Bing Ting, Painting Warriors

Bing Ting, Painting Warriors
A "war correspondent" during the first Crusade.

All righty, so revelation time: I am making Bing Ting from Painting Warriors. It's a lesser known (at least here in America) Chinese Manhua by Suen Wai Kwan. I figure I might as well "let the cat out the bag", it's obscure enough that I don't think anyone had an interest in guessing. Bummer. I've been trying to find other Painting Warriors cosplayers, but without luck. Maybe i would find some if I searched on Chinese sites. I would like to meet some others.

Either way, I have made some definite progress this week:

First, I cheated with the first batch of leather leaves and dired them in my food dehydrator. The principle behind drying them was really the same as making beef jerky, so I figured there wasn't any harm. And I didn't want them sitting around my cool apartment for ages trying to dry totally. I had to keep a close eye on them while doing this though, so the leaves weren't cooked. Leather has some natural moisture to it and if all of that was leached out would become brittle and cracked. Not quite the effect I'm going for. So the first batch is done. The second batch is cut out and awaiting the hole punching process (nothing more fancy than taking my eyelet tool to them). I'll boil them through, dry them, then start sewing them on the tunic.

Speaking of tunics, I have the under-tunic nearly ready. Tunics are fairly simple items, they consist of a few rectangles and some straight stitching lines. I was not paying attention when I cut out my under-tunic and cut the arm holes to large. I didn't see this as a major problem since I wanted to make it a bit form fitting. This worked in theory, but I took it in too far around the bust, and not need to determine how best to "let it out" since it's already been trimmed. Funny, I never have to worry about the bust being too small.

The under-tunic initially

Current state of the under-tunic

Marking for the eyelets

Installed eyelets, will be over-sewn

The pants have been even more troublesome. To make the under-tunic and the pants I have been using a wool gabardine, which would be rather period. It was decided from the beginning that I would make a pair of slacks from the wool. Under a tunic, no one is going to know that they are not quite period, and this allows them to do "double-duty" so I can wear them at other times. The pattern I chose was one I purchased sometime ago from McCalls and Palmer/Plestch for "The Perfect Fit Pants". This sounded, well, "perfect". I have an absolutely dreadful time finding pants that fit me, there are only three or four brands that actually fit. Knowing this difficulty being able to make pants that fit properly sounded positively amazing. However, this pattern is ridiculous.
 

Back and front of pants

Pants as they are at this moment

It's much better now that I have the pants mostly constructed, but the "get-go" has rough. First off, they want you to pin the tissue pattern peices together and adjust them to fit you before you even cut out the fabric. It's a good theory, in it's way, but doesn't work. Tissue doesn't hang the way fabric does, so it's hard to determine what the issues are. And it's nearly impossible to be able to see the parts that need adjusting without bending or twisting and moving them. It did not take me long to abandon the attempt.

After a bit more issue with getting the right pieces stitched to one another I have finally reached a respectable looking pair of slacks- though it's still somewhat theoretical. I have adjusted the waist band, and the hips. For making the right size according to the envelope they were sure big! I had to take the hips in by two inches! Now the problem is, they have a distinct "poofiness/pouchiness" in the front, which is an issue I have with most pants I try on. I assumed I would run into the problem, but I have not determined how to best to address it. Maybe extending the front darts? And/or taking in the inseam? Ideas?

So I will not be finishing the pants until I get the front fixed (obviously) and procure fabric for lining. They are much to thin to wear otherwise!

The pattern pieces for the tunic

The upper-tunic was today's project, and did not take much. I used a yard of cotton canvas (also period) that would be heavy enough to handle the leather leaves. I used Butterick pattern #4131B, and grabbed a dress pattern to give me an outline for extending it. I deliberated a bit over the closure. Bing Ting is shown slipping off this leather armor, which has no buckles or other closures. In real life, this doesn't work well if you want it to be properly form fitting. My options were to either:
A) Use a zipper, so the ability to open the tunic would be hidden- but this is not period
B) Add buckles, which would be period, but not true to character.
In the end, probably due to laziness more than any other reason, I put in a zipper. It's a large, fully opening zipper, that I had tucked away in my notions box. It won't be seen by anyone though, so it really doesn't matter.

Sizing the completed tunic

Taking in the bust

The re-sized bust

The corset pattern I used would usually having boning in it, but I am uncertain about whether or not I will use any. I've sewn up the casing, but it may be stiff enough, with the leather on it, not to require boning. Plus it will have the shoulder straps to keep it on. So, we'll see. And I had to take it in at the bust- surprise, surprise. Barring the under-tunic, when have I not had to take the bust of a costume in? Ha ha... Simple enough, really.

How to finish the top of the armor is a puzzle right now. I have a few theories, but am unsure of what I will put into use. Once the leaves are all [hand sewn] on I will have to cover the rough ends on the top, I can't just leave them hanging there- how ugly would that be? My primary theory is to hand sew pseudo-leather bias tape over the edges, but we'll see if anything else develops in the mean time.

And don't forget to stop by our Facebook page! And our new ACParadise page! Though, honestly, that second one doesn't have much on it right now. I really need to find a way to get more picture of my cosplays, and fast!