Sewing a Hobbit Waistcoat | Black Snail Patterns #0220 | Fantasybounding Outfit

Do you love to frolic and feast on second breakfast, but don't always want to go full hobbit to walk down the street? Or maybe you're several days into an event and can't face lacing yourself into your stays again. Hello, I'm Catherine from Crystal Pegasus Costumes, and if you answered yes to these questions then I have the answer for you. Fantasy bounding. Fantasy bounding is a way of dressing where you take inspiration from fantasy into your outfit, but don't go for a full costume. It could be incorporating a delicate shawl or arm warmers, or as this video is about, an indulgent hobbity waistcoat. As part of the CosTube Symposium, or Cosy 2021, I took part in the Fantasy Bounding Thrift Flip. I put together my outfit from items in my wardrobe, as well as making a waistcoat and skirt using fabrics from my stash. To see other wonderful examples of fantasy bounding, click the link above or in the description box below for the Fantasy Bounding Thrift Flip Fashion Show. I really loved the shape of my hobbit outfit, and I wanted to keep that fitted bodice look of my hobbit stays, so I incorporated that into a more wearable waistcoat. I also drew inspiration from Bilbo Baggins' waistcoats and jackets. I used the Black Snail Patterns number 220, 1890s ladies vests. I didn't follow the instructions precisely, but used them as a guide. So without further ado, let's get to it! I started by making a mock-up or toile. I compared my measurements to the pattern measurements, and selected a larger front size and a smaller back size. I transferred the markings and cut out the pieces from calico. Then I stitched it up. I tried it on, then pinched in the darts and the side seams to make the waistcoat curvier. I stitched my changes, then tried it on again. Once happy, I made the changes to my pattern pieces. I cut the back pieces and the front lining out of satin, leaving a significant seam allowance at the sides to allow for final adjustments later. I transferred the markings with graphite paper and a tracing wheel. I pinned the back pieces together down the centre back, then stitched and overlocked to secure. Then topstitched to help the seams lay flat. I sewed the darts and topstitched them as well. On one side, the darts go towards the sides, while on the other they go towards the centre back. The two pieces were pinned right sides together, then sewn at the arms, bottom and neck. The seams were clipped, then overlocked. After turning right sides out, the two layers were then joined together down the centre back, and the edges were topstitched. With that, the back is assembled. And I also made the straps out of satin. I cut the front pieces out of a sturdy corduroy. I decided not to use an interfacing layer here, but instead used one for my velvet collar facing, as you will see later. I stitched the darts, then clipped them, and overlocked to secure the edges. Then the darts were topstitched to hold them down. At which point the front pieces looked like this, from the inside and the outside. I also had the bottom facing pieces. Time for pockets! We have the front waistcoat piece, onto which the pocket is to be sewn, corduroy that will be the welt, satin for the inside of the pocket, and cotton and double-sided iron-on bonding. The bonding layer is ironed onto the cotton and cut into three pieces. Then one is ironed onto the back of the welt. The second bit of interfacing goes onto the back of the inside of the pocket. And the third is ironed onto the front waistcoat piece at the waistline. The welt pocket flap is folded in half, then the edges are stitched with one centimetre either side, then trimmed down. It is turned right side out, then marked at 1.5 centimetres down from the top edge. The outside of the welt pocket is drawn onto the front piece, then the welt pocket flap is aligned and stitched down, and then trimmed. The pocket lining is pinned onto the outside, matching up the four corners of the welt pocket opening. Next, the line defining the opening is sewn. The pocket is trimmed along the middle, and into the corners. Time to turn out! Start by warming it up. Then pull it through, and press to neaten it up. Topstitch around the outside of the welt pocket. Fold up the pocket lining, and trim. Then sew, and overlock, at which point the pocket is functional! Now that the pockets are sewn, I also want to add a few decorative hand stitches along the sides, just to help the welt stay flat. These don't have to be strong, just a little bit of something to hold it all in place. Last Christmas, when I ordered my advent calendar of thread, I also ordered a few allsorts that had some various odds and ends. One of those allsorts threads is this, this beautiful deep red in silk, size 36. Now silk 36 was what turned out to be my favourite when sewing the corset flossing, and I decided I'd use this on the sides of the pockets. And the pockets are complete! The two halves of the front are laid on top of each other, and the back of the collar is pinned together. Then stitched. After being pressed open, it is topstitched on each side, and trimmed. We can now start to see how the collar connects, and the pieces come together to form the waistcoat. I traced and cut fusible interfacing for the collar facing. I then ironed the interfacing to small herringbone coutil. I would have liked to use a darker fabric, but I was working from what I had. The fashion layer of the collar facing is this beautiful velvet. I cut out the broad shape of the piece, with two layers of velvet right sides together. I then fused the coutil to the velvet, trying not to destroy the pile. I trimmed it down, then I staystitched the layers together. And the velvet collar facings were prepared. The next step was to attach the collar and the bottom facing pieces. The two parts of the facing were then joined. Then the front was pinned on. The layers were sewn together, all the way round. The seams were clipped, alternating the location in the layers. The seam was pressed open over a ham. Around the collar, I understitched the seams to the main fabric. And I topstitched around the bottom sections. Time for buttons. I used one of the automatic buttonhole stitches on my Janome DM7200. I went over each twice for strength. I opened up the buttonholes. Then, as the white coutil was visible, I used markers to colour in the white. A combination of blue and pink. Then I sewed on the buttons. Now for the tricky part. Lining up the shoulders and attaching the back. I measured out where the seams should go on the two pieces. Pinned one shoulder. Sewed it. And the other shoulder. Then clipped the corners. Then I pinned and stitched along the back of the neck. And I was pretty happy with that. So then I topstitched it to secure. I did a final fitting to check where the side seams needed to sit. Added in the straps. Then sewed down the side seams. I trimmed them. And clipped them. Then overlocked them. So at this point, this is what the waistcoat looked like. From the inside. And the outside. I pinned and clipped the collar into place. Then, looking at the neck of the collar facing, I decided to bind the edge with bias binding. Then I stitched it into place by hand. I checked the placement of the front lining piece. Then I pinned right sides together at the arm and sewed it into place. Then I topstitched to secure. After much fiddling, I pinned the edges under and included a tuck at the point of the bust dart. Then I stitched it down by hand. And with that, the waistcoat was complete. So here we are. I really enjoyed putting this outfit together. I can highly recommend the waistcoat pattern from Black Snail Patterns, although maybe not for a beginner. I'm proud of how the waistcoat came out. It's not perfect, but it's mine. I'm also happy with the skirt. That was pretty straightforward. It's always useful to have another hobbit petticoat. And I do have some of the corduroy left over, so in the future, I may make a pencil skirt or some such. Thank you to Blair Fluffle for organizing this collaboration. Thank you for watching. If you'd like, you could go forth and watch the other fantasy bounding videos. Thank you for watching. Goodbye.