Do you have one of those patterns that you like, but that you're not exactly in love with? The Belvedere Waistcoat is one of those patterns for me. It seems that no matter what I throw at it, all the care and attention to detail I can muster, the end result is still slightly disappointing. [...]
Work continues on my boiled wool coat. This will be a pretty "geek heavy" post, so you've been warned! With the pockets completed it's time to baste the prepared canvas to the coat fronts. I adapt the sequence that Roberto Cabrera uses for a suit jacket. Basically one bastes from the shoulder down the length [...]
I love working with wool! All the wool I've worked with to date has been woven, so boiled wool is a new experience. It's actually a dense knit, and unlike a woven it doesn't ravel. Not a shred! Still, I pre-treat it as I would for any wool. My TNT method is the London Shrink. [...]
As promised, I'm finally getting around to posting some of the construction details from my Stylemaker projects. I'll start with the waistcoat first. The instruction booklet for the Belvedere Waistcoat emphasizes the importance of interfacing the fronts. The goal is to have it sit smoothly over the chest without buckling. My longtime readers know that [...]
Did you, faithful blog followers, give up on this? Was this going to be the UFO of the pandemic? Truth be told, I totally ran out of steam on this project. Maybe you've been there? As many of you know, I love sewing for a special occasion. One of my nephews was going to be [...]
I continue to bang away on my Vogue 9262 Blazer. It's been quite cold here in Maine (It snowed a few inches just two nights ago), so I've had no problem staying inside; working away in my little sewing space. This post will be quite "tailoring geekery" heavy, so be forewarned. My purpose is just [...]
OK, call me crazy but I like to get dressed up a bit to walk the dog (my sweet schnauzer Homer). It's a special time between us, usually early enough in the morning that it's just the two of us out in the neighborhood. It's such a great way to start the day. After a [...]
It's finally finished! My interpretation of a Christian Dior toile jacket that's featured in Kim Jones' collection for Spring / Summer 2019. I've affectionately dubbed mine the "Too Poor for Dior" jacket. For the record, here's the original. I die! The matching is perfect. If you look closely you can just make out the pocket [...]
I'm just "saying NO" to all the topstitching on my coat. If I'd made the unlined version it would be necessary to hold things in place, but I think it looks more professional without it. Plus nothing looks worse than a garment with bad topstitching, and I don't want to run that risk. To hem [...]
The Bishop Method goes into great length about the glories of hair canvas. Hair what???? This was a new one for me, and a quick Google search proved that it does, in fact, exist. Sorry, but I didn't even consider looking for the stuff at my local JoAnn Fabrics, the only fabric store for [...]
Mainelymenswear 