Gentlemen, show us what you've made!

[Mario]

the suit is actually finished already... just giving you gents a bit of a lead in.

Ha! Shot from behind! That's not fair!

no, i've made around 12 jackets, and many other less tailored items.
the pattern is my own. i basically took a couple of (moth damaged) 30s jackets apart and used them as a starting point for the pattern.

Well, I'm really dying to see the suit. Please post some photos as soon as you can.

 

[herringbonekid]

inspiration for the suit:

the back and pockets are inspired by the 1923 catalogue features, although the jacket has more of a 1930 cut, not having the longer straight front closure of the early 20s, nor the really tight shoulders. the trousers are narrow 1923 style.

thanks to Flat Foot Flo for bringing the photo of Conrad Veidt's suit to the table; it served as a major inspiration.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Now that's exciting. Seeing pictures come to life. I bet it will be a quite extraordinary suit.

 

[Mario]

Ain't it good to know that all those meticulously collected photos can actually serve another very real purpose other than having you (or me, for that matter) marvelling at them, filled with vain hopes of somtimes finding anything similar via Ebay or Etsy or whatever?

I'm in awe of some of the talent gathered here.

 

[Qirrel]

More of the unlined jacket:

Ready for sleeves and collar.

Inside sleeve finish.

The back with belt and pleat running the full length of the back seam.

The inside with covered pocket stays and stay tape round the scye in preparation for the sleeves.

Basting in the sleeve.

Looking good.

Finally beginning to get the hang of setting sleeves nicely.

The back, nice and clean. The sleeve collapses a bit because there is no arm in it.

 

[herringbonekid]

thanks for the work in progress shots Qirrel.
with the high top button are you going for an Edwardian boating jacket look ?
is that vintage cotton ?

 

[herringbonekid]

a few work in progress shots taken during making of the 'Conrad' :

lining on back of pocket is hand felled around edges:

under-collar is machine pad stitched to linen collar canvas:

the gorge-line waiting to be ladder-stitched shut. the lapels (and collar and front egde) will have a final top-stitch too:

the back without belt yet:

 

[Qirrel]

thanks for the work in progress shots Qirrel.
with the high top button are you going for an Edwardian boating jacket look ?
is that vintage cotton ?

Not quite Edwardian, but I am contemplating whether to put on three or four buttons. Closer to that Edwardian revival period after the war than the real deal. I actually have a few patterns from that era that I have in mind for a future jacket. I don't know the exact age of the cotton. It is from a small mill in India, and the label looks old-fashioned. I'm guessing it is from the 80s, since my local fabric shop has a lot of old stock from large fabric stores in Oslo which closed down in the late 1980s.

I wish I had a pad stitch machine. I thought they were rather expensive?

 

[Mario]

HBK - That 'Conrad' is coming along quite well. I'm deeply impressed. :eusa_clap

Are you going for slanted/angled shoulder seams?

A broader question: How - and where - do you guys muster the required courage to even just think about such a project? The mere thought alone leaves me scared, frightened and utterly baffled. :eeek:

 

[herringbonekid]

Are you going for slanted/angled shoulder seams?

A broader question: How - and where - do you guys muster the required courage to even just think about such a project? The mere thought alone leaves me scared, frightened and utterly baffled. :eeek:

yep, back sloping shoulder seams.

i've been making stuff for about six years and the first things i made were quite bad, but it's all a learning process; you get better with each thing you make. someone who does this stuff every day will advance rapidly. because i only make one garment every 2 or 3 months it's much slower, but you still get better.
by this stage i'm fairly confident i'm not going to do anything stupid, my patterns have been tested many times, so i'm just improving the 'finish' each time, but cutting a welt pocket into the jacket front is still scary for me, because there's such a small margin for error (patch pockets are easier as you can take them off if they go wrong).

 

[herringbonekid]

I thought they were rather expensive?

the pro ones are crazy money; the ones that actually curve the canvas around a shape as it stitches the canvas in.
i have a basic table top one. you can get them on ebay for around £220. look up blind-stitch machine.

 

[herringbonekid]

trousers have vintage French waistband tape, and 'Paris' cinch buckle.
if you look closely you'll see that the trousers have a lapped (raised) outer seam, a la Conrad Veidt's suit.
bottoms are 8.5 inch. to be worn with some sock showing, early 20s style.

 

[herringbonekid]

the buttons and sleeve lining are vintage.
the black twill lining is modern.

p.s. i decided against buttoning jacket flaps in the end. will definitely do it on another jacket though.

 

[Mario]

I'm considerably wowed.

I really like the 'inverted' back pleats on the jacket.
And it looks like the welted hip pockets turned out pretty good. Chapeau! :eusa_clap

 

[herringbonekid]

And it looks like the welted hip pockets turned out pretty good.

thanks Mario. those pocket flaps aren't welted. they're basically sewn onto the outside (the easy way)... no cuts into the front on this one.

 

[Mario]

I see (but I really had to zoom in a lot to make that out in the photos - and of course I completely missed that other close-up photo... ).

How long have you been working on that suit?

 

[herringbonekid]

How long have you been working on that suit?

three and a half weeks, on and off.

 

[Mario]

Not really that long. I think I'd probably need three and and a half years and would still be left with something that resembles a tattered Mongolian family tent (vintage style).

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

HBK Very cool. I am really impressed. Of course I am in love with the jackets with all the details. The back with the pleats and belt is really amazing. The fabric is beautiful too.
For my personal taste the pants look unsual, but of course that is because the 10s/20s look very different to the 30s/40s. I like the beltloops and the cinchback

Quirrel: I really like the idea of a summer blazer. Quite dandy. Do you plan to wear it with white or cream pants? 4 buttons would really look edwardian. Not sure about that. 3 rather high buttons would make a 20s look? (the bottom button at the height of the pocket opening?)

 

[herringbonekid]

For my personal taste the pants look unusual, but of course that is because the 10s/20s look very different to the 30s/40s. I like the beltloops and the cinchback

FFF,
when you've worn wide legged 30s-40s trousers for ten years a change of trouser width is like a new lease of life.
we men have so few options to begin with.