R. H. Seamstrix

The monkscloth tunic is finished! It's a bit stiff, but it's loosening up as I wear it. The pattern of the weave should let it be somewhat flexible without being stretchy, which will be important when I wear it under the quilted jacket and vest. Made with Butternick pattern B6752.

Whenever I finish the quilted vest, I'll need something to wear under the vest and jacket. To that end, I'm making a monkscloth tunic. It's very breathable because the pattern of the weave means it's filled with tiny holes, but it's strong. If this goes well, I'll probably make more with this fabric (or perhaps linen). Grimoire helped me cut the fabric, mostly by sitting on the paper pattern and being a weight to hold it in place. I've already made several tunics from this pattern, they're a staple of my wardrobe, but this is the first time I'm making one that is plain rather than from printed fabric. 

This evening I made a lot of progress on the horizontal quilting lines for the back piece, but I'm not done yet. When I get all the horizontal lines finished I'll need to do the vertical lines for the back piece and both front sections. I'm enjoying quilting, it pairs well with audiobooks, and once everything is marked I can spend a lot time sewing before needing to set up the next pieces. This is at least the second day I've spent just on horizontal lines for the back, the vertical lines will take even longer because they cover the whole piece, but the horizontal lines stop near the waist. I'm using thread which gradually changes from white to dark amber, with various kinds of lighter orange and gold in between. I chose gradient thread so that the final quilted grid is clear, but visually accommodates any imperfections by fading in and out of view.

The quilted under-jacket is complete! It still needs the quilted over-vest, I have some of that quilted already but now I need to finish that part before I can begin assembly. Hand-quilting took a while, but I'm so pleased with the result that I'm considering making more garments in this style, or even quilting something where the pattern might not already call for that detail. I used white flannel instead of cotton batting, I wanted the whole thing to be cotton but also I intend to wear this in my longsword class, so I don't want it to be too heavy for me to move easily. The cording is hemp made into slipknot cord to give it some extra strength and thickness. Made with Simplicity pattern S9593.

Eventually this will be a quilted vest and half-tunic that are worn together. I'm hoping to finish assembling the half-tunic today, then I'll finish the vest. Evening Update: I hemmed and attached the sleeves, then completed part of the bottom hem. After that I’ll need to add grommets and cording, then it’s on to the long quilted vest which goes over this.

This is a corset vest I made for a friend. The photos don't include the corset lacing because I shipped him the laces separately to cut to fit when he received it. The fabric is two kinds of cotton Batik, with a dark blue cotton lining. The lapels have embroidery to highlight the dye pattern of the Batik. The entire vest is hand-sewn, the embroidery was added to the lapels before the lapels were sewn to the rest of the vest. Made with Simplicity pattern S9087.