Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Coldstream Guards long white gators

Per the portrait this unifrom needs long white gators. Michael had a pattern from years ago that he found for free online that shows how to make the pattern and gators so thats what we went with.

The pattern is made by taking an old pair of jeans and cutting them off at the thigh and pining them as close fitting to the leg as possible at the side seams and marking that line. Then cutting them out, and that becomes the basis for your pattern, they then get traced on posterboard and seam allowance and placket are added in then the whole thing is cut out as your new pattern. 

we used a very nubby medium weight linen that in a previous life had been an elizabethan shirt but was too bulky to really wear under any doublet.

The construction is relatively simple, the hard part being making that initial pattern on the leg. I set my button holes using the machine, cheating again, but oh so valuable in saved time at this point. The buttons i will set with the heavy button twist and thick thread shanks as they will take a lot of strain. 

The final step is to wet the gators and then put them on and let the dry on your body so they further mold to your leg, something i think we will be doing when they are first worn on Saturday at the event as there likely wont be time before then ;)

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