Learning to Make My Own Menswear

[Sin Khan]

“Admin please place this post where it is most appropriate thank you”
I placed this post here because my ultimate goal is to create nice suits and coats, yet it will take me some time learning how to do so and I must start off with other things.

Well my friends it has been a few years since I was first interested in trying to create my own shirts, suits, and coats. However, I am back on track to learning how to sew and tailor menswear. This thread is to chronicle my efforts and what I will learn about making shirts, suits, and other clothing.

I will start off with boxer shorts and socks. I will do this not just because I need some shorts and socks, but also because they are simple items and I am rather unsatisfied with what I can get at most places. My athletic socks are just tubes that seem to bunch up in my shoes and my boxer shorts never seem to fit right. Either they are too tight or too lose or they have a tendency to bunch up or a host of other problems. Some of these problems is obviously because certain boxers are not fit well to the pants that I might wear with them but I will try to solve this problem after I create some nice fitting boxers of a smooth material like silk but a little more absorbent like cotton. I want my boxers to be able to slide around the inner pants well for movement yet I do not want to feel wet perhaps if I am sweating or whatnot.

For sock I want them to be dressier than regular athletic socks but I also want them to be thicker than the normal dress socks that I buy. I would like to create socks that are more form fitting with the foot instead of a tube and yet thicker on the bottom than elsewhere. I also want to make the sock longer in the back heel portion than the top of the ankle joint so that when I am standing my socks don’t bunch up across the top of my ankle.

Any advice that you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

I know that I could perhaps order these things or have them made for me, but I honestly want to know how to do it myself. I thoroughly enjoy studying clothing and I hope that I will thoroughly enjoy creating cloths myself.

 

[Kishtu]

Good morning Sin Khan, or at least it's morning where I am!

I'm a historical dressmaker and one of my least favourite items is socks (stockings and hose, in my case) I have to tell you. From a construction perspective I guess you have two options, silk jersey or similar (I'd go for silk and hang the expense, but that's just because I think natural fibres are better for the skin!) in as you say a tube construction, but with ankle gussets. That's what they did in the 17th century - cut cloth stockings, on the bias of the fabric, and gusseted them to fit.

Option #2 sounds like it would be better for what you want, which is to knit them; there are plenty of very fine wools around (Shetland lace uses, I think, 2 ply wool to produce knitwear so fine that it can be passed through a wedding ring) and you could then tailor your length and fit accordingly. There are a few "custom" sock pattern generators out there on the net!

I'd be interested to hear what you come up with for boxers, as I'm in the middle of making a suit for my home sweetie and I reckon a nice pair of shorts would go with the outfit off nicely

 

[Sin Khan]

Learning more everyday now

Wow, I have a lot to learn that’s for sure. I don’t know anything about computer patterns and such. I would like to learn more about that. As well I have another question for you please. You say that in the 17th century they made socks from regular cotton or linen type fabrics and just cut the pattern on the bias (to make it more stretchable I understand, yes?). However, these fabrics don’t offer a lot of cushioning do they? How did they cushion their feet when wearing these thin linen socks? Or were they just many layers of fabric?

As for the boxer shorts, I plan on altering the basic pattern from what I read in the tailoring book that I have. I have noticed that for Japanese gardening pants you make a measurement of the “seat high” while sitting down. This will give you the distance from your waistline to your crotch while seated. This to me is a critical measurement in that a lot of my boxer shorts seem to constrict my equipment when sitting down. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to matter whether I buy oversized shorts or not as it seems that some brands only increase the waistline area and yet still leave the seat height areas the same. So, it’s just a crap shoot it seems to find a pair with the appropriate waistline and seat height for proper fitting. Also, the tailoring book advises that before you create the pants for a suit, you are to ask your customer, “Which side do you dress yourself on?” (IE which side do the family jewels sit?”. This intrigued me because it had always given me a problem before and of course I have never had a suit tailored to fit me. Whichever side you dress yourself on then that side is given more fabric in the cut such that the centerline is never actually on center but just a bit off center to accommodate the family equipment on whatever side you prefer to place them. I can’t believe that boxer shorts aren’t made this way and I certainly will from now on make all my pants and boxer shorts this way, as well as appropriately measuring the correct seat high before cutting the fabric.

I went out to the fabric store this past weekend and spent some time there looking at various patterns and what not and I was very ashamed at the poor selection of patterns available for men’s clothing, especially the overcoats. Not one trench coat pattern or pea coat pattern could I find (some things that I thought would be easy to find and readily available.)

Are these patterns not available simply because they are high profit items for the major clothing lines? That’s my suspicion anyways. It seems that anything “designer” as far as patterns go is going to have to be made myself. I don’t know how to do this yet, but I am confident that I can learn. One of the things that I learned from Graphic Design classes and art history is that almost all designs (2d or 3d) made for or in reflection too the human body use simple and standard proportional techniques (IE the Greek standard of the ideal male figure proportions and such.) This should make pattern creation somewhat straightforward for all the standard clothing items of wear (basic shirts, basic coats, basic pants, ect.) Is this correct?

If so, then after I get a pattern textbook then it should just be a matter of practice, and learning the basics through repetition. Is it really that difficult to create a pattern? Does anyone here create their own patters?

I purchased a few patterns from the store and some fabric to make a shirt. I have cut the pattern out and I am reading the sewing book that I have. I will post more after I have actually started sewing the shirt together, but so far, it doesn’t seem complicated or especially difficult. Any thoughts?

 

[Feraud]

Please keep us updated with your progress.

 

[Fletch]

There are going to be some craft secrets along the line that no one will teach you, because you will threaten their livelihood. Unless you can find someone willing to take on an apprentice, this knowledge may not ever be open to you.

 

[Tomasso]

Good luck!

As for making your own socks, even the best tailors and clothing manufacturers in the world shy away from knitwear. It's a speciality that requires equipment and skills that are unique to the industry. For instance, the makers of the finest handmade ties will contract out to a few specialty mills for the production of their knit ties. I would suggest that you start with shirtmaking as there are instructional books and videos available for reference.

 

[Sin Khan]

Yes, I have learned a few things about knit fabrics and their construction such that I am skipping my plans on socks for the moment. However, the real pain for creating knits is in the construction of the fabric itself and not as much the clothing items that are then made from the fabrics. As well, there is a section of knit fabrics called circular knits. Ties and socks fit in this category because the fabric is created in a circular fashion such that there is no seam running lengthwise down the fabric. Here is a picture of a a machine at the Alamac company that (I think) creates this kind of fabric.

Interesting to say the least, but yeah, I think I will hold off on the socks and knit items right now. I instead have opted to create a shirt from cheap cotton material. I will post more about the steps and the problems as I go.

 

[Duck]

Good call on skipping the knits. Yes, the knitting machines are very complicated. Circular knit machines are specialized and are used for many items without side seams, such as t-shirts and socks.
When you describe athletic socks, it sounds like you are talking about the old tube sock and not the modern very technical sport socks. The modern sport socks, such as no-show low cuts, are very form fitting and have a thicker foot bed.

Good luck with your projects and keep us posted on the progress.