Slow Progress

The costumes for Baron and Lawrence have stalled.  I was having nothing but problems trying to sew the black leather that I bought recently at Michaels.  It seemed thin enough at the time, but it turns out that it's a bit thicker than the leathers I usually use. But I was determined to try.

I just cut out one tunic, intending to see how it would turn out before starting the second one. I usually prefer to do them all at once if I'm working on more than one of something, but with the leather seeming to be too thick, and Baron and Lawrence being different sizes, I thought I would be better off doing just the one first.

I had to use chalk to trace the pattern templates onto the back of the leather. When I tried sewing it on my machine. the stitches just weren't catching, and the leather was slipping. All I got was a row of holes through the leather.  I tried another of the three leather needles I had, and then the thread broke after just two stitches. I guess there must be some sharpness inside the needle eye.  

I thought it might help if I basted the leather pieces together first, which took some time.  Then I tried the last leather needle, and it sewed just fine. So I basted on the black cotton facing, and because you can't exactly use pins when working with leather, I used paper clips....

I used a contrasting colour thread so I could see it better to remove it afterwards.  After I sewed everything on the machine and turned it right side out, it became clear that the leather really was too thick. The shoulder seams especially were way too bulky, and it had been hard enough to hand sew through two layers of leather, and would be even harder through four. So it was time to give up and move on to something else - either a thinner leather, or some faux leather.

In the meantime Baron and Lawrence did have their brocade tunics almost finished.

 They still need their chainmail sleeves, but now I'm thinking, because the black chainmail, I want to use for Lawrence, is rather stiff and doesn't much like being bent, as when an elbow bends, I might be better off sewing a leather strip around the top of the chainmail sleeve and having it attach with snap fasteners to the under-sleeve, up under the brocade over-sleeve, so he doesn't always have to wear the chainmail.

​Anyways, I'm hoping to get some black leather or faux leather today so I can continue.....