Now begins the part where this starts looking like a garment. After basting the exterior fabric to the padded interlining, I did some structural work and started joining the body panels.

The invisible work in this process comes at the ironing board, where the exterior fabric has been carefully steamed and stretched to make it fit the interlining (remember where we added gussets to increase the underarm curve and add shape?). You can see a little bit of a ripple in the photo where that extra inch of give was added. That bit will help the garment hold that curve and give some ease around the chest at the underarm without extra bulk.

In addition, Brian and I settled on some trim for the exterior. Since this is to be a fighting jacket, I’m not very excited about investing a lot of time in making braid or another handmade trim for this one. The efficient and cost-effective option involves commercial trim from Joann, a simple white woven braid. Close enough to be similar to the bias ribbon, tablet bands or braided trim that might be found on period examples, but without the time investment. I’ll save that for “dress” clothing.