Sharp Dressed Man......

I couldn't get out of it. Zar is getting as bad, or I should say, good as Tessie, when it comes to getting something he wants. Mind you, it's not pretty when he begs. But he picked that up from her and I just couldn't say no.

It's a good thing that he's not bashful. He had to strip down to next to nothing for the new clothes.

He picked out brown pigskin leather for the pants. I thought that he was nuts, but it worked well. He informed me that, if I ever get the Clockwork Cottage finished, he will be working with sharp tools and dangerous chemicals. He needs protection.

The shirt was part of an old man's shirt from the thrift shop and I have no idea where the light weight denim that I used for the vest was found. It just seems to have slipped in when I wasn't looking.....Very strange.....Insert theme from "Twilight Zone" here....

I am giving you the pattern that I used for his pants and shirt. I have my doubts that it will fit any other men. He is one of a kind. I just thought that, if you had the pattern, you could experiment with it and come up with something like it if you wanted to.

I made the pants completely with glue. I simply cut the seam allowance from ONE side of each pattern piece and used the one that was left for gluing.

I put together the crotch seam and left about half of one of the seams open so that it would fit over his body. Then I glued the inseam to about knee length. I left the bottom open to make it easier to slip the pants over his boots. After I got them on, I glued the opening in the back and the two leg seams all the way to the bottom.

While I am thinking about it, maybe I should tell you my philosophy on dressing Tessie and Zar.

They are both much more active than the average people their size. Therefore I don't expect the clothes to last as long as they would if all they did was sit and eat tea cakes day after day. So.....Out comes the glue!

I treat the clothing as a disposable product. If I can save it after they take it off, as in the case of Tessie's aprons and outer wear, I do. If I can't, I don't shed any tears about throwing them in the bin.

OK. Back to dressing Zar. Actually, I did the shirt first so that I could tuck it inside the pants. I am too lazy to go back and re type the whole thing. So just pretend that this part came first.

The solid lines on the pattern are cutting lines and the dashes are sewing or gluing lines, depending on which you prefer. I glued, so this is the procedure. First I cut out the pieces for the body and sleeves of the shirt. Then I glued and cut the collar and the front button band. The collar is simply a piece folded on the front edge line. The button band is folded and glued in thirds, so that there is no edge showing.

The first thing I do is the sleeves. I did use a needle and thread to gather the sleeve cap just a little. No more sewing. I promise. Then I turned under all of the specified areas with glue. Then starting with the sleeves, I put a dot of glue on the shoulders and pressed the sleeve cap in place. Then I fitted the back of the shirt to Zar and put some glue on the side edges and the shoulders and glued them in place. Next I did the same with the front. Don't get nervous about the front not having an opening. That's where the button band comes in. That is glued down the center front. Last, the collar is glued around the neck.

If you want the shirt to have cuffs, simply gather the bottom of the sleeve around the wrist. Then cut a strip from a folded and glued piece just like the collar. Glue it over the gathered sleeve and cut to fit with a bit of overlap.

The buttons on Zar's vest are simply tiny paper punched circles. I think that the punch is 1/16".

Of course, as soon as Zar was finished, Tessie started in...."Where's my Valentine's Day outfit? I have one every year. You had better do it now! There are only three days left. No time to waste! Get to it and do it!!!".....On and on and on.....

Maybe I should take a vote and ask how many want to listen to her whinge and whine, as opposed to how many want to see me work my fingers to the bone on a new outfit for her.....

On second thought, you always seem to be on her side anyway. I'll get right on it.

See you tomorrow.