1745 Highlander Frock Coat

Here's the frock coat I made inspired by Colum MacKenzie's gathering coat.

I started with J.P. Ryan's 1750’s Coat with Military Variations for the Officer or Enlisted Man. I used the civilian coat cut a bit shorter than the length of the enlisted coat. The shorter length is made for riding horseback (unlikely in reality) and also to give enough room for my great kilt. I like the instructions provided with the pattern and the illustrations are good. It would be nice if there were videos to go with it, but I figured it out eventually.

As this is my first coat, I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I used a 50/50 wool blend Melton fabric and cotton lining. The buttons are inexpensive ones found online from China. Instead of horsehair interfacing, I used a medium weight synthetic. I also saved money by using polyester buttonhole thread instead of silk twist and waxed cord instead of gimp. There is also none of the lace found on Colin's coat. The next coat will be tartan with silk or linen for the lining.

Machine stitched where it can be hidden and by hand wherever visible. The buttonholes are cut with a chisel and hand stitched with gimp cord and heavy polyester thread.

The buttons are pushed through holes for the button shaft made with an awl and held in place with twill tape. The tape is threaded through the shafts and sewn at each end inside the coat, between the outer layer and the lining.

Michigan Renaissance Festival - Got Kilt?

I'd forgotten how much fun the Michigan Renaissance Festival can be.

Stacey and I haven't been in quite a few years (13 or 17 - she was pregnant with either Sean or Lydia at the time). Lydia and Sean have never been. Stacey asked Lydia if she'd like to take a couple of her friends for her birthday. Usually, she has her friends go camping with us but that didn't work out this year.

Warrants of Arrest
for
"Sweet Entertainment"
 "Beatlejuice x 3"
and
"Revenge"

I received two Warrants of Arrest thanks to my lovely daughter and her friends. The first for Notorious DAD and again for Bein' Eveeeil.

The girls took off to spend some quality time with each other. Our paths crossed several times - at one point Lydia acquired Elf ears and Emily sprouted horns.

We didn't see as much of the stage acts as we'd have liked but did get to see some of the Scottish Dancers and US Canadian Highland Heavy Games. We saw the Braemar Stone Put (like the shot put but with stones), Caber Toss (flipping a tree length pole end-over-end for distance and accuracy), and 56lb. Weight for Height (iron weight on a short chain tossed one handed, over head, and over a horizontal beam).

Sir I-Can't-Remember-His-Name with Sean and Stacey

We saw the Roundtable Productions Joust, which Sean enjoyed. Sean also liked the glass blowing where he bought a glass paperweight. He also wanted to see the blacksmith demonstration, but they wouldn't be demonstrating until late that day so he missed it.

The Black Watch
3rd Battalion
Royal Regiment of Scotland 

I've always wanted to get a kilt, and almost bought one from Got Kilt. Not wanting to offend, I was looking at a Black Watch tartan, a tartan that anyone can wear, but there wasn't one readily at hand in my size.

Stacey and I are planning to go back Labor Day weekend without the kids, so I decided to wait until then. This turned out to be for the best. I remembered last night my maternal grandmother's maiden name is MacQueen (or MacQuien if you look at census data). The only down-side is that it requires a special order and will take longer. But, I should get it in plenty of time for my sister's annual Halloween party. Stacey is now looking at suitable attire to complement a kilted Scotsman.

I think the RenFest will become an annual event for us from now on.