Santa Jacket is at 95%
As of this afternoon, I can safely say the Santa Project jacket is 95% completed. There are belt loops to attach as well as portions of the lining that need to be made secure. It has not gone without challenges. The sewing machine did well and the shortcomings would be within my fingers and hands. I am 100% sure that the most difficult part of this project is completed. One inch thick foam ha
d been bought to use as padding under the jacket to fill out the jovial Santa. On second thought, I remember what happens when pillows age and have foam fillings. It can get quite nasty. I now believe that taking my stashes of leftover quilt batting and sewing pillow-type additions would be better to add where needed. The old fashioned, aged cotton batting that had been used on Santa’s arms, shoulders and body was a horrible mess that fell apart upon touch.
The next portion of the project will be taking apart Santa’s hat for a pattern. The original hat was a rather poor fit. It didn’t quite cover up the back portion of his head, thus showing off a very bald spot. Amazon is sending out two different orders of what they call white “Doll Wig Hair.” The hope is that between the two types we can work with Santa’s beard as well as his hat. Out goes the beard that is made of the ancient angel hair that is nothing more than fiberglass. It itches if you even come close to it. Kevin and I soon found that out. My hope is to sew some of the hair onto the inside of the bottom of the hat. That would allow for the appearance of his hair flowing over the collar of the back of the jacket.
I am thinking that Santa may very well need to take up residence in my sewing studio as the project goes on. Fittings, when Santa is a half of a city block away, isn’t reasonable. My advisers will need to be consulted on that matter. Looking over the velvet material, there is enough material for replacing his pants, the hat and also the mittens. Needing to shore up Santa’s physical physic would be another reason to have Santa in house. Fit as we go.
A new belt was ordered for Santa. The original belt was of very brittle vinyl that was pulled though a sharp silver metal buckle. It was a joint agreement that the ole fellow needed to be smartened up a bit with a belt and buckle that he so welled deserved for sticking around for 55 plus years.
The sun has been out all day. We made it above zero at noon to a whooping six above zero this afternoon. The wind chimes have been tinkling steadily. I checked on the patio porch critters this morning. They get the enjoyment of having the house and garden television channel on during the day to allow them to know, they still matter and have not been forsaken. Later in these days I have been spending time with them before I put the shell corn out for the deer, clean the litter box, and make sure they have food and water. They miss the ole cowboy that would spends hours at a time out in the patio porch, letting one after another sit on his lap.