70's double breasted suit poject

[Sewot]

Hey Dad!
I have a project for you!
I want you to make me a double breasted suit in time for March whereas I will be best man at a wedding, but don't worry I have ordered the pattern!!!!
AHHHHH!...
I Know I am not up to this but my son thinks I can do just anything...
That's my fault for bringing them up to take anything on and not to shy away because things incurr determination and degrees of difficulty.
So there we are....I am now in a pickle!
I have told him there are some things I cannot do.
Mhhhh...looks like I have to go for it.
The only way it will happen is with a positive mindset and determination.
So here goes.
I will keep you posted.
It will be a big kick if it's a success.
For the expert Taylors amongst you I will appreciate all help I ask for.
I know!
I am crazy.

[Ploshkin]

@Sewot I'm not an expert by any means but I did make my husband a traditionally tailored jacket this time 2 years ago.  I did a thread on here about my progress.
I found that tailoring for men is a well kept secret but I got a lot of good information on Jamie Kemp's Male Devon Sewing blog .   This is a book that I found very useful too.
If this is a jacket that is not going to get a lot of wear you may want to use speed tailoring or a hybrid method rather than traditional tailoring which entails a lot of hand work which takes a long time.

[Lowena]

If you've brought them up to take on anything and not shy away.....why has he asked you to make it instead of doing it himself

[Sewot]

@Lowena .
I believe that it's because he wants something made by dad again.

[UttaRetch]

We will follow your progress with interest. 

[Iminei]

Maybe he could help you with it????

[dolcevita]

If the main fabric hasn't bern purchased yet, get something that either has a high wool content or is all wool. It's much more forgiving when shaping and manipulating with steam.
Start researching interfacing now, be it fusible, canvas or alternatives, and identify suitable suppliers. The underpinnings can often be harder to find than the main fabric.
If you really want to wow him, start practicing your hand sewn buttonholes now - they're so much harder than they look but you will want the lapel one to be just right.
How wonderful that your son has asked you for this - enjoy the journey!

[Bodgeitandscarper]

Psst!  If you wanna know any simple bodge it tips, I'm your man woman.  If it's just to be worn on the one day, then keep it as simple as possible, I wouldn't be doing any of the fancy underlining, interlining, fancypantsylining, just a bit of normal interfacing for the collar and front facings.  But don't tell the others here, they are proper sewists   :thumbsup:

[Sewot]

Ha ha.
Thanks for all your help so far.
Get him to help me?
That will be a disaster. He is 50 years old and ERM....has his opinions!!!!. He will take over, overwhelm me and I would end up under instruction from someone who has not yet made a suit.
Pure wool?
I get your drift on this one re workability but we live in Australia and we are already on 35 degrees each day.
It needs to be of a very light material/ fabric.
I don't get much choice about the fabric as he will go ahead and chose it anyway.
I have asked him to buy a maniquin for a starters.
Yes the suit will only be worn a few times at most.
Therefore I may be tempted to cut a few corners to keep sane.
It will probs end up a costume suit in view of it only being worn a few times, it's light weight and the fact that I am not a Taylor.
I have to pretend to be one and then it will work.

[toileandtrouble]

@Sewot  Wool is much easier to handle from your point of view.  Nowadays you can get a very fine tropical weight wool. Amazingly less sticky than manmade alternatives, because it is wickable.  You could use linen, but somehow I can't see a double breasted suit in linen. Does anyone else think that would work?

[weary]

Whilst I appreciate that someone else is specifying materials and pattern etc., maybe you can influence their choices???

Definitely a fine wool.   if you can get the wearer to agree.   It will drape well and look good in photographs (& it is easy to work with!!).
I also suggest avoiding linen - if you can.  Extremely difficult to keep creases out.  As soon as it is put-on it will re-crease and sitting down will crease it again.  Dependent on colour, especially if light in tone, it will show every crease in any photos.  Good material to work with, but really only suitable for informal events - I suggest.

Regards,
Phil

[Sewot]

Thank you Phil.
I believe you are right.
I will talk him into a lightweight wool.
I second your views on linen as my shirts are 100% linen, for casual wear and yes they crease like heck but I am okay with that.
Not for suits though.

[Elnnina]

What a brave venture.  May I recommend a book on Tailoring that you can probably find secondhand that is excellent, has loads and loads of very clear diagrams and explanations of how to do everything you need for a jacket, and this is the only book I have ever seen that shows  the different techniques of traditional tailoring that I learnt way back in the 60's.  It is called Coat and Skirt Making by Samuel Heath - don't be put off by the title though.  I was lucky and found my copy secondhand in a library sale and it cost me only £1.00.  There are very clear diagrams showing how to 'pad stitch' the collar, and on finishing the collar there is something called 'stoting'.

Good luck.

[Sewot]

@Elnnina .
That was of great help and thank you.
I need to be armed with as much info as possible.
I am watching you tubes on how to hand sew suit button holes at the moment.
" Hui's tayloring". He is very good.
I am an armchair Taylor but it's fun learning.
I will start practicing. On scrap material to get the hang of it and maybe post some pics of my efforts.
I have, in the last five minutes ordered the book you suggested.
Brilliant.
Thanks.

[Popeye09]

If you're watching youtube videos, this series might be of interest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6tlEoqDKT0&list=PL6wdXAvg4DOEngOR93SkkVK8Tb0AvmwJv

It's not a tutorial, and I'm not saying you'll want to copy it exactly, but for inspiration and picking up little bits and bobs it could be good. I've made a few jackets and coats with tailored canvases made by basically eyeballing something vaguely similar to what he's doing here, and they've come out okay!

My personal thoughts as a non-tailor who's bodged made a handful of jackets, take from them what you will:
* I agree with all all the comments about wool. If you can find one that's climate-appropriate, then wool (or at least a high-wool blend) is so much nicer to work with and coax and steam into shape.
* Don't waste any money you spent on a nice wool by balancing out the budget with a cheap, unbreathable lining!
* If you can source the materials, tailoring a canvas lining is involved, and time-consuming. It'll almost certainly take longer than the actual jacket it supports. But it's also very doable, if you want to go for it. Also, constructing a jacket (never mind the rest of the suit) is an involved bit of sewing to start with. So you're already investing quite a bit into it. Is it worth the extra? Your call.
* If you don't normally baste seams before sewing and use pins instead, do yourself a favour and make an exception for setting in your jacket sleeves! (pin in place, hand baste, take out pins, sew)
* Similarly if you don't normally make toiles, consider doing so for the jacket.
* The most important bit of the fit is in the collar and the shoulders. Everything else kind of hangs off that.
* If you're going to go for a quicker fusible interfacing approach but want to try and do a modest bit of tailoring, you might consider attempting a properly tailored canvassed collar. For a reasonably small bit of padstitching, it'll probably add the most class!
* Your pattern will probably call for shoulder pads, but don't forget some sort of sleeve head too. You don't need anything special for them, just whatever you have lying around of the right weight and stiffness. I tend to use strips of scrap canvas for support with a wider strip of scrap domette or self-fabric on top to soften the shape.