 |
| trim and apliqués off |
The Finishing Touches
I wanted to finish the needed alterations before finishing writing the thesis, but the Summer-long end writing marathon was so stressful, I barely sewn anything. In March, I took the jacket's skirt trim off, took off the apliqués, marked where I wanted to cut the hem, inhaled deeply, and cut it. Phew!
 |
| taking the plunge (cut) |
Then marked the apliqués new positioning and slowly started sewing them. They're not 100% parallel to each other, slightly tapering outwards, which sort of gives the illusion they are. This time I did it in a production line method: 1st: loosely pinned them all in place; 2nd: porcupine pinned the 1st apliqué, and started sewing it, with a ladder stitch. Each time I reached a pin, I switched it to the next apliqué, and so on. I think it took me about a month to complete the apliqués, sewing for about 2 to 3 hours each time.
 |
| loosely pinning the apliqués |
Then I started sewing back the trim, on and off during the Summer, but I only finished sewing the trim last Monday.
Then it took me about two days to sew the buttons, mostly because one was dirty, so I needed to wait for it to dry, and I ended up just making 10 small buttons, but I needed 12 in total. 8 for the sleeves, 4 for the shoes. I also sewed a pentagon to the top of the back slit (it's only drawn in part of the manga illustrations) and replaced the back strap with the first one I made, which is nicer looking and wider, much like the new ones.
.jpg) |
| the cuff straps |
 |
| the back mstrap and slit reinforcing pentagon |
The final step was sewing the back of the right shoulder seam, as it tends to rip in that area (another patterning mistake - sleeves are my Nemesis).
Aaaaand... *drum roll*
 |
| the completed jacket |
HOKUTO SUMERAGI IS 100% COMPLETED!
+ Phew! It's finally done!And I'm overall very happy with this costume. It's fairly well done, even though it took me very long, I mostly enjoyed making it, it has tons of pieces (12 in total), and it's tight but comfortable, I just can't wear it in the Summer.
- The time it took to be completed was far too long, but it's excusable with so many life changes in between: a pandemic, the thesis and the costume's final purpose, and moving house. There are some construction issues, especially in the jacket's shoulders and sleeves. The polyester taffeta against the skin is a mistake I'll never make again, but everything else, like the jacket's length, was corrected and I ended changing the gloves fabric to a knit, and making the teacup out of fabric, instead of 3D printing (which I'll eventually make someday).
THE END
