Tailored Jacket
In January 2024 I took a week-long tailoring course with Mary. A retired tailor who worked at the Stratford Festival for a couple of decades. I've been wanting to learn tailoring and knew a hands on experience couldn't be beat. The draft we used is based off of my measurements but there wasn't enough time during the class to dial in the fit but I was able to learn proper construction. The fashion fabric was a black cotton flannel from B Black.
Above you can see the fabric cut out and marked. Sewed in a cotton interfacing and constructed the sleeves first.
Inserting and constructing the front jetted flap pockets and interior breast pocket
Basting the canvas to the fronts on a curved wooden form to add shape. Before attaching the canvases we also did some ironwork to prepare their shape. Then we taped the roll line to reinforce it and stitched the lapel to give it shape.
Backs constructed with cotton interfacing. Vent constructed and lining basted in loosely.
Collar canvas and undercollar melton pad stitched together.
Armholes chainstitched around with a waxed cotton thread to resist being stretched out over time. Then added lambswool wadding to the top of the sleeve heads for shape. Stab-stitched around the top of the armhole seam with silamide thread to keep all the layers from shifting.
Pick-stitched the front edges of the CF and lapel to keep the seam to the back and out of view. Attached the collar by hand with slip stitch on the inside and a short blanket stitch to the melton. Handworked buttonholes. Overall I'm very pleased with how this turned out. I wasn't able to document every single step but I captured most of them. From this class I realized that I had all the foundational sewing skills/handwork stitches down pat but it was a joy learning how to apply my skills in the proper order to make a traditionally tailored garment. The buttonholes are fine if you squint. I redid them about 5 times but I'm still not happy with them but I'll get better on the next one. I can't wait to experiment with pattern drafting more to dial in the fit on my next jacket.