I *Heart* Steam-A-Seam

Well, I'm not the young man who plays Louis, but I'm about the same height that he is. He *says* he's wearing boots w/heels, so I'm hoping the vest won't drag the ground. I think the fabric's a little too lightweight to move richly...actually, it reminds me a bit of something Ava Gabor might've worn on Green Acres...but I did what I was requested to do. There was not enough time to line it so it'd move better anyway.

I kind of made it up as I went; had some false starts and frustrating boo-boos. One of the front bands, which were cut the whole length of the piece I had, was a bit short after I narrowed the neckband; there's a little piecing going on there. It doesn't show from more than 5 feet, but it bugged me. The velvet stretched and crept under the presser foot; ultimately I pulled out my aging, not-very-sticky-anymore roll of Steam-A-Seam and fuse basted all that binding stuff down. It took a while but it was worth it.

BTW, this pattern, Simplicity 4795, was obviously drafted for the ease of the pattern drafters and conservation of printing resources rather than the convenience of the folks actually making the garments. Same pattern piece for the vests, the cloaks, the robes...everything is to be cut on the fold, with the front of the vests slit carefully along the CF after the shoulder seams and side seams have been sewn. Yeah, right. Cut the back on the fold, cut the front on the selvedge. Much easier....