HSM 2017: #4 Circles, Squares, and Rectangles - Pirate Shirt

The challenge: #4 Circles, Squares, and Rectangles

Material: 100% cotton

Pattern: Simplicity 4923 View E

Year: Nonspecific 18th century, but it’s intended for a costume based on the early 18th century c. 1720s-1740s

Notions: thread

How historically accurate is it?: Maybe 50/50, but the accurate half is pretty decent.  I’ve heard good things about the pattern from people who know more about it, and the material is a natural fiber.  The thread was poly though, and it was all machine sewn except for handstitching the inside edges of the collar and cuff.

Hours to complete: I didn’t really keep track (bad habit), but I worked on it intermittently for a few days.

First worn: Pirate Invasion 2017

Total cost: The fabric was a sheet that I think was $2-3, and I got the pattern on sale a few years ago.

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First step towards piracy is shirts.

It’s pretty basic, and having a pattern to follow made it even easier.  I did do a few alterations though.  It was cut in size small, and the torso front and back were shortened about 3” and the sleeves shortened by 1.25”.  I initially did collar interfacing as instructed, but it made the collar kind of wonky (it felt too stiff and puffy, and didn’t lay right).  So I ripped the interfacing out and skipped it on both the collar and cuffs.  I didn’t think about the length of the neckline slit before I marked and cut it, so it ended up way too deep for me and I whipstitched the bottom 4” closed.  I also did some extra topstitching just because.

Despite being so simple, or maybe because of that, this is actually one of my favorite things I've sewn in a long time, and it's refreshing to finish something that I don't see a million flaws in.

Pirate Shenanigans - Planning for Pirate Invasion 2017

Plans for the upcoming Pirate Invasion this summer are getting me through finals right now.  We're a little pirate (and generally 18th century) obsessed so attending is a must, and of course we have to put together some pirate get-ups for the occasion.  We're planning to do Jack Sparrow and Norrington costumes someday, so we'll be using this as an excuse to get parts of that done.  Until we do those actual costumes, we can use the pieces for pirate characters inspired by (but not necessarily specifically accurate to) Pirates of the Caribbean, with a little inspiration from Black Sails thrown in for good measure.

I don't really do character identities/backgrounds for costumes - I rarely need them as I usually recreate existing characters/costumes instead of making original ones.  But in this case, coming up with a character has been helpful for establishing a direction to take the design in.  I ended up with partly a genderbent Rule 63 Norrington circa Dead Man's Chest, and partly Norrington's theoretical lady-pirate nemesis inspired by the officer-pirate relationship in Kate Beaton's hilarious "Nemesis" comics.  I'll be attempting Norrington's "Scruffington" vest and breeches from Dead Man's Chest (pending time and the right fabric), plus making his formal cocked hat from Curse of the Black Pearl (using last year's HSM cocked hat as a base, which is really appropriate thematically), a Norrington mini portrait like the ones I did of Marie Antoinette, and a "nemesis" mini portrait based on the one in Beaton's comic.  I'm also in the process of modifying some Pirates-themed checkers pieces into the Aztec coins from Curse of the Black Pearl.

My friend is making a Davy Jones-inspired cocked hat, along with her requisite Jack Sparrow pieces - namely some combination of the bandana, belts, rings, and sash for now.

Other than that, we'll both be doing the general pirate-y shirts, breeches (or improvised pajama pants patterns), boots, sashes, bandanas, and a ton of jewelry.

So far it's been a fun experiment in picking away at planned costumes, doing some original designing, and getting to dabble in historical costuming again.