The Vintage Tailoring Thread

[Belloqinabush]

I vote in favour of patch pockets too. Except you are aiming at a business suit.

Yeah I may just wait and see until I finish the rest of it. I was thinking of adding a couple of rear pleats and a belt to the back which may make the patch pockets slightly less out of sync. But having said that I am trying to remain conscious of the fact I may just be adding features to the suit that may not be true to the era simply because I can. Having said that unless I have a change of heart I'm leaning towards regular interior pockets although I am nervous about doing them.

 

[herringbonekid]

But having said that I am trying to remain conscious of the fact I may just be adding features to the suit that may not be true to the era simply because I can.

belt back and patch pockets is more 30s than 40s.... perfectly fine on a 'sporty' fabric.
if your pattern is the more relaxed late 40s style i'd skip the belt back and save it for a more 30s project.

 

[Nick D]

Yeah I may just wait and see until I finish the rest of it. I was thinking of adding a couple of rear pleats and a belt to the back which may make the patch pockets slightly less out of sync. But having said that I am trying to remain conscious of the fact I may just be adding features to the suit that may not be true to the era simply because I can. Having said that unless I have a change of heart I'm leaning towards regular interior pockets although I am nervous about doing them.

I added a belt and action back, and pleated the pockets, but I'm going for a particular style. You should know that the pattern runs a little large, the chest measurement on the 38 was 43", which is quite a bit of ease but the pattern has extra ease under the armscye from the underarm dart not reaching it (which is intentional, it's also on the single-breasted version of this pattern which is a semi-hacking). If you haven't cut it out, check the measurements, make a mockup to check.

 

[Belloqinabush]

I added a belt and action back, and pleated the pockets, but I'm going for a particular style. You should know that the pattern runs a little large, the chest measurement on the 38 was 43", which is quite a bit of ease but the pattern has extra ease under the armscye from the underarm dart not reaching it (which is intentional, it's also on the single-breasted version of this pattern which is a semi-hacking). If you haven't cut it out, check the measurements, make a mockup to check.

Thanks for the heads up Nick I already cut out the pattern but only put the trousers together. The belt back jacket I got from eva dress ran very large too. I have been trying to dart the hell out of it and get a reasonably good fit out of it.

 

[Belloqinabush]

belt back and patch pockets is more 30s than 40s.... perfectly fine on a 'sporty' fabric.
if your pattern is the more relaxed late 40s style i'd skip the belt back and save it for a more 30s project.

Your right. The fabric I have is a medium dark grey so it is definitely set up for a more conservative cut than a belt back now that you mention it.

 

[Two Types]

Double breasted with patch pockets:

Ole Olsen:

Chic Johnson:

These come from the George Mann Archive.

 

[Nick D]

Chic Johnson:

The 6x2 double breast with three patch pockets is very uncommon. The pocket has to be tucked up into the sleeve and it still looks crowded.

 

[Tomasso]

Yeah, not a good look.

 

[Nick D]

Sleeves!

Okay, I am being driven to distraction by a sleeve problem, and I'm hoping someone can help.

I am working on EvaDress 915, the double breasted jacket. Having done the single breasted version of this jacket, from the same (original) company and period, I assumed the sleeves would be pretty much the same, but I was wrong. I am having a terrible time with them. I've basted them in and ripped them out more times than I can count, and even sewed them in and ripped them out a couple times when I thought I had it right.

When I line up the pitch marks and ease in the fullness, there are large folds in the sleeve from the top of the cap down the front. If I move my arm back they disappear, and sitting on my dummy the sleeve hangs fine, but I don't think I have an unusual posture. I tried rotating the sleeve in the armhole, and managed to get rid of that fold, but it resulted in a very bad hind arm. Rotated back almost an inch, the sleeve no longer matched the armhole. I do have enough fabric to cut new sleeves, but I'm hoping there's a way to salvage the ones I've got if I can just figure out how to make them hang cleanly.

 

[herringbonekid]

Nick, are you using quite a lightweight fabric ?

if they disappear when you put your arm back then it suggests you may have put the sleeve on too much that way... i.e swung back slightly.

 

[Nick D]

It is pretty light, not as light as most of the RTW suits you see but barely as heavy as a lightweight vintage suit. It's harder to find fabric now that I don't live in the UK. Buying online is always a challenge.

What I need to do is draft my own pattern, but things like this make me very hesitant. I'm pretty happy with my technical ability in the actual sewing of the garments, but drafting and cutting? Mixed results. I do always draft my own collars, since I always have to shorten patterns a bit and that changes the roll line ever so slightly (and the stand is frequently too high on commercial patterns, even vintage ones).

 

[herringbonekid]

i don't understand why it looks ok on the dummy though.... if the sleeve pitch is off it should be visible then too.

other idea is that there might be too much ease around the front cap and the fabric is puckering below as a result.

 

[Nick D]

other idea is that there might be too much ease around the front cap and the fabric is puckering below as a result.

I think this is what was going on in part. After staring at it, and fiddling with it to see where the fabric needed to go, I scooped in the front and back of the sleeve cap, mainly below the pitch marks. It seems like there was too much fabric in the sleeve, especially the underarm, which was bunching and throwing the sleeve off. By moving my arm back it pulled on that extra fabric, taking out the crease. My dummy is female (I'm saving up for a male as well), so the bust was probably pulling that fabric out when I put the jacket on it. Things are looking better now, but I've spent days on this.

 

[Tomasso]

What I need to do is draft my own pattern, but things like this make me very hesitant. I'm pretty happy with my technical ability in the actual sewing of the garments, but drafting and cutting? Mixed results.

I think that cutting may be the 'art' to sewing's 'craft.' In any event, different animals, to be sure.

 

[Nick D]

 

[Tomasso]

What was that old joke about a tailoring goof-up and house style?

 

[Nick D]

I had to take some extra fabric out of the front of the cap from the top to the front pitch point, but I'm done fooling with it. I've reduced the more egregious folds in the sleeve, improved the hind arm, and made it hang a bit better. It doesn't hang perfectly, there are still some folds in the drape which the sleeve head will not remove, but I'm going to call it for this jacket. Removing width from the cap has made the sleeve fit a little tightly at the bottom of the scye. Wearing vintage, sometimes I've had to accept things that didn't fit quite right. I should have to making things for myself, but it's a process. Hopefully the next one will be better.

I'm going to make a mockup of this pattern in size 36 (I cut 38, but I'm actually 37 and I've found this pattern runs a bit large), and I'll draft a new sleeve for it. I found a draft based on the armhole dimensions, so I think I can manage that. If that goes well, I'll think about doing a whole jacket from a draft.

 

[Nick D]

Looking back at photos of other jackets I've made, several have this long vertical fold from the cap down the front of the sleeve. Not all, but a few. When I started, I either didn't notice or it didn't bother me (probably the former). Now it's going to be the main focus until I get it right.

It also shows up in some of the vintage jackets I've had, though less pronounced. Maybe it is a posture thing.

 

[herringbonekid]

Nick, can you post a photo of the fold ?

 

[Nick D]

Right sleeve has pad and header inserted, left sleeve does not. It's not over the vest I made, and I took it in slightly at the sides, but even so it's bigger in nearly every measurement than my best-fitting jacket (which is why I'll use the 36 next time, unless I find another '40s pattern in a 36 or draft my own).

When I say that this is an improvement, you can imagine how bad it was before. Since the jacket has some other fit issues, I'm not going to cut new sleeves.