http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/vie ... php?t=7870
Now that this is finished and in the completed ledger I get to tear into my dashing tweeds orders, good god I am excited! I have two sports coats and two winter coats to do….he he he, did I mention I was excited? I have some liberty print cloth and beautiful silk to work into the linings.
http://www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/dt/tweedrange/
So….now on to the update….
This suit is made for my favorite client. It is inspired by a suit from about 1900 Italy. My client runs a law firm so we tweaked the design to be less literal and more flattering for his body. The pants are perhaps the most literal piece in the suit. They are waistband less and with quite a high back and an inserted zipper. The inserted zipper is sewn into the fly so no zipper tape is visible, a small detail but something that adds so much care and detail. I love what I do and I obsess over details.
The basic suit block drafted for this client only, the block has been made up as a prototype and then fitted. I can then make anything he would like in very little time, with out the need for so many fittings.
Good fabric cut and thread traced so I can work with it and know exactly where the sewing lines are.
The canvas is custom made for each suit, no pre made nonsense here. It is placed on a form the same size as the customer. The canvas is then lightly wetted and pressed with a hot iron. After staying on the form all night the canvas is ready to sew into the jacket. This process makes for a very durable shape.
This is the reason hand pad stitching is the way to go. The lapel roles just right. This is with no pressing at all. The photo was taken right after I finished the stitching.
This is the taping of the canvas. The canvas must not be caught in the seam at all. The brown tape catches the canvas and holds it to the seam with out adding bulk. The tape also lets the tailor add a bit of shape where needed, like at the hem of the jacket so the cut away wont ever flip up. The brown tape must be extended way up into the gore line as the top collar is hand sewn later and the brown tape helps to cover the lighter canvas.
I can not stand fusible in bespoke tailoring. They fail on so many different levels. A non fused interfacing gives a pleasant feel to the jacket and last many times longer. Not even the hem is fused.
The rest of the images require further explanation.
The next three are of a graduation suit I did for a young gentleman. His father brought him to me to have his first suit custom made. He loved the suit and the process. I am hopeful I got him hooked and away from off the rack.
This is the best example of the way I cut. First the top collar is cut then the facing for the lapel is cut so that the stripes always match. The lapel is cut without any shape so that the strip tracks the edge in a perfectly parallel line. Stripes running off a lapel half way down make me sad and a bit sick. In a plaid the pattern of the cloth must match at the gore line and at the chest. See next image….
When I have some of the dashing tweed projects done I will post an update.