Bespoke (part nine) What's up your sleeve?

Another day, for the most part, done without the use of a machine.

The fit

with the exception of the two long seams on the arms.

The hemmed sleeve, with lining attached

 It is incredible to me, that the collar on a well-made suit, is attached 100% by hand.

Wool

but here ya have it! 

Linen

TTENDEN

Bespoke (part eight) Collars, shoulders, raw fingers

 Well, if it wasn't for stitching through, and poking, again and again, many layers of skin, we would have gotten even farther than this. But considering the only stitch the machine did today was about eight (8) inches along the roll line, today was a day of progress!!!

There it is, right above those crooked stitches, thats all we turned the machine on for today. 

The rest was all with a thread and needle.

....and we have....a collar!

This is the point when i started losing feeling in two of my fingers

and at this point, i wasn't sure if i was excited to be near finishing or not?

Really getting precise now!

 TTENDEN 

Bespoke (part seven)....and so we vent

Well, as i left the project last, it was hanging on a hanger! Quite hopeful future for all this time spent, but today, NO! deconstruct it again, this time, so it was barely recognizable, twisted, turned inside out, fraying at the edges, ... all part of the plan, back to hand stitching, every inside seam to be exact. 

but alas, after three quarters of the day, i could rest it back on a hanger again, yes i know, looks the same as it did three weeks ago,

but NO! if you knew what was in between these ( now attached ) layers!

and we have........ a vent!

Bespoke (part six) ...making it to a hanger!

Even if the most progress was not achieved today, it sure looks and feels like it. Went from two pieces of fabric lying on a table, with all the previous blogs involved, please don't remind me of all the hand stitches, (there are many more to come), to something i can try on, and if sleeveless suit coats were the fashion, we would almost be done!!!

ah, and the Bemberg makes its first appearance! I think the hand stitches come next!

And the Italian Linen.

just a little side note..... don't worry, all this bespoke-ness has not delayed the fall/winter collection,

it's building!

Bespoke (part five) Pad Stitching

This step in the construction was definitely a rollercoaster ride. Years ago someone asked me if i would ever make a suit, without any hesitation, i replied, "no." A year passed and i stumbled into a shop in Chicago, where on a male dress form, deconstructed was the interior of a bespoke suit.

 From that point on it has been a direction for me to

head! The details and handstitches, were  a work of art, never even to be seen by the one to wear the suit.

So here it is, pad stitching, well the first attempt at it at least. This stitch, (done by hand) attaches the canvas to the wool, also giving enough roll, to keep the lapel against your chest while worn.

ahhh...... taking shape

Then cotton twill tape, around the perimeter, and roll line, (by hand of course)

The only machine turned on this day was an Iron. 

still hangin' in there though!

TTENDEN

Bespoke (part four) .....POCKETS!

....well, don't mind me, i've just been sewing pockets for some time now! As you see, the pockets flaps are wonderfully bound

never thought 1/16 of an inch could mean so much to me!

 and all these interior details, will only have been seen by me. Now there is a pocket! Bound flap, hand stitched bemberg rayon, prongs, hand whip stitch, hand running stitch, press, breathe!

Shall we count the hours it took to get here? Next step... hand pad stitching!

ttenden

Bespoke (part three) Cutting Fabric

Well, after measuring, dotting, connecting dots, all on paper, we got to the muslin, a very thin coat, that would represent the, soon? to be, Italian wool, Bespoke Suit. But then..... took that muslin, ripped it apart, all for the change of a quarter inch here...... and an inch there. Wow this is getting good!

and then..... back to paper. This time, a stiff tagboard, to be used for many of my suits to come. Then we laid out the two different fabrics, (only time i've seen nicer fabric than this was when a friend (thank you Mary) took me to a tiny fabric shop in Livorno, Italy, where the employee, wearing a suit of course, gave me a tour. Then picked up some Italian fashion magazine, flipped to a page, then showed me to the fabric that the designer had purchased at his shop. Yes, that was quite an experience. I must admit, it was a little nerve wracking, when the first thing we did was slice into it, and ripped out a thread that ran the whole width, to get the true grain, then chalked it up, and poked it with pins. But when we pulled out a dragon to use as one of the weights,  my Year of the Dragon, rested me assured.

and having this as a prologue to our 1972 copyrighted Master Designer textbook helped too.

So here we are, probably 500 hand stitches into it. The real deal.