Replica Sgt. Pepper Costume
I chose John
I chose John
This was done last year. My first sewing project ever, and it was a big one. I had the idea to make this, and after finding some useful references online (see http://www.costumersguide.com/cr_pepper.shtml ) I decided to hunker down and get started. I purchased most of my materials from fabric.com. The buttons were tougher to find, since I needed them to resemble the originals as close as possible while still being on a budget. Luckily 38th street in Manhattan yielded results.
I did this without a set pattern, which not surprisingly led to some frustration along the way, though unexpectedly the pants gave me a much harder time than the jacket. I test fit as I went, and the funny thing was the biggest mistake I made was simply cutting the pants legs too short. So I had to make a second pair. At least on the second try I also had the advantage of a new suit whose pants matched the closure style of the Pepper pants. So I had new reference. The epaulets are cut foam, and still sort of haphazardly taped on the underside. Haven't taken the time to fix that yet.
The medals are all accurate to what John wore; I found them for reasonable enough prices at a shop called Dorchester's, and the mini MBE I found on eBay. I could get replicas of the actual patches, but for now I handmade them from felt instead.
I did this without a set pattern, which not surprisingly led to some frustration along the way, though unexpectedly the pants gave me a much harder time than the jacket. I test fit as I went, and the funny thing was the biggest mistake I made was simply cutting the pants legs too short. So I had to make a second pair. At least on the second try I also had the advantage of a new suit whose pants matched the closure style of the Pepper pants. So I had new reference. The epaulets are cut foam, and still sort of haphazardly taped on the underside. Haven't taken the time to fix that yet.
The medals are all accurate to what John wore; I found them for reasonable enough prices at a shop called Dorchester's, and the mini MBE I found on eBay. I could get replicas of the actual patches, but for now I handmade them from felt instead.
The costume in action (my sister's birthday is Nov. 1st so we go out on Halloween. Wearing it is a love/hate affair, since I'm scared of getting it dirty or losing parts. I did get some fun reactions from people, on the plus side.
