Commission - Bottle Green Tailcoat and Striped Satin Waistcoat

This will be a picture-heavy post!  My most recently-finished commission was for a green wool tailcoat with a velvet collar, and a satin waistcoat in a coordinating green and gold stripe.  My client requested fabric-covered buttons and hand-made buttonholes, so this commission took quite a bit longer than the other two.  I think the end result was worth it, though.

I do not have any photos of the customer wearing the garments this time, but I was able to get quite a few decent shots on a dress form at the Costume Design Center - my former employers were kind enough to let me borrow it for an afternoon.  I do not own a male dress form yet, but it's becoming increasingly clear that I need one!

The dress form seems to be larger than my customer at the midsection, which is why the lowest button on the waistcoat is straining slightly.  I also forgot to pull the sleeves of the shirt through the armholes, so that's adding extra bulk around the waist.

Having worked so hard on it, I wanted to get some detail shots.  I love how fabric-covered buttons look on a tailcoat:

The velvet collar really adds something, too.  I was thrilled to be able to match the color of the wool so perfectly:

I also took some photos of the waistcoat alone:

It's the little things, like pattern-matching on the welt pockets, that make me happy:

Hand-made buttons and buttonholes:

I matched the stripes of the buttons with the stripes of the ground fabric, as well:

If you'd like to see some in-progress shots, check out my Instagram.  #bottlegreentailcoat and #stripedsatinwaistcoat 

Commission - Indigo Wool Tailcoat

The next commission I completed was for a tailcoat only.  Although both clients requested dark blue wool for their fabrics, the two coats came out very differently.  I ended up using a heavier wool for the second coat, and because of that it made more sense to finish the edges with a blunt-cut treatment.  The wool is very well fulled and will not ravel, so I simply placed the wrong sides of the pieces together, sewed along the stitching line, and cut off the excess seam allowance.  It made for a very sharp finished look, without all of the bulk that turning in the seam allowances would have added.

My client requested fabric-covered buttons, which I love to make.  And this coat is double-breasted with nice wide lapels.  He made his own waistcoat, which he brought along to the final fitting for these photos:

Just for fun, here's a comparison between the two dark blue tailcoats:

 

 

What a difference fabric choice and design options can make!

Commission - Navy Wool Tailcoat and Red Wool Waistcoat

My first big commission was completed several months ago, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it.  I have an excuse, though.  In the intervening months I have taken on and finished two more commissions of similar magnitude, and I will be blogging about those soon.

Commission Number One was a tailcoat and waistcoat for a customer who wished to replace his kilt that he had been wearing to English Country Dances with a more suitable Regency ensemble.  He purchased a shirt and pair of breeches from Jas. Townsend, but came to me for a custom tailcoat and waistcoat.  I also ended up making him a cravat to complete the outfit.

The only in-progress photos I took of the project are these three pics of the pad-stitched collar:

Pad-stitching from the top side

Pad-stitching from the bottom side

And with the excess interfacing trimmed away

The final coat turned out rather well, if I do say so.  We opted for a single-breasted front, closed with two buttons on a chain.

Behind the coat you can see the first two tailcoats I made for Brian the Engineer.  I used them as reference while sewing.

The red wool waistcoat provided a beautiful contrast to the navy wool coat.  Both fabrics were purchased from Burnley & Trowbridge.

The client requested all silver buttons.

When he came for his final fitting, the gentleman was kind enough to bring his full outfit so I could take these photos for my website:

Looks rather good, doesn't he?   He wore the ensemble to a ball the following weekend.