Basically the costume is a tailed coat, with a vest and tie. And check pants. I tried to pick some colours that would hopefully clash really well together, but still be workable for future use. (I don't make these things for nothing.)
I used a peacock corduroy with a fine pill for the jacket. The tails were not supposed to have an inside lining, but I thought that it would look unfinished if I didn't add a lining. So I just bought more of the cord and lined it fully with that.
Another thing that I changed from the original pattern is that I didn't do the sleeve hem as specified. My dad has long arms (A trait that runs in the family) so I didn't want to make the sleeves any shorter. Instead, I used purple bias binding and stitched it to the inside. On the exterior the hem just looks like a single fold 1cm hem, but then you get flashes of the contrast purple binding when you move. Very cool.
I made the purple vest out of a cheap satin. It's an acetate fabric, so it's cheap and a lot stiffer than other satin fabrics, meaning that it will hold shape a bit better and not stretch and fall like most satins. The only thing I changed about the vest, is that it was supposed to have a dickey attached. But I wanted to use a contrast tie (bought), so I didn't put it in, but instead just attached a piece of black elastic to sit behind the neck.
I intend for him to wear a button through shirt underneath, so the collar and the tie will cover the elastic. I went with elastic so that it would be a little more comfortable and allow for movement. So far it looks pretty good and I am happy with it. All that is left to do hem the pants and make the hat. Which is a whole other issue as I am having trouble buying the foam to make it out of.
