So… I think I understand why suits are so expensive.
This has been by far the most challenging thing I’ve ever made, and also the most time-consuming. It’s not perfect, but I think it’s pretty damn good for a first-timer:
This was taken at the actual wedding, hence the champagne and the flower-thing. It was such a beautiful day and a truly awesome wedding.
And these were taken after the event. As you maybe able to tell, the fabric wasn’t the best choice, since it already has some creases on it. The price one pays for not going for the best!
Also the lapels! Oh god the lapels! I probably should’ve gotten a firmer interfacing fabric, since these bugged me so much. The left lapel especially is incredibly misbehaved, in that it doesn’t stay smooth, but insists on popping up a bit every once in a while.
The shoulders were another pain in the shall-I-say-where, like they were with the blazer, but I feel that they turned out better this time, with less bumpiness and such.
The amount of hand sewing on the jacket was mind-boggling, which was why I was so glad when I got to making the trousers, since in them only the buttons/buttonholes had to be done by hand.
Here are the few photos I took during construction (I was supposed to take more but forgot, since I was just too preoccupied with actually finishing the suit):
If you ever plan on making a suit:
– Don’t have a deadline / make sure you have enough time.
- This is a project you don’t want to hurry. Making it in a hurry might break your mind like it almost did mine. Take your time, and be patient.
– Be prepared to baste your heart out.
- As you can see from the construction photos, there will be basting. in addition to the reinforcement basting seen in the pics, you’ll have to baste the thing together and take it apart at least two times for the fittings.
– Have a good/entertaining/long TV-show to marathon.
- At least if you’re like me, who likes to hand sew while listening to fictional people babble (towards the end there will be lots and lots and lots of hand sewing, as I said before). I think I watched at least six seasons of X-files while making this suit, but I could be wrong.
– Get a good guidebook.
- The one I had, Tailoring: A Complete Course on Making a Professional Suit, was ok, but I feel that some things were done way harder than necessary in it. The lack of photos was also annoying (the steps of construction were illustrated by drawings).
Overall I’m very proud of myself, and feel that I’ve learned a ton in doing this project. Boyfriend was also pleased and the suit got a lot of compliments at the wedding, which makes me squee a little inside.
An interesting detail is that I don’t feel like taking a break from sewing after finishing this. I just want to make simpler things for a while. I guess that’s a good sign :D
– Sadie