piracy is our only option

I finished the coat today.

"Simplicity 18th century" coat (pirate coat)
Fabric/notions: old brocade drapes flatlined with quilting cotton, pewter buttons
New thing: First 18th century-ish thing; first historic-ish thing I've done in awhile where I didn't sweat accuracy.
Challenges: cutting it down from too large of a size, getting the hem even.
What I'd do differently next time: take greater care to correctly fit the muslin before cutting fashion fabric; eliminate bulk from finished seams.

( full length photo )

Given that this is "fantasy pirate" I'll likely style it with Elizabethan-era shirt, scarf around the waist, black jeans, and Westwood pirate boots.

But it's gotta have my next project: the tricorn.

tricorniness

Well, that was easy :)

Turns out the hard part is finding felt blanks - assembly goes pretty quick. Fold it the way you like, tack the brim to the crown to make it stay (I used black thread; these directions suggest leather thong), iron it to set (steam makes the felt soft enough to manipulate by hand). My results:

( snip )

Writer's Block: Killer Queen

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Good question. It was only after watching the Queen: Days of Our Lives documentary at my sister's suggestion that I realized I know a LOT of their songs despite never really following them. So many of their singles became ubiquitous that Queen is unavoidable, I suspect everyone has a favorite whether they're a fan or not.

I have a particular affection for "We Are the Champions" because I associate it with "A Knight's Tale", but only in the original - Robbie Williams IS NO FREDDIE MERCURY, so I'm not going to post the video :P But, I will post the Knight's Tale intro for knights who rock you: