I’ve spent the last day or so messing around with pattern pieces for the Celtic Braid Coat. The problem is that I have three deerskin hides – two thicker and one thinner. The thinner one is obviously of better quality, and also better suited to garment making. The two thicker ones are of lesser quality, each with a large hole in the side, but put together, they have more square footage.
The dilemma:
The front pattern pieces, cut out, will just barely-maybe-perhaps squeeze onto the thinner hide. This, however, would put the side seams at the very edge of the hide, which is the weakest part and the most likely to stretch. And I would have none left over for the facings, so I would either have to make the facings out of the thicker hide or just use cloth for the facings.
The front pattern pieces can be cut out of the thicker hides, one pattern piece per hide, with just-barely-maybe-perhaps enough room to squeeze the facings out of the same hides. Again, though, that puts the seams at the very edge of the hide, which is the weakest part.
The best solution I can think of is to convert the front pattern piece from a single monolithic front to a paneled front, with a relatively small side panel (maybe 2-3 inches wide), cut out of the silk fabric that I’m using for the back. Then I can cut both front pieces out of the better quality, thinner hide, keeping the seams away from the weak edges of the hide. And I can cut the facings out of one of the thicker hides. It’s not ideal, but it seems like the best option, as it keeps the better quality hide on the outside and avoids cutting things from the weaker part of the leather.
I have a katazome (Japanese paste-resist dyeing) workshop for most of today and tomorrow, but I am hoping to sneak in some time in the evenings to do the pattern alteration and sew another muslin of the vest.
I am, incidentally, using Trello to track what I need to do for the coat. I do my brainstorming of tasks in Evernote (both because I find it easier and to keep a permanent record), but it is easier to track and reorder the tasks in Trello. Here is a screenshot of my Trello board for the coat:
I’m finding it very useful for tracking what I need to work on.
Meanwhile, in zucchini-land, I’ve given up on photographing the monster – it’s simply too big. It is also starting to crank out zucchini at an alarming rate. However, some suckers good friends came by last night and relieved us of seven zucchini, so we should have a few days’ reprieve before the onslaught resumes.
The butternut squash, meanwhile, is invading the beans and is locked in mortal combat with the melons. (It will win, of course, which suggests that some human intervention may be in order. I like melons!) Fortunately, a stray drift of wind has sent it rampaging past (not into) the tomatoes, though who knows how long that will last? I am looking forward to lots of butternut squash, anyway – a few squash look like they’re full-size already. Perhaps I had better fertilize the monster again, just to keep those delicious butternut squash forming.
Off to the katazome workshop! Hopefully my subconscious will percolate on the pattern problem for the Celtic Braid Coat while I’m learning about katazome, and I’ll return with a clear path in my mind.
