Many of you remember Thana, the Red Demon and the gown I designed for her. Well, it comes as no surprise that my husband wanted to step into her world as well. To do this, I created a Red and Gold Doublet for Tirno.
To begin this conversation, I must say that this is not my first attempt at a doublet. As my skills increase, I am coming to the realization that store-bought patterns are but “suggestions” when it comes to making custom fit garments. I say this because, after measuring and re-measuring and choosing the correct size, I still failed miserably.
This was a few years ago, and as I said, since then I have learned a lot.
So, how did I come up with this design?
I decided this time around to start with something that I knew would work – the Surcoat pattern I altered for hubby.
This surcoat fits perfectly and is very comfortable to wear, so I decided to make this my starting point.
Construction
The following images show some of the stages of the construction. All elements are turn-lined with the same tucked fabric that is used on Thana’s skirts and lining. It is a beautiful fabric and really has a visual and textural impact. The trim used is similar to the antique beaded trim that was used in her dress as well.
Some of the elements were trial and error. Multiple mock-ups for the sleeves were necessary to get a version that fit well and looked nice. I like how the bottom of the sleeves can be turned up to reveal the lining.
Buttons were ordered in bulk for this project as there are 9 down each arm and 14 on the front. The ones on the sleeves are a smaller version and really look great.
Challenges
As many of you know, I am obsessed with matching patterns over the construction of a garment. Each yoke must match, as shold the fronts and backs. The challenging part of this is that I had a limited amount of the beautiful Fleur De Lis embroidered fabric left from Thana’s dress. In the end, I found a way and even matched the inserts on the tabs.
Another challenge related to the matching shirt that we wanted to add. Unfortunately, this beautiful fabric (which was used on the underskirt of Thana’s dress) was so prone to runs that it gave me fits!
Luckily, the runs were covered with beaded trim and mostly will be under the doublet anyway. This shirt also has some other custom details as well. I took the regular cuff and made it very thin with a ribbon tie in the channel. Then, I added lace that will come out and cover the backs of Tirno’s hands to create drama. The look and fit are perfect.
Sherwood Forest Debut
We debut’d the pair (Tirno and Thana) as a couple at Sherwood Forest Faire – 2020 and could not have been happier! At least, Tirno looked happy relaxing at the Peppy Puffin as we sipped our coffee and watched the world.
SADLY
Our goal was to visit Scarborough Faire this year as a couple and we were so excited to try our new persona’s with our friends, but unfortunately, this was not to be. I don’t have to tell anyone in our world how much we look forward to our two months of sharing weekends Renaissance Style. The Corona Virus put a kibosh to all that and we will need to wait for next year.
In the meantime, hopefully we will all keep working hard and sharing our adventures, even if from a distance.
What are you working on?