Dark Sansa Stark Cosplay Progress: Part 4 - Feather Vest Construction

Dark Sansa Stark Cosplay Progress: Part 4 - Feather Vest Construction

Right off the bat, I am going to say that the vest pattern provided with Simplicity 1137 is not the most flattering thing in the universe. I made it work, but it did require a lot of pinning on my dress form and trying it on several times before I got the darts correct. If you are wanting to use the pattern provided and don't have a dress form, get a friend. It needs to be fitted to the body, so it doesn't look bulky. 

If you are wanting an alternative to the pattern given, you can check out Jennie Sue's walkthrough of the costume. She goes over how she put together the outfit and talks about her alterations of the jacket.

Step 1: Cutting out Pattern & Fabric

I started by cutting out the pattern pieces. You will be cutting out pieces 12 - Jacket Front and 13 - Jacket  Back. In the pattern instructions, it has you use 14 - Jacket Front Facing and 15 - Jacket Back Facing. However, I elected not to use those pieces in order to cut down on the bulk of the vest. Next, I cut out the Jacket Front and Jacket Back out of the same material that I used 

ALTERATION: Because I didn't use the Facing pieces, I chose to apply interfacing to both the Jacket Front and Jacket Back. This would make it a bit more sturdy when I start to apply all of the feathers. I used the Pellon fusible featherweight interfacing that I used on my dress.  

Step 2: Pin, Pin, Pin

Below is a picture from my first go round with pinning. Ignore the oh so lovely hair. 

 See how it is gaping at the sides? That is not what we want. I went back and kept pinning and trying it on and off until I got a look that I wanted. 

This is the final fit of the vest.

The picture is after it is already sewn together, but I wanted to show how the fit is closer to the body. Much better than the gap that I had before. 

Step 3: Sewing

The pattern instructions tell you to attach your feather/fringe to the jacket pieces before sewing it together. Because fit is so important and the pattern is a bit wackadoo, I skipped that. I am going to be adding my feathers after I have it all nice and pretty. 

For sewing it all together, I followed the seams that I created with my pins. Then I trimmed off the excess and pressed everything to make it look nice. 

Oooooh, so pretty!

This was a small chunk, but I need to get all my pieces constructed before I go feather crazy. 

Coming Soon: Part 5 - Feather the Feather Vest