"every girl is crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man"

[ "Sharp-Dressed Man" - ZZ Top ]

project 1 is done!

i wanted to do something special for a really dear friend of mine, nikki.
we both share an affinity for crustpunk things, and i love hobostitching[1] so i really hope she loves it.


update: SHE GOT IT AND LOVES IT! i was so excited that i got the hiccups after she hung up!! :) this was a really special project for me so i'm glad it was so well-received. she promised me photos to post here, so i'll post another entry (or just edit this one) whenever i get those.


PHOTOS

before:





during:




(ugh. so dark. i should show people where the flash is on my camera before they yoink it and snap unsuspecting photos of me :) i'd throw it in GIMP and lighten it but.. i'm too lazy. :)




before my callouses had started to develop, i had to use needlenose pliers to push/pull the needle through the material (sometimes around 5 layers thick!) and since i don't use a thimble, well.. that can get a little treacherous/painful at times without the pliers.



i may or may not have spent a lot of time on this.. :)


after/finished product:



that giant patch on the back is actually from a church i went to in lancaster, "Solace Bible Church". no, i have no idea why the skull is wearing a sombrero or kercheif, but i suspected the skull was a reference to Romans 6, and being dead to sin but alive in Christ (which is a little like the Walking Dead, if you'll pardon the analogy. only we don't want to eat your brains).


looks WAYY better with a flannel underneath in my opinion :) or a hoodie, but i digress.

the fleur-de-lis is because apparently it's HUGE in new orleans now. super popular. so yeah, i figure that'd be a pretty good "locale" statement. she does have NOLA-pride (i don't blame her!).

i also mailed her the stencils i used for it.


labours of love:

this is a showcase of various abuses, injuries, damages, what have you i encountered during the process. :)



notice the lovely blisters on my fingertips from sewing. this is what happens when i stencil. i'm so messy :)



obviously, i spray right-handed. HAH. you can also see some pretty nasty blisters and callouses forming (i sew ambidexterously, but predominantly right-handed).


this was AFTER cleaning up. it's three days later and i still have paint-stained fingers on my left hand. but huzzah for gojo/pumice!



this is so gross. i don't even know why i'm posting these, haha. more evidence of blistering/callouses. i kind of like this shot, though.




what i wanted to do but didnt:

i wanted to add some webbing (webbing is that interwoven nylon you have on the straps of backpack buckles, etc.) and add some clasps for the pockets (especially the middle ones on the front), but i ran out of time (i took too long with it as-is!) and just general-purpose ones (to hold keys, etc.).. forgot to get it while i was at the army navy surplus. :/

i wanted to write out something personal- something maybe from Proverbs or Psalms or Isaiah ;) or some poetic phrases or so forth, but then i realized two things.
1. that's something i should do to MY jacket, not hers
2. i need to provide PLENTY of space for her to "make it her own"- write her own things, stencil her own things, add her own patches, etc.

so that's why i didn't do that.

i think it'd be cool if she mailed it back once in a while (at least until i move down there! ;) new orleans is suchhh a beautiful city; i fell in love) and i can keep adding little things each time. a small stencil here, some lettering there, some straps, etc. maybe even only to the inside so i don't clutter up the outside. i dunno. :)

i also wanted to maybe monogram it or something, but i worried that'd be a bit lame.

i also wanted to sign it (since it IS a unique creation, and it's something i'm proud of) but i didn't. it's okay, i found something special to do for it instead. :)


what's next:

well, her friend katie wants a jacket now. that'll take much less time since i have a general layout in mind now and i don't have to stitch on a giant patch from a t-shirt. far less stitching on that one, actually.
she wants a stencil of the Rebel Alliance logo- i'll put that on the front (where the fleur-de-lis is). and i got a hilarious idea of doing a stormtrooper "OBEY" stencil, which will be the main piece on the back. it's a parody of the Andre the Giant OBEY stencils. it'll be fun. i'll need to think of what to do with all my left over pink fabric. i think i'll decorate the pockets. or maybe a pink faux-cravat, or something.

i also want to make one for me- my old vest is getting a little beat up and it's a little too warm for spring/summer (since it's about as twice as thick as this one; the army has different thickness BDU shirts, apparently, depending on what time period..?).

and as always, i'm open to suggestions/requests! i just need the $$ for the raw mat'ls and time. :) i may start charging labour if i get a lot of requests.


[1] hobostitching is when you handstitch something using dental floss (johnson&johnson's dentotape is by far the best for this), a needle, and not much else. dental floss is much stronger than conventional thread since it's woven nylon, and once you knot off your stitches you burn the ends to keep the knots from unraveling- it all melts together and hardens.