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. [...]
My last post was mostly about a big mistake that I made. But that's all in the rearview mirror now. It's full steam ahead on the Covid-19 blazer. This post will cover some simple tailoring techniques. Keep in mind that I'm not a professional. These are just some techniques that have worked for me, and [...]
I "cut my teeth" on men's outerwear, and I still find it incredibly satisfying to make. It almost always involves wool, which is a dream to work with; and there's the opportunity to have something that just isn't available in the ready to wear market. That's a huge draw for me. I hope my journey [...]
I will just preface this post by saying that none of what I'm showing is at all necessary. The Jedediah pattern has a perfectly fine waistband. It can be very attractive if one takes the time to add a bias binding. In fact, the whole interior of a pair of Jeds can really be dressed [...]
I just don't make enough pants to ever get comfortable with the zipper. So I crawl through the process. Somehow it all comes together, but it remains a mystery in the end. The Jedediah pattern has a perfectly fine zipper fly, but for this project I really have my heart set on a French fly. [...]
I've wanted a pair of red pants for years, but could never find the right fabric. Anyone who sews menswear will probably understand. It's SO hard to find the right weight and something without stretch. Stretch is the devil in my book. So you can imagine my delight in finding a non-stretch, heavy red moleskin [...]
Here we go, another wedding! This time, my beautiful and uber talented daughter is marrying. The place -- Oakland, CA. The date -- April Fool's Day (which also turns out to be Easter this year). My travel arrangements are all made, but my Father of the Bride wardrobe is sorely lacking. My daughter floated the [...]
Do you remember that I was considering making a "French Couture jacket"? It was ages ago. You've probably forgotten the whole thing. I armed myself with Claire Schaefer's book, cranberry wool tweed woven by my mom, bronze buttons and some foufy mohair trim. So what the hell happened.....where to begin? The general consensus from you, [...]
After weeks of procrastinating I jumped into the muslin phase, and it didn't take long to figure out that I've got my hands full with this pattern. There were some pretty glaring problems right out of the envelope. So I decided to do some "preemptive" adjustments. First off, the center back seam is ramrod straight [...]
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