Christmas and Ohayocon Prep 14 - Now with Readers Poll!

Hello my dear readers!

Things are still coming along quite swimmingly!

While I ironed the fabric for my beau's Joker costume, I did not progress to the point of cutting out and putting together the muslin.

I decided that getting my jacket to a point where there was hand sewing to be done at work today was a better proposition. So that's what I worked on. Going slowly and with a larger stitch length than I would usually use, I managed to stitch the peplums to the jacket back. I also stitched the jacket together at the side seams and shoulders and set in the sleeves. The sleeve seam was finished with a quick zig zag stitch and a gathering stitch used along the top curve to fit it to the armscye. I attempted to make the diamonds that I wanted for the front of the jacket, but think that I'm going to go with laces instead as the attempt result was rather dismal. I'm contemplating using laces wound around buttons instead of putting in grommets.

I started to pin in the lining and realized that I had made a mistake when putting said lining together -- the front peplum pieces were backwards. So I had to rip out that seam and then pinned the lining piece to the peplum, stitching on two sides, clipping the corners and turning. By this point, the machine at my beau's was having tension issues that I was unable (and slightly unwilling considering the late hour) to correct, so I decided to just pin the lining in so that it could be sewn into place by hand. This also allowed me to watch our Sunday night television programs with my beau.

My jacket is with me today so that I can stitch in the lining. I'm still debating topstitching vs. trimming but decided against boning. I think the fully boned corset will be plenty of constriction. And the taffeta of my jacket (plus the interlining and lining) has enough shape on its own that I don't feel boning is necessary.

Harley Quinn
1. Petticoat - DONE!
2. Bustle - DONE!
3. Corset - DONE!
4. Underskirt - DONE!
5. Jacket - need to put in the lining by hand, trim or topstitch, and figure out the lacing
6. Top Hat
7. Purse
8. Mask

This leaves me with two questions for you, dear readers:
(1) Do you think I should trim or simply topstitch my jacket? I need to do something to hold the lining in place so its not visible. I also want to highlight the detail of my double peplum. I was thinking either white ribbon to echo the red ribbon on the bustle and corset, or some very narrow white lace, or perhaps white braid of some sort. If I topstitched, I'd like to use a decorative stitch in white thread but may settle for a straight stitch in white. Thoughts?
(2) As for the laces, how do you feel about the button idea? Is it a good one, or should I just stick to grommets?

Thanks for any and all opinions.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde