I had a quite random burst of energy on Wednesday; I think it's all those clementimes I've been eating recently [mmmm~ quick sugars]. That, and my mother had white thread in the sewing machine. I know how to thread a machine, but I don't like doing it, the bottom thread part that goes on the mini-spool beneath. So as long as she didn't put it away, I was waiting some for her to put thread in. [on a side note, the thread she had was some weird rayon decorative thread supposed to be used for embroidery I believe. Twas very easy to snap...] So now with the first step done, I sat down to work.
Here are the steps I took in recreating Castlevania: Judgement's Aeon pants, complete with pictures of the stages along the way.
First is to gather all of your materials of course, so you don't have to get up and search for them hither and yon in the middle of a snip or stitch. Not shown here is the sewing machine, hammer, and board used [but that comes later]. Yes, the pants I did not make myself, they were bought a year and half ago for graduation, because administrators at my school are stupid. Tonikaku... I bought smaller eyelets, about 5/8 inch or so, but you can pick them as large or small as you want. The tie I used for the cross effect through the eyelets is one of those round threads, that fray really easily at the end are usually burn-tipped or tied with a bit of tape; again, you can choose whatever color or type you want. Lastly, I bought about 1 and 3/4 yard of a cheap white fabric to use as a lining underneath the pants, since it's suggested to have a thick layer for the eyelets to bind to.The first thing I did was iron out the pant legs sideways, to create a crease down the front of the legs so it would be easier to cut. It gives you a guideline to make your divide straight. If it's not completely straight cut, don't worry, it's hemmed to the lining fabric and turned around. If you're worried about where the cut up the leg ends, you can put something in the way like another eyelet, or feather-stitch it like it did. If you know your pant material won't rip further with wearing and washing, then don't worry about this part. Next, I cut out a length of the white lining fabric and pinned it along the edge, then sewed from top to bottom. To me, this was easier then bottom to top, and trying to go around the cut and back down the leg. Make sure you have enough for four sides, two on each leg.
When I finished the legs, it looked like this. I went back to the ironing board to smooth down the hemmed line as close to each edge as I could, to there wouldn't be any of the lining fabric making a lip beneath it once I put the eyelets in. If you have a lot of excess going around the rest of the leg, you can cut it out now, but make sure you leave a couple inches for the eyelets; the eyelets don't go right on top of where the hem is.After ironing, I took a break, and didn't come back to it until after work on Thursday. In all, that took about 45 minutes, from pinning in my fashion that had to be as straight as I could humanly get it, and reminding myself that the sewing machine runs going back as opposed to forwards. Hahahaha... that made me feel stupid for a minute there... *Sigh.* Tonikaku~
The next step was to measure out and mark where the eyelets would be placed. I was having a hell of a time with my mathematics that night. Must've been those clementines. Let me just remind everyone that the metric system rocks, and whatever the hell we use sucks. If you're going freeform, whatever looks right to you, you won't have to worry about measuring [in this case, I would suggest to at least make sure the eyelets are aligned correctly across each side of the leg]. As it was, I had a lot of dots from incorrect positions, so I'm glad I measured and marked until I got it right. Use a washable fabric pencil/marker. When you've got the placement, trace the inside of the deep end eyelet, the one that goes in through the front, so you'll know how big your hole is supposed to be. It's better to have a slightly smaller hole than a hole too big. If you have a hole puncher that can cut through thick or multiple layers of fabric, use it. I'm not so lucky, so I was snipping 48 tiny holes for about 45 minutes.It's painstaking, and monotonous, so if you want, break it up by doing one side of one leg, then putting the eyelets in. If you don't have a kit and the eyelets are larger then one or two milimeters, be sure to buy an eyelet set with a kit in it, and just follow the directions on the back. Be as paranoid as you want to make sure you're putting them in the right direction. You don't want the back side facing out, because it just doesn't look as good.
I put in one eyelet after I cut one hole just to make sure it would fasten through both layers, which it did. This is the right side facing out. When you're hammering your eyelets, put the right side down and hammer the shallow end eyelet from the top. As for me, I was in the zone as far as cutting, and so didn't take a break until I cut all the holes. You may or may not want to wear a thimble, as the scissor tip ran along my finger and risked cutting it with each stroke. I am of good finger control though, so it worked without for me.
The last major part is to finish up and hammer in those eyelets. This is the major labor intensive part, and took me a little over an hour to do, with putting things outside in the florida room--since it was getting late and I would be hammering without abandon--and searching for a deep side eyelet that rolled off the table. When I made my first Visual Kei black pants, I used the much larger cousin of eyelets, grommits, and used the garage's cement floor when hammering them. You need a sturdy surface that you won't mind putting a dent in if you miss your mark with the hammer a couple times. Whatever you use, be mindful of your fingers and don't skimp on the number of hits. I happen to have a spare plank I use for numerous occasions where I don't want to mess up tabletops or carpets, so I put that between the eyelet tool base and my hammering.For the number of eyelets that I had to put in, I didn't count, that would've made it seem longer. And to take away from the manual labor of it all, I took the boombox outside with me and played Versailles Philharmonic Quintet album 'Noble'. Definitely kept me going and put an Aristocratic atmosphere over my space.
So when all is said and done and the last eyelet is in, thread your string of choice through them shoe-string style, and I left mine untied, true to Aeon's appearance. I am very happy with the final product, that cost only about $10-$12 for the materials--can't remember the price of the pants--and took about three hours over the course of two nights. In fact, I wore them today to work with my Demonia boots, and they are a hit. There are small things, of course, that I'm nitpicking at, but overwhelmingly I am pleased with the results. I will post a picture of them worn with said shoes along with my first V-Kei black pants in a later post.What do you think, mina-sama? I love these to death, they are my new pride and joy. Since there is white thread still in the sewing machine, I might go ahead and try to do the cutsew to my shirt next. I didn't end up with as many eyelets left over as I thought, but packs that are without the tool kit are cheaper, so I won't mind buying more.
Hahaha, now if I want to do my jabot I'm going to have to wait for the black thread to be put in. ^_^ Not really, I'm actually trying to find patterns and tutorials for it first. We'll see what comes along.
Now if only to have Aeon's white jacket and pocket watch... hmmmm~...
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak
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