Made a Commercial Flight Jacket and a Car Club Jacket

[Hepville]

I´ve made the pattern from a Vintage 1950s Commercial Flight Jacket I´ve purchased a few month ago. Cuffs and waistband of the vintage Jacket were in minor shape... so I´ve decided to replace them. The Jacket was mostly deconstructed for replacement... so I´ve took it totally in pieces and drafted my own pattern from it.

I´ve finished this one yesterday:

This is the first Jacket from "my" pattern. My brother wanted to have a Flight Jacket and I´ve took a look at my little fabric/ sewing supplies stock to see what I can do on the short run.

I´m planning to make a proper Reproduction for me... a NOS Talon brass Zipper for front closure is just on it´s way to Daddy


...and here´s a Clicker/ Car Club Jacket I´ve made about two weeks ago:

After I´ve finished this one I´ve found a good supplier for knitted cuffs in many plain colours, with one stripe and with two stripes... so for upcoming projects i will use some of those

 

[ChristianM.]

That Car Club Jacket is fantasic! :eusa_clap

I want to see some more pics of it... more details!

 

[Hepville]

Hi Christian!

Ich wollte Dir eine Nachricht schicken... das ging aber nicht, da Du noch neu bist und zu wenige Beiträge hast.
Bei Interesse kannst Du mich ja mal kontaktieren: theslopshop@aol.de

 

[Edward]

I love that flight jacket, looks fantastic. What is it, drill cotton?

 

[Hepville]

I love that flight jacket, looks fantastic. What is it, drill cotton?

Thank you, Edward! It´s a heavyweight cotton/ canvas.

 

[Edward]

Thank you, Edward! It´s a heavyweight cotton/ canvas.

Looks superb. Much as I'm a fan of military flying jackets from that period, I love seeing civilian styles. You thinking of going into business with these at all?

 

[H.Johnson]

Excellent work! Again, it's good to see another Lounger making things. If we keep this up, who knows, some of you youngsters may form the foundation of a new craft-based 'cottage industry'.

 

[Hepville]

Thank you Guys!
I love those civilian styles, too. I belong to the 50s/ Rockabilly scene here in Germany. For me it´s sometimes strange to see how much military stuff (Boots, Trousers, Jackets, complete Uniforms e. g.) the Guys are wearing. I have some items, too... and I like them... but when I´m on a Hop or Weekender I personally don´t want to look always like a tarted up GI with a Pomp

Because of legal requirements and reserves you must have it´s not that easy to start a business here.
Actually I make things for people and get payd for it from time to time... but you can´t really call it a side business.

Here´s a Sweatshirt I´ve finished about two hours ago:

And here´s another Jacket I´ve made for a Guy in Austria:

And from this one I want to make a reproduction as close as I can get to the picture:

...still have to figure where I can get the buttons...

I´m making Jackets, Shirts, Sweatshirts, Caps... but Jackets really are my passion I guess... they are so fun to make and there are so many cool styles.
In my mind there are some other Jacket styles that want to be made/ reproduced

 

[Hepville]

Once more the Flight Jacket with content:

Looks pretty good on my brother IMO

 

[fishmeok]

EXCELLENT work! Very well done!:eusa_clap

Isn't it a great feeling when you finish something, put it on, and say "yep, that's it."

You will have to show us pics of those striped knits- I think the right kind would look great on a pre-war civilian flight jacket. Don't be afraid of working with leather, but you will need a compound feed industrial with a servo motor to be able to make jackets properly.

You already have 95% of the skills, the rest is just working with the quirks in the hides and learning a few tricks to make things easier. Please feel free to PM me if I can be of any help.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Hepville]

EXCELLENT work! Very well done!:eusa_clap

Isn't it a great feeling when you finish something, put it on, and say "yep, that's it."

You will have to show us pics of those striped knits- I think the right kind would look great on a pre-war civilian flight jacket. Don't be afraid of working with leather, but you will need a compound feed industrial with a servo motor to be able to make jackets properly.

You already have 95% of the skills, the rest is just working with the quirks in the hides and learning a few tricks to make things easier. Please feel free to PM me if I can be of any help.

Cheers
Mark

Thank you Mark!
Yeah... it´s a real good feeling! ... Or you have something just in mind and you KNOW it will be good when you make it.

I have the colour samples for the knits here: About 90 colours can be combined... a pretty good range. The first set is ordered and I will show pics when I have them.
Actually the knits come from a "Cottage Industry" and are crafted/ made to order with a hand knitting machine. Thats why you can´t get them as yardgood. They come in pieces you can stretch to a max of about 53cm/ 20,9 Inch and are 16cm/ 6,3 Inch broad... that means you will have finished knits of 3,15 Inch broadness minus the seam allowance... that means you have to sew some together for a waistband. The quality is top notch and I accept this little harm for the good quality.

When I´m on the point to start working with leather I will be glad to contact you for some tips/ advice, thank you!

Cheers, Béla

 

[Land-O-LakesGal]

And here´s another Jacket I´ve made for a Guy in Austria:

I did you use a vintage pattern?

 

[Hepville]

The base is a vintage pattern combined with elements of other patterns and self drafted pattern pieces based on existing vintage Jackets.

Thats what I like to do sometimes: Bringing together "typical" elements of vintage Jackets in a way from what I think it will look good... instead of making exact copies... it gives me more a feeling of creating something

 

[Silver Dollar]

Great jackets. The flight jacket is my favorite.

 

[Tony No-Toes]

Hepville, very cool! Looks like fun too. I too really like the flight jacket. You don't often see those in cotton with the fur collar. It's a great combination.

 

[alfyman]

The Flight Jacket

I love that you were able to replicate the flight jacket, If you ever made it with a bigger Fur Collar i would buy it.

 

[Hepville]

Thank you Guys!

Tony No-Toes: Yeah, I know. I have seen some with faux fur collar... but faux fur just doesn´t feel right to me...

alfyman: Adding a bigger collar would´t be a problem, but bigger like 1 Inch to this collar wouldn´t look so good on this style of jacket IMHO.

I hope my knits will come by the middle of the week... so I can finish the "final version" of the Car Club Jacket made of the right fabrics and stitched embroidery on the back.
Meanwhile I´ve started with the Varsity Jacket and after this my B- 15ish Flight Jacket is scheduled

 

[andy richards]

Great jackets! Looks really good. Congratulations.
Andy

 

[Hepville]

You will have to show us pics of those striped knits...

Here is one of them, Mark:

It´s excellent stuff to work with... very well made and thick.

And here´s the Car Club/ Clicker Jacket how I really want it to be:

Heavyweight wool (about 24Oz, I believe), lined with black Linen and the back was stitched by a little embroidery service in my area... again Cottage Industry
Now that´s a Jacket I would like to own

Bela

 

[fishmeok]

Very Cool! BTW, why do they call it a "clicker" jacket?

Cheers
Mark