Bespoke Cutter And Tailor

So, after many years of telling anybody who asked that I was absolutely never going to try making a jacket, on the grounds that it's way too hard and I'm not completely mad, it seems I have finally taken leave of my senses entirely and fallen down the rabbit hole.

Firstly, I should say that my main objective here is to try and develop at least some grasp of construction. I had not originally intended to put much effort at all (if any) into fitting, and I'm still keen not to get overly bogged-down... Having said that, I think it's not too far out, and so I figure that it's maybe not a bad idea to make at least some effort to correct the most obvious deficiencies.

The pattern is not one I've drafted myself - it's the one Patrick Grant released last year to accompany his book The Savile Row Suit: The Art of Bespoke Tailoring. Fortunately it was quite close to my size. I made a toile from it and did some initial alterations, which were:

• Altered the shoulder pitch for my sloped shoulders
• Let out at the back / side seam, as I am apparently a little more portly than Mr Grant
• Attempted to adjust for my low right shoulder

As I've worked through it, I've come to realise that the pattern was somewhat lacking in reference points and balance marks, which I really should have done something about while I had the chance, but it's probably a bit late now...

In terms of construction, I've been mainly following the International School of Tailoring "Traditional Model" course from Reza over on YouTube, which I've found extremely helpful, but since I'm not using his pattern or materials, I've ended up deviating a bit here and there. I've also perhaps got a bit ahead of myself and put the pockets in already, having started out more following the construction sequence from Cabrera, along with bits from Grant. What can I say, I like making pockets!

I've now got it basted up as far as attaching the undercollar, and I'm not entirely unhappy with it, but there are some fairly obvious issues.

The first set of photos are with it unfastened:



Apologies for the dark fabric and poor lighting - the light isn't great here in Scotland in January, and my big softbox is up in the attic somewhere... Hopefully you can make it out OK.

So, the fronts seem to be hanging parallel OK when viewed from the front, and the low shoulder adjustment seems to have worked not too badly, but the side view shows that I've got what I believe is a front / back balance issue, with the chest and hem lines both rising quite noticeably from back to front. (I regret not marking a clearer waist line on the fronts.) The back view shows some bunching at the waist, along with some issues around the shoulder blades. Those might be the result of too much gather in the back armscye, or even just my hamfisted attempts at putting the shoulder pads in, but I think the balance issue is probably the most important thing. The back neck may also be a little high.

Second set of photos with the fronts pinned together... 



Much the same, but the bunching at the back waist is a bit more evident. I'm not sure how much of that is down to the balance issue, and how much is me putting on weight over Christmas...

So, the question is, have I diagnosed the balance issue correctly, and if so, how best to sort it out? Can I get away with just passing the sidebody upwards relative to the back at the side seam, and then adjusting the hem length to compensate, or do I need to open the pattern horizontally above the chest line? Or something else entirely?

I think I have a decent amount of inlay in all the usual places, so there should be plenty of scope for modifications.

Thanks in advance for your consideration and assistance!

Quote from: Schneiderfrei on January 09, 2025, 09:30:36 AMSo that's what that smell is! I know it.

Yes, wonderful smell, like an old jeans store

Quote from: NEIL on January 15, 2025, 06:11:05 AMI know, right?

Terri, I posted a couple of comments on the subject of Inuit clothing in the Costumer's section of the forum, I'm guessing you've already seen/read them.

I'm still figuring out my way around the forum re: sending messages / commenting / uploading pix, etc.

Yes I did see your posts.

I think we just passed by each other as I left Banff in 1989. Small world!

Quote from: NEIL on January 14, 2025, 04:51:07 AMI just had to post this:

Today, in the mail, I finally received my copy of
DER ZUSCHNITT für die Herrenschneiderei (17th)
a very, very sought after and long awaited for volume.

What's really wonderful about this copy is that it is still in its original shipping box (a beautiful package, nonetheless) baring the name of the Japanese Tailor who purchased it in 1969, over half a century ago. His translation notes are still legible and that is exactly what I am going to do is translate the text into English, except I have the 21st century advantage of digitally scanned OCR technology and translation software.

Thanks especially to you Der Zuschneider, you helped me understand what this book is,
 and from you I figured out how to identify the correct edition when hunting on-line.









Cheers!

You are lucky. The book would sell now for 450$.

I am still selling a couple of books on ebay.

I know, right?

Terri, I posted a couple of comments on the subject of Inuit clothing in the Costumer's section of the forum, I'm guessing you've already seen/read them.

I'm still figuring out my way around the forum re: sending messages / commenting / uploading pix, etc. ...

I thought you raised a really interesting subject. The first residency in the visual arts that I did at the Banff Centre for the Arts - 89/90 - was also the debut year for a joint co-production with the Welsh National Opera who together with the Banff Centre launched a brand new opera called Tornrak.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornrak

We (who were all so young back then) all thought Richard Armstrong was a big hoot because he made this famous pronouncement (in his booming voice): 'to perform on stage, one must have élan!' which I discovered decades later is attributable to somebody else much earlier, I think maybe I read that in Martha Feldman's book Castrato https://www.ucpress.edu/books/the-castrato/paper

Quote from: peterle on January 14, 2025, 07:59:25 PMGenerally the German Copyright exists for 70 years after the death of the author.
Anonymous or pseudonomyous works are protected for 70 years after the publishing date. (So the ABC would get free this year when the author/photographer is unknown).

Do you know, I hadn't even done the maths! 

We'll see.

Quote from: stoo23 on January 14, 2025, 10:30:05 PMI believe excerpts can be published and used for Educational purposes, without Infringement as long as the correct information is provided and referenced.

I've done plenty of that.

No it doesn't, BUT I have purchased an actual copy of the book. It hasn't arrived yet.

What I did in the interim is extracted images from the Daman version, which is posted in this forum.

Great find!

Quote from: Schneiderfrei on January 14, 2025, 04:37:46 PMAs a matter of fact, I've translated the entire work, and I'm on the second proof. But to be honest, I don't really know how to handle it. If it were not still in copyright, I'd sell them, but I need to make some effort to find out who owns the copyright and if they want my translation.

Does your translation including p56 & 57? I remember these two important pages of setting in sleeve is missing...

I believe excerpts can be published and used for Educational purposes, without Infringement as long as the correct information is provided and referenced.