Selfless Sewing - a Hippie Tunic for Mr Needles

I've done lots of sewing over the years for Mr Needles. We both like looks and styles of previous eras, but where I tend towards the 50's and early 60's, he increasingly looks to the late 60's and 70's. This is fine with me - I like those eras as well, they just don't suit me. And I'll happily make him pieces in these styles, like the Psychedelic Vampire shirt I made for him a couple of years ago.

But  he does test my patience by constantly asking for capes, tunics with 'Wizard Sleeves', Kiss or Elvis-style jumpsuits, and bell bottoms of various colours. His most recent obsession has been a hippie tunic, a la Jim Morrison or the alchemist in 'Holy Mountain'.

Jim Morrison

No, that's not Mr Needles waiting for his dinner to be served, but the Alchemist from Jodorowsky's 'Holy Mountain'

He wore me down, so I dug out this pattern from my collection:

(Notice it says 'Small' - I had to do a bit of grading for it to fit Mr Needles 42" chest...)

After a visit to Ridley Rd market for fabric - Indian cotton at the bargainous price £1.20/m - and a quick wash to pre-shrink, I begrudgungly got to sewing. It actually only took a couple of evenings to put together, but like always I got a bit too involved and decided it needed something around the neckline. 

I came up with this silver chain stitch, which was surprisingly satisfying to work, but took a whole day to complete!

Close up of chain stitch

The finished neckline

And here he is in the finished product:

As you can see, he loved it - he apparently 'didn't sweat at all' while wearing it! Such high praise...

In case you were wondering, the backgrounds to these pictures aren't from our home, but an art happening/club night which Mr Needles and friends put on - Super Satanic Saturday! If you like UV-light art, snake dancers, and psychedelic rock, check out their facebook page .


See you soon!