Altman Illustration

An update:

The left panel + extra panel for the asymmetrical closure, the right is one half of the back. In addition to these is a strip for the collar that attaches from the end of the diagonal cut on the extra panel, and wraps around all the way to the bottom of the opposite front piece. If that makes sense.

Like this:

Since I only have enough fancy velvet fabric to try this once, I sacrificed a microfiber sheet set I hate to test things out.

LOOK AT THE DRAPE:

(Yes, I could've cropped this. No, I didn't feel like it)

THE FRONT AIN'T BAD NEITHER:

THIS IS EXACTLY THE SHAPE I WANTED!

I'm so happy with the pattern, but still terrified of fucking up the very nice fabric. I'm also pretty shocked that some extremely cheap, microfiber sheets draped this nicely - or at all, if I'm honest.

Yet to be done:

Figure out the sleeve situation. Big ol' cuffs? Tassles? Might end up being dependent on how much fabric I have.

Where do closures go, exactly. What closures should I use? Frogs? Fabric covered buttons? Loops of silk? Ties? All of the above?

Lining the inside with silk - how? How do linings even work? More research necessary.

Luckily, I've got a coat with a fucked up lining to repair (that I've been avoiding for literally years) and a simple pattern for a reversible poncho that might help me be more confident in my next steps. And even if they don't, oh nooooooo now I have a non-fucked-up-coat lining and a giant reversible poncho.

The most productive thing I've done in the last few months is wearing the rough draft around the house. Wearing it is helping me decide what needs to change (collar width, length by an inch or so, angling the shoulders down slightly in the pattern), where closures might go (I've got it narrowed down to a couple of options. Might end up going with both so I have a wafty, boobs-out attachment for warm weather as well as a bundled up option) and sleeves (????????). I've only stabbed myself with my temporary-closure/safety-pins several times.

In a moment of weakness I indulged in the gay pirate velvet fabric and the hottest of hot pink silk.

I've got it rolled up protectively and have literally been sleeping with it next to my pillow. Mostly because the cat is a little too interested in it and I'm not leaving it vulnerable to her late night shenanigans.

A couple of years ago in a fit of boredom I sewed myself a drape-y, flow-y, extremely-loosely-kimono-inspired robe out of an old duvet cover. I didn't use a pattern as I was a) making it up as I went and b) trying to use the fabric as efficiently as possible. I had to leave it behind when I moved and, unexpectedly, missed wafting around in a queen duvet amount of fabric.

So, while I enjoy the costumes on the show I'm going in a stylistically different direction. My pinterest board for this project is mainly stuff like this:

Thanks for my hunt to figure out what those horizontal drapes on the back could possibly be called (cocoon!) I have discovered the designer Poiret. He was definitely appropriating styles from the middle east and east asia, but also developed quintessentially 1920s garments. At least according to this beautiful art book I checked out from the library:

It turns out a lot of this is cleverly draped single lengths of velvet - which won't work at all with the patterned fabric unless I want birds who don't give a shit about gravity. Which I don't.