Shiny Things Gallery | Fandom | Other | Trigun Jacket
I bought the base jacket secondhand in extremely nice shape because I really liked the way it looked, and wore it several times after. I'd always had a little inkling that maybe I wanted to turn it into a Devil May Cry-themed jacket, and then quite liked the idea of putting the DMC5 wings on the back in patch form, but that just never quite worked out. Then Trigun Stampede hit me like a wayward truck trailer in the desert, rejuvenating my love for a story that I occasionally meandered back to every few years since Toonami introduced me to the '98 anime and a friend insisted that I needed to read the manga. That was probably a mistake, but as anyone else who's been lovingly traumatized by Maximum, I can't say I regret it. Much.
The patches were first, and quick advertisement here: they're from Gainstrive/TulpaWorks, and as of the time I'm writing this, there are both small arm patches and large back patches available. They are beautiful and heat set to the curve of the fabric quickly and without fuss, but as always I sew my patches to the fabric first.
I spent some time thinking about how I wanted to go about things, and then longer trying to find exactly what I was looking for to pull it off. I did get a separate pair of black applique wings that I will probably use for a different project, but that just didn't feel right... then this completely weird abstract wing came along and was perfection. Plus it let me bedazzle things with lots of Swarovski crystals and some larger pressed glass beads that came from a bracelet I tore apart a while back for parts. The flower border just kind of happened to strike a chord with me in terms of what I wanted for the waistline, and I ordered just enough length after I took in the back for a better fit, and there happened to be one flower missing from the lace so... I filled it in with a painted ribbon geranium. The, uh... the right sleeve... well, I wanted some confetti, see... Painted some ribbon with layers of iridescent white pigment until they were silver in some light and white in others, and... some of them happen to be smeared with a little dark red alcohol ink. ...You know, for no reason.
And then I was done! Right? Finished! Completed! ...But... Did it need the satin lining? No. Was I going to do it anyway because I really wanted that Stampede look for the jacket, but also darkened to suit the outside color? Ha ha boy I. Learned. Things. Now, full disclosure: the way I finished the seams for a jacket that is mine is not how I would finish the seams for a paying client. Granted I also would have ripped out jacket seams and done the lining properly to be tucked into the jacket folds itself were I doing it for someone else, not to mention at least partially using the sewing machine (depending; this satin turned out to be not that fussy, actually), but this is the rule of "Am I Getting Paid for This? If Not, Then We Do This the Easy Way". Whip stitch versus ladder stitch: easy victory to the whip stitch.
Now it's turned out a lot heavier than it was before, but a lot warmer. I didn't really anticipate that, so I am pleased in multiple ways. As a side note, because I am me and I seek amusement, I... okay, I shaped a very obvious ass into the back of this coat. Vash deserves it. Judge me however you want, but the zipper works, the sleeves roll up and snap in place to reveal a lot more of that gorgeous blue satin, all the snaps on the front still work, the pockets remain functional, and I am deeply pleased with this project.
The patches were first, and quick advertisement here: they're from Gainstrive/TulpaWorks, and as of the time I'm writing this, there are both small arm patches and large back patches available. They are beautiful and heat set to the curve of the fabric quickly and without fuss, but as always I sew my patches to the fabric first.
I spent some time thinking about how I wanted to go about things, and then longer trying to find exactly what I was looking for to pull it off. I did get a separate pair of black applique wings that I will probably use for a different project, but that just didn't feel right... then this completely weird abstract wing came along and was perfection. Plus it let me bedazzle things with lots of Swarovski crystals and some larger pressed glass beads that came from a bracelet I tore apart a while back for parts. The flower border just kind of happened to strike a chord with me in terms of what I wanted for the waistline, and I ordered just enough length after I took in the back for a better fit, and there happened to be one flower missing from the lace so... I filled it in with a painted ribbon geranium. The, uh... the right sleeve... well, I wanted some confetti, see... Painted some ribbon with layers of iridescent white pigment until they were silver in some light and white in others, and... some of them happen to be smeared with a little dark red alcohol ink. ...You know, for no reason.
And then I was done! Right? Finished! Completed! ...But... Did it need the satin lining? No. Was I going to do it anyway because I really wanted that Stampede look for the jacket, but also darkened to suit the outside color? Ha ha boy I. Learned. Things. Now, full disclosure: the way I finished the seams for a jacket that is mine is not how I would finish the seams for a paying client. Granted I also would have ripped out jacket seams and done the lining properly to be tucked into the jacket folds itself were I doing it for someone else, not to mention at least partially using the sewing machine (depending; this satin turned out to be not that fussy, actually), but this is the rule of "Am I Getting Paid for This? If Not, Then We Do This the Easy Way". Whip stitch versus ladder stitch: easy victory to the whip stitch.
Now it's turned out a lot heavier than it was before, but a lot warmer. I didn't really anticipate that, so I am pleased in multiple ways. As a side note, because I am me and I seek amusement, I... okay, I shaped a very obvious ass into the back of this coat. Vash deserves it. Judge me however you want, but the zipper works, the sleeves roll up and snap in place to reveal a lot more of that gorgeous blue satin, all the snaps on the front still work, the pockets remain functional, and I am deeply pleased with this project.
