making 101 - Decisions, decisions, decisions...

So then my costume-making friends, when we left the action last time (pre the bout of horrific man-flu-mixed-with-hayfever-and-no-sleep-or-food-for-two-days that struck me down over the weekend) I was on the cusp of having to decide which way my new project was going to proceed - an AC3 coat replica, or an ACU (Assassin's Creed Unity) coat in the style of the new main character, Arno.  Wow, I have such problems...

While trying to decide, I made a start on a new coat.  See?  Responsible decision making; charge ahead with something regardless and make it up as you go along!

So, having decided to crack on with something rather than nothing, I ordered in some corduroy from a place I found in Germany, very reasonable at £4.59 per meter instead of the usual £15.00.  Great, I thought, until it arrived.  I'd missed the words "worn appearance" in the description.  It meant this:

Basically, it looked as though the fabric had been badly tie-dyed in a brown-orange over a white base.  This is how it looked after washing...

No problem, thought I, Dylon will hold the answer.  Three packs of dark brown dye, several 40 degree wash cycles and a day of drying later I was happy with the colour.  For reference, I was going for a colour combination (whichever way the project went) based on the brown/red/blue colours from AC3:

I (finally) had the brown outer in the form of a good earthy needle cord, now I needed the red and the blue.  For added texture and interest I'd already picked up some indigo denim from my local supplies, plus some burgundy poly-cotton to work in.  The hood, I'd already tackled:

After already failing at it once:

More on this when I cover the finer points of construction.  

So, sticking with my Simplicity 2333 pattern from last time, I set about building the top half of the coat, as this would be the same whichever way the build progressed.  I cut and assembled the front, back, top sleeve, under sleeve and collar from both my denim and my corduroy, resulting in this:

The brown outer, complete with denim collar and interfacing, which I later removed as it prove unnecessary and unreliable with the rigid denim lining.

And this, the denim lining, turned inside out for pressing on the sleeves:

Next up, let's get theses puppies together, trim seams, hem, press, turn in the right way, press and sew again to finish all the edges off nicely:

Cool huh?  I was very pleased.  The denim lining proved rigid enough to hold the collar and turn-backs in place with no interfacing, plus the shoulders sat really well.  A note here on set-in sleeves, as per above: learn how to do them, they look fantastic and will only take a couple of tries if you've got a little experience under your belt.  To me, set-in sleeves add a really "professional" look to your work and sell it as a garment, rather than just a costume.  

Sadly I have no pictures of constructing the set-in sleeves, but this was my second and third attempt (shell then liner) and I managed them all (four in all, two sets of two) without a single catch.  Go me.  If possible, have someone show you how to do it, otherwise learn by video - Google produces some excellent results.  

I used the one below, plus some common sense and reference books, especially the invaluable "The Sewing Book" by Alison Smith from DK Books - buy it, you won't regret it.  As I said, I'd done one set before this (with a couple of catches) so work slowly, methodically and don't be afraid to alter and re-sew if needed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QSw8SwH9V8

Next time I'll be looking at which way I decided to go the the coat, AC3 or ACU-inspired, so for now, here's an in-progress shot of the coat body and the proposed hood:

Thanks for looking guys, more to follow in the next week or so.

Until next time.

Costume-making 101: Post-Comic-Con Hang-ups and the Plan Ahead

So, here we are a few weeks after the big event, fully rested and fresh from a couple of weeks of not blogging, not making anything and giving Assassin’s Creed 3 another try.  Prepare for a complete 180, but I now think it’s a pretty decent game all in all – don’t get me wrong, it’s no AC2 but worth a punt for the right price.  Just stick with it past the first 4,000 boring hours and it will start to get good.  Promise.

Where are we now then?  Well, Comic-Con first off.  This was the second event we’ve all been to and I was pleasantly surprised by the huge turn-out on the Saturday and the consistently high standard people achieve for the costumes, be they shop-bought or painstakingly hand-made.  Everyone we met (and had about a million photos with) was enthusiastic, polite and genuinely interested and discussing all things nerd; loved it.  However, if you’re listening Comic-Con organisers, how about next time around we try filling all that extra space with some more/different stalls?  Hard to believe I had a bonus from work burning a hole in my pocket and I managed to spend zero.  Well apart from about £20 on disappointing noodles.

Anyway, what did we learn from Comic-Con as far as costumes are concerned?  Well, lots of people go dressed as an Assassin’s Creed character.  A lot.  Mostly as Connor from AC3 (now a good-ish game, but always a fantastic costume) and mostly in some variation of shop-bought costume, which generally look quite good.  My friend Scott’s Ezio-esque outfit attracted a lot of attention, as did my other half’s and step-daughter’s due in no small part to the fact that they are girls who Cosplay Assassin’s Creed, which seems to be a bit of a novelty still.  The one “weak” link in the chain was my costume.  I was happy with the quality of work and the general “historical” nature of it – a lot of research and design went into getting looking right.  So what was wrong with it?  No flair.  None.  I looked really hard for it as well and I couldn’t find any.

Bugger.

So naturally with the event out of the way I set to with designing the new coat for October.  No rest for the wicked.  Given the abundance of Connor/AC3 costumes on show I took my cue from the masses and decided to build an AC3-inspired coat, but I a more realistic way.  There are plenty of patterns online for this, but I wanted to do something individual to make it stand out.  So, time to break out the crayons and canvas and get cutting!

Base Pattern

After some searching online and through the Big Drawer of Patterns I decided to base my new project around Simplicity 2333, widely referred to as the Captain Hook pattern.  I’d used this before for my first AC3 coat largely unaltered, save for the sleeve attachment as I couldn’t figure out set-in sleeves at that time (more on this later), plus the added hood.  This was produced in a blue and white drill cotton, and turned out ok.

This time around I planned to use the upper body and sleeves in their original state and then adapt the two skirt parts to give the shape I needed.  Rather than destroy the pattern I had, I sent about creating a canvas replacement, made from a donated roll of printing canvas I rescued from work.  Some measuring cutting, re-cutting and copious study of an AC3 statue I had on the shelf and I came up with the following:

The idea behind this is that the tab on the far right turns back and buttons down along the whole length to give the blue turn-backs, then the large extension folds back over itself and buttons to the rear of the coat tales, giving this:

I believe this is fairly close to what is being represented in-game and it differs somewhat to other patterns I’ve seen out there.  Please feel free to use and adapt this idea, but as with anything credit for the idea would be appreciated.  The back portion of the skirt overlaps itself to create the buttoned recess we see on the back of the Connor coat so rather than simply sew a contrast piece over the original fabric, I decided to divide the rear skirt into three pieces, to create a more believable overlap.  And a lot more work, of course.    Here’s where we end up, following another mod to the leading edge:

I was feeling pretty pleased with myself at this point – a custom patern for a tricky coat design, fabrics on order and my colours pretty much down, plus a completed hood, which I’ll show you next time around.  And then something bad happened.  Or rather, something very good, which was also bad; I watched the Assassin’s Creed Unity trailer from E3.  Then I watched the making-of video.  Then I watch the co-op gameplay video.  Then, I decided to buy an Xbox One and the game the day of release. 
And I fell in love with Arno’s coat…

Now what?  Ah yes, spoilers: 

More to come folks, will most likely be moving the blogs to the weekend rather than mid-week so stay tuned!  Oh, and Blogger appears to be playing up, so apologies for the poor format...

Until next time.

Costume-making 101:  The Road to Comic-Con, a premature retrospective

Well, here we are then folks, the week before the Big Day (relatively speaking of course) and there’s nothing more to do except sit back, relax, and know I’ve done my best.

Except there is more to do.  Swords to finish, LARP daggers to arrive, belts to make, scabbards, timing, business cards…  Oh my.

So why is it despite sitting in front of EastEnders (believe me, not my choice) all I can think of is what comes next?  Possibly the extended amounts of time I’m obligated to spend with my “clients,” but possibly more that being my own worst critic I’m focusing more on what I could’ve done rather than what I have done.  Sucks to be my brain, right?

So, in a bout of self-indulgent, self-inflicted sewing self-pity, let’s have a wander through the parts that I could’ve done better…

Ezio-inspired costume:

Let’s start with a tough one.  Tough, because it’s the one I’m most happy with.  My main problem is the stripes.  In the beginning we were shooting for an “almost replica” of the AC2 Ezio costume, almost as if a trainee assassin had seen Ezio in the street and tried to describe his outfit to a well-meaning tailor.  That’d be me.  My problem is the stripes are too close to the original, there’s no individuality to it.  I can’t help but look at it as though I tried for a straight replica but missed by a narrow but obvious margin…

The rest is all good to me, bar the short shirt sleeves, but I blame the pattern for that.  I’m a workman, so I blame my tools.  Some better trousers next time, some custom vambraces and adding some more leatherwork and this one will be a charm.  Details, that’s what it needs.

Smuggler/Pirate Assassin

I’m pretty happy with this one as well to be honest, given that of the four costumes I’m making this one came together both surprisingly easily and to a good effect.  Proof you should never throw anything away!

The main changes as discussed with the “client” would be to add a bustle or underskirt beneath the longer over-tunic, plus some more floaty/tassel details to add movement to the whole piece.  Better boots would be good, as would a shirt of a slightly lighter colour to add some definition, plus a few lacy-type pirate details.  Again, details.  We’ll need to replace the sword with something more buccaneer-esque, plus a few shells and trinkets wouldn’t go amiss.

Still, as a costume built on-the-fly, not too bad.

Victorian/Steampunk Assassin

Blurry game-face time.

There’s a few bits here I need to change.  Trousers.  I can’t abide the suit trousers with this costume.  Bustier/basque is good, there’s a tunic to go under it in October, nice use of the AC3 hidden blade 3D print from Ammnra Creations (www.shapeways.com – check it out, you won’t regret it.  Well, your wallet will) and the boots are fine.

The dreaded coat is another matter.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the fabric, the lining, the hood, the fit etc., but I just feel the overall construction could be better.  Especially now I know how to do sleeves properly.  I’ve got a horrible feeling that I’ll be making this again and I promised myself I’d never touch this pattern after last time.

Bloody details again.  Oh, and maybe some nice new daggers next time.  Speaking of which, a new way of carrying them:

More on this after Comic-Con.

Western Assassin

And the big one.  What don’t I like about my costume?  Well, I love the trousers.  Apparently they’re referred to as a “carrot” cut (I must be getting old…), complete with braces.  Love ‘em.

Hidden blade?  Very pleased.  Another tour-de-force by Chris Myles at Ammnra Creations.  And some fine painting from me of course.  The belt is all-good, a decent reproduction Sam Browne belt from eBay I picked up for under a tenner.  So what’s wrong then?

Shirt.  Made one, didn’t like it.  Bought one, loved it, realised it’d be too hot to wear it with the coat closed (more on this another time...).  Two shirts down for anyone keeping count.  So now I’m unceremoniously wearing a t-shirt.  Whoever heard of a cowboy, or assassin, wearing a t-shirt?  God, it’s like it’s all just make-believe…

Boots, gaitors, sash, neck-tie all good.  Plus the AC4 MacFarlane hidden blade cover, really good-looking addition to any costume or collection.  In fact, go buy one now, I’ll wait – tell them I sent you.

So I must like the coat right, all that work?  Well, no, actually.  I don’t like it at all.  I put together a better one for last year’s event.  Look:

It took a while to put my finger on what was wrong with it.  In fact, it took a whole Friday evening of dressing up, a curry and a good deal of discussion with my group of clients.  Then Scott (Ezio) put his finger on it; my previous coat looked like a costume.  It was unique, interesting and not typical of what other period costumes looked like, right in keeping with the AC game franchise aesthetic.  What I had was a historically accurate looking duster that was thoroughly uninspired as far as design went.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s well-made, comfortable and hangs well, but where’s the flair?  And to think, I even set it out in first blog entry, design aesthetic is key!

It’s such a minor problem to everyone except me, that’s why it’s my biggest problem.

Still, nothing to be done now, Saturday’s approaching quickly and I’m very much looking forward to the host of fantastic people and their inspiring costumes that will no-doubt be on display.  Let’s just hope that these four can stand up to the ever-high standards you talented lot keep coming up with.

That and I need to decide if I’m taking my hat.

As for next week?  Surely a week off and some respite for the family from losing the front room to my sewing habits, right?

Piss off, next week I start my new coat for October’s Comic-Con.  And trust me, it’ll be a belter!  Maybe something like this..?

Until next week and a full Comic-Con round up, peace out y’all.

Costume-Making 101 - Ooooh, the deadline approach-eth...

Well, I said it would happen and look at that, it has happened.  We're a week and a half out from Comic-Con and wouldn't you know it?  The blog updates are getting fewer and further between, and the updates are, well, sporadic.  

So, what do I have to show for it?  Well, here's where we're up to with each of the efforts.  And apologies, very quick photos in bad light and terrible models... :)

Victorian/Steampunk Assassin

Ok, so top to bottom, what've we got?

Coat/hood - custom made by me, patterned cream curtain fabric shell, red satin lining.  Adapted Simplicity pattern for the coat body with my custom hood pattern

Basque - faux red leather, red stain lining, eyelets and lacing on the back, made by me from a stock Simplicity pattern

Sash - embarrassingly, some spare red stain we had laying around...

Trousers - found item

Boots - found item

Belts - found items

Flintlock pistol - Denix replica pistol, bought in France about 15 years ago, unsure of the model

Hidden blade - 3D printed Connor kit from Ammnra Creations, available at www.shapeways.com.  Painted and finished by me mounted to a custom lace-up bracer

Dagger - old LARP dagger from Eldritch in the UK

Pirate/Smuggler Assassin

Number two, here we go...

Bandanna - found item from eBay

Over-tunic and hood - adapted Simplicity pattern made by me, off-white heavy calico fabric with brass accent buttons

Under-shirt - Simplicity pirate shirt, stock build by me from off-white calico fabric.  Brass accent buttons 

Belt rig - found items, cut and riveted together by me.  Fully adjustable

Sash - red, heavyweight cotton drill fabric, simple rectangular pattern designed and made my me.  God, I hated making that...

Pistol - Denix pirate pistol, bought from www.baytree-interiors.com

Hidden blade - McFarlane toys replica Edward Kenway hidden blade

Right bracer - faux brown leather, custom design and fabrication by me, laced inside

Sword - old LARP sword, from Eldritch in the UK

Trousers - found item, actually billowy pyjama trousers

Boots - found item

Old  West/Alamo Assassin

Oh look, it's me...

Over-coat/hood - Simplicity Old West coat pattern, adapted by me, heavyweight artist calico fabric.  Customised with new pockets, imitation horn buttons, extra detailing sewn in to fit hood and lapels

Shirt - found item, from H & M, much better than my attempt and period correct enough

Sash - urgh, another one.  Red heavyweight cotton drill, made my me and I hated every boring second of it

Belt - Sam Browne belt from eBay.  Late imitation, absolute bargain for £10, complete with cross-strap

Trousers - found item.  I won't make trousers.  Ever.  

Vambrace - McFarlane toys Edward Kenway hidden blade replica, space saver as my one isn't finished.  Will include an Ammnra Creations 3D printed hidden blade, finished and painted by me on a custom braced

Pistol - Denix LeMat Civil War revolver from Baytree Interiors.  This was expensive.  But it really does look good and weighs about 1.5 kilos

Gaitors - old pair of post WWII leather gaitors I had lying around.  Yes, I have this stuff lying around.  Found item, can't remember where from

Boots - mine, I wear them all the time.  Originally a light tan but following an accident with some incorrect polish, they're now dark brown...


So there's where we're at so far.  I'll update the progress on my friend Scott's costume at the weekend but needless to say, still a lot left to go.  More in-depth breakdowns will follow after Comic-Con, but for now, a nice find for Scott's costume from Wyrmwick Creations - Google them, their stuff's very impressive and well priced.

Plastic greaves:

Hang the spelling mistakes, I've got shit to build.


Until the weekend, peace out. 

Costume-Making 101: Another Week Closer to Comic-Con…

Hello again my fellow costume nerds and welcome to the weekly update of the road to Comic-Con in London at the end of this month.  Did I read that correctly?  The end of this month?  Holy crap, no time to stand around asking questions, let’s get on with the step-by-step of my friend Scott’s new shoulder armour!

Gentleman, to the boats!

So I felt bad that Scott really had nothing new to take to Comic-Con this time around following a thorough re-design of my step-daughter’s and my costumes.  The mannequin armour was on the back-burner due to timing issues, so I set to designing a new piece of armour for him.  I started out with the excellent patterns provided by Alex over at The Crystal Anvil – check out his website at www.lederkraft.com – choosing the Justicar shoulder armour as a base after talking through the options with the client.  That’s you Scott.

So, some complicated maths later I tiled and printed up the patterns, leaving myself this as a starting point.  You can tell it was late...

After some cutting, gluing, cursing, removing glue from the carpet, cutting again and sticky tape, I ended up with the basic pattern pieces cut.  Now I’m never one to stick to a brief or pattern, so I decided to change things up a little.  I’d be omitting the arm guard tassets for now; these could be added later if there was time, so I was left with the main shoulder piece, the shoulder extension and the standing haute plate.

I knew that I wanted to double layer these parts from the faux leather I had on hand, so hopefully this would provide enough body to make them a little more substantial.  My way of working with this vinyl is to cut my pieces with around a 10mm excess that I can fold back and glue to create a clean outer line without the need to hem it – the faux leather can get fragile if you sew too many lines into it.

To demonstrate this, here’s a handy picture:

And from the right side, a clean silhouette with no stitching lines  You need patience and A LOT of superglue for this.  Luckily, I have superglue:

Before joining the two halves of the main shoulder together, I added the top detail piece, prepared the same way and glued down ready for stitching.  As shown here:

And with the stitching in place to keep it secure.  It’s worth noting that I picked up a really heavy linen thread for this project to give some more definition to the stitch lines and to give it a heavier look.  Nice isn’t it?

And with the backing to the main shoulder piece in place:

After joining the two halves of the main shoulder together and stitching it, I set about constructing the shoulder extension, which was put together in exactly the same way, two layers glue-hemmed and stitched.  Here’s how it looked before being attached (central rivet in place to hold the center line):

When it came to attaching the shoulder extension, I placed the main piece over my mannequin so I could manoeuvre it around in three dimensions to get the look just right.  After marking with pins and punching holes, I riveted the extension to the main body with two-piece tubular rivets.  Three was plenty, one on each the front and back, the third on top.  A lot, you might say, like this, where you can already see the three-dimensional shape it holds unaided:

And in situ to show how it will look when worn.  Three rivets was plenty to keep the shape as the fake leather is remarkably light for its thickness:

Lastly the haute plate (or sword-breaker, as some call it), which was cut exactly from the pattern and put together as per the rest of the pieces.  I punched holes in each corner and arranged it by eye while the whole piece was on the mannequin, resulting in this:

Which I was very happy with.  Two press studs later and its ready for strapping:

Alas I can’t hang around here all night; I’ve got things to make and people to shout at and other things to panic about.  Plus there’s beer in the fridge that needs drinking.

More to come, check back regularly for inspiring add-ons or extra posts as usual.  Or not, I’m busy you know.  Comments, criticism and (especially) praise welcomed as always!

Until next time, cheers all.