The Vintage Tailoring Thread

[Vampyre Master]

reduce lapels

hope this is the right thread!
I want to reduce the size/width of the lapels on a sports jacket, its a 70"s/30"s corduroy, I recently altered the back (pleats and a belt) but not sure how to proceed with lapels
regards
VM

 

[Qirrel]

It is a bit difficult to explain everything in text. But I could make a small photo tutorial if you like. Do the lapels have buttonholes?

 

[Qirrel]

I found this table of fabric weights in the appendix to a 1908 "Dictionary of Men's Clothing", published in the US. (It is scanned and available on archive.org.)

 

[Vampyre Master]

It is a bit difficult to explain everything in text. But I could make a small photo tutorial if you like. Do the lapels have buttonholes?

no button holes, here is a pic of what they are like and then what I'd kind of like them to be

VM

 

[herringbonekid]

Stab stitch

going through my suits i noticed that none of the mass produced brands (Burtons etc) have a slip stitched edge.
sometimes called 'stab stitch' this stitch helps to keep the edges of jacket fronts and lapels crisp, but i find that the suits that don't have it seem to be quite fine without.


the only two vintage British suits i have which include stab stitch are both bespoke:

the stitch is very near the edge and almost invisible in some lights.


modern suits have made a feature of this stitch and moved it much further from the edge to make it more visible like this:

the thinking behind this trend (i reckon) is that it says quite loudly "I'M A BESPOKE SUIT".... consequently big visible slip/stab stitches tend to look modern.

does anyone have any examples on a vintage suit of this stitch that is more pronounced than the two examples of mine above ?

i've got to this point in a suit i'm making at the moment and am wondering whether to do very discreet ones in the vintage bespoke manner or not bother at all.

 

[Nick D]

I have a mid-50s Burtons that has this stitch, just a little bit further in than the bespoke ones but still hard to see unless you're looking for it. All my vintage bespoke British suits have it, one '30s American sportcoat doesn't.

 

[herringbonekid]

thanks Nick. all the American suit jackets / sports coats i own have some form of machine top stitch, often very near the edge, bespoke or mass produced.

 

[Qirrel]

Few of my vintage suits do not feature edge stitching. Those that do not are Norwegian (RTW) and bespoke from Germany and Sweden. On those which are not edge stitched by machine (a feature present on all my American suits, BTW, but they are all made to measure or RTW) the stiches are not very noticeable. Many tweeds, sporty jackets, and overcoats, have a swelled edge done with the side stitch, as in the last picture above. The stitch is often referred to as a pick stitch or a prick stitch. (a prick stitch being a stitch taken on both sides of the cloth due to the thickness making it hard to bend the needle sharply enough.)
On finer bespoke vintage suits the hand done edge stitch is very discrete. I have a Norton & Sons tweed suit where the stitch is so fine and thickly sewn that it is well nigh invisible from the front. You can only really see the stitch on the lining of the pocket flap, and to notice that it is there on the lapel you have to pull the facing and forepart apart.

 

[Vampyre Master]

It is a bit difficult to explain everything in text. But I could make a small photo tutorial if you like. Do the lapels have buttonholes?

yes I'll have whatever help ou can offer
VM

 

[Qirrel]

yes I'll have whatever help ou can offer
VM

Ill get to it. Could you take a picture of the underside of the collar?

 

[Vampyre Master]

Ill get to it. Could you take a picture of the underside of the collar?

here they are

regards
VM

 

[herringbonekid]

several people have asked what size a vintage armhole actually is (in discussions about smaller armholes being better for fit/mobility).
while making a recent suit i measured the armhole before the sleeves were on:

so there you have it; 6 3/8"

the original pattern for this jacket is from a 1931 jacket i took apart, and while the pattern is continually tweaked for slightly different jacket styles, the armhole (and sleeve) hasn't changed.

bear in mind that i'm a 37 chest and have pretty slim arms.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I think the armhole size on the work jacket I've almost finished is about the same. The arms are on, but not the lining, so I still have a chance to measure the armhole. More later.

 

[herringbonekid]

can anyone guess what this is ?

 

[Nick D]

I've been doing some major mending to a suit from 1946 that's needed it since last year. I should have done it over the summer so I could wear it now. Some interesting things I've found so far, photos will be forthcoming.

I relined the waistcoat and took out the extensions at the sides. Relining the jacket sleeves and taking the sides back in (obviously, the previous owner gained a good bit of weight). I'd like to shorten the sleeves, but it has working cuffs and I don't want to take them up at the shoulders. The trousers need to be mended at the cuffs, and I'll probably take off the wiastband and replace the outer pleats which were removed, plus reline the waistband.

 

[herringbonekid]

sounds like a lot of work Nick. i look forward to seeing any photos.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Kick tape?

can anyone guess what this is ?

 

[herringbonekid]

Kick tape?

i assume you mean leather trouser protector ?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Ah, thought so. It was either that or the most ineffectual spring ever designed.

 

[Chowderhouse]

This suit has interesting details, for those who like to study such things.


It was purchased in early 1920 by Hollywood actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. for his European honeymoon trip with Mary Pickford. After their divorce in the '30s, Pickford kept the suit. When Mary Pickford died, actress Debby Reynolds bought the suit from the Pickford estate, and then sold it at auction in 2003.

Very recently, a friend of mine acquired the suit from the 2003 auction's winner. I wish the photos were better, but they were quickly taken 'in the field' by an amateur shutterbug.


Called the "San Gabriel Suit", this suit was made in Los Angeles from imported British wool. The "San Gabriel" model of jacket was made from 1919 to the mid 1950s, but its details were subtly changed every two or three years. (You'll notice that the 1921 newspaper ad below shows a 'newer' model without roped shoulders.)


Some interesting details are:


-- a belted back with a row of gathered (shirred) tucks meeting the bottom edge of the shoulder yoke. The back's center has an inverse box pleat running down vertically from the shoulder yoke to the belt. There is an open center vent.

-- Pronounced roped shoulders.

-- elaborate construction throughout the lining area of the jacket. Linings with multiple types of fabrics (satin, wool hopsack, brushed cotton twill).

-- a very early example of trouser pleating: a single shallow pleat on each side of the trouser's front.