Hommes Fashion Tutorial: The Jacket

Here I am, back from my business travels, it was tough (too many meetings, too few time to rest or think or eat properly during the day.....luckily we managed to have a couple of nice dinners), but  now it is going to be a bit more relaxed....hopefully. This is the last instalment of the male suit tutorials.

Last but not least, let's see how to sew a jacket. After several mistakes I came up with this simplified pattern, which fits pretty well. It is partially lined and doesn't look as bulky as IT jackets do.

We shall need cotton or gabardine, and satin for the lining, thread and pins!

Again to draw your pattern you can use these tips from April's Blog

As you see the pattern is quite simple, the only "complicated" parts are the lining of the lapel and the collar.

At first I did a partially lined lapel, but it fitted awfully, so I devised this

The fit is good now whe mus sew the back together:

Nice enough

Now the collar, you have to take the measurement on the doll:

This is not the "elegant way" to attach the collar, but it won't show and it is neat enough:

As you see it fits nicely

The sleeves shall be lined too, as it will be easier for the doll to wear the jacket on long sleeves:

And here's Goffredo in his complete Tobacco Road outfit!

Hope this tutorial is clear enough, please feel free to ask any questions, I'll do my best to answer you!

Hommes Fashion Tutorial: the vest

As promised, here's the new chapter of the Hommes Suit Tutorials.
This is the vest from the first of the Tobacco Road collection outfits (which will be ready sometimes in the winter I hope)
This time I made an express post, with a collage of the steps for each part of the vest. In order to make the pattern I used a ready made IT vest, you can also start from this tutorial by April to design one of your taste. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

This is going to be a lined vest, so you will need cotton, satin linin, thread and a lot of pins !

The front, as you will see my vests close in the back, Mattel style, as I like a perfect fit on the front:

The back. This is made of a double layer of satin, for thickness as we'll have to apply our press studs there. We don't want the fabric to fall apart at the seams, do we?

Putting together the whole thing, adding some fake buttons on the front and studs at the back (remember to try it on the doll in order to get the perfect fit):

Et voilà, Goffredo is super handsome in his new outfit. Love this style!

Express post: World Doll Day Tag

I've been tagget by Farrah to this nice initiative of the World Doll Day Tag, I'm a little bit late perhaps, but I willingly oblige!
Here are the rules:
1. List 3 favorite dolls from the ones you got last year.
2. List 3 dolls currently on your wishlist.
3. Tag 5 people to do the same thing! (Anyone with a home on the web, not just bloggers, can be tagged!)

And here are my lists:

Favorite dolls from last year:

1. Goffredo - Declan Wade Gloss Convention 2014

2. Sebastiano - Callum Windsor Gloss Convention 2014

3. Ofelia - Full Spectrum Veronique

I actually don't have a wishlist right now, but I can name three grails I don't expect to get anytime soon:

1. Lady in Red Erin from the Tropicalia Convention

2. Rock Ringmaster Lukas

and above all 3. Leading Man Lukas

Now, I really believe it's quite late for the World Doll Day, but, as this is real fun I want to invite some fellow bloggers, if they want to join the (late) celebration!

1. April

2. Vanessa 

3. D7ana

4. Dani

5. Lisa

Kisses Billa

Extra: Some of the guys get a face enhancement

I wasn't 100%  satisfied with the faceup of some of the guys, so I checked all the available internet resources  and found out I had just what I needed:
Caran D'Ache Prismalo Aquarelle Pencils! In fact I have a huge box I used for coloring some of my drawings some time ago.

By the way a sample of my drawings (these are illustrations for a short novel I wrote a couple of years ago for my nephews):

       

       

so, I picked the colours I needed, sharpened the pencils and with patience started working on the guys.

I damped the tip of the pencil with mi tongue, ok, this is not ladylike, but I did it anyway and these are the results:

Goffredo has got his new mustaches

Enrico had such a bland coloring, now with his new lips I think he's really handsome

Armando got mustaches and lip enhancement

Giacomo has got freckles!!!

As with hair styling I limit myself to little touches, just to have the dolls look exactly how I envisioned them when I bought them.

What do you think?

Goffredo: With a little help from my friends [edited]

This is not the planned weekly post, I'll post it later don't worry!
But I just received Declan Wake from the Gloss Convention (still waiting for Sebastiano - Callum to ship) and I really need some learned advice from you fellow bloggers

So this is more an general SOS post.....and the problem is

HOW CAN I FIX HIS HAIR?!?!?!?

it was a rough trip from Florida.....

LOL this is a great challenge, I want him to look as IT fixed him at the convention:

His hair are greasy, so perhaps I should be able to mold them with some hair clips and a bit of patience, but I will HUGELY appreciate any words of wisdom from you!

Kisses Billa

With a little help from my friends

Update

first, the thin man had only mustaches, so I used no-acetone nail solvent, washed the face with water and baking soda and finally washed his face with soap:

These are not exactly the "thin man" kind of moustaches but they look good enough (I don't have any clues with repainting, nor the necessary skills)

Let's see if hair clips and his "natural grease" work the magic!

Stay tuned!

After a "violent" hair spray session

Mr. Cellophane