White Tie and Tails

Gorgeous, Kate. Simply gorgeous.

Thank you. It was quite a fun project to work on.

Wonderful work, Kate! Do you use Wild Ginger as a starting point, or do you draft the whole pattern by draping?

Thank you. :)

Neither on this one! We took measurements and went back to Aldrich for flat pattern drafting. By the time you've done all the corrections when drafting in Wild Ginger for a tall fat bloke with narrow sloping shoulders and a VERY upright stance, you are actually saving time doing it manually with paper and pencil.

And it's an adaptation of modern and 19th C cuts, to give a sort of

1930's theatrical feel to it.

First draft of the pattern was a bit too large, so we pinned in a lot of alterations, took those back to the pattern and recut. Second draft needed some small alterations, including taking a 'fish' out of the waistline... Took those back to the pattern and cut and made up. The only fitting the final coat had needed nothing altered, not even the cuff length! Yay!

Wild Ginger is great for the more modern stuff in traditional sizes, but less useful once you are off the map into 'Here be dragons' territory, on either size or style.

It's so nice, that one, so posh! May I utter a request? I bought the terribly expensive Italian fabric for a jacket for Eric the Viking; once I'm ready to go for it, would you help me? Might I fly over and we do it together? I want to do it properly with collar felt and all, and I'm know that Monica isn't so experienced in tailoring as you are; she knows all about ladies' stuff, though. Don't panic, it won't happen soon, more like in a year or so, but if I knew that you would be there to help me, I might accomplish that garment in DH's and my lifetime. ;-)

U.

Of course you may! It would be lovely to see you, and I know Su would love to meet you.

We can do a lot of the drafting and fitting of the coat and the toiles online, and go for the fancy finish when you get here. :)

Oh yes, that would be so much fun! Oh how I long to go on that trip; alas, first I have to go through the rough. Tomorrow we have our appointment with the children's psychiatrist; I'm sure I mentioned our suspicion of DD being an ADHD child. We had her there for diagnosis and tomorrow we may talk to the great man himself about what to do with our child. Today has been something of a day; she just won't listen to what we say. OK, she has had ample opportunity to practice this both with us and DSIL, and things won't mend in a day. And sometimes she seems to have a Teflon brain: Tell her what you want as many times as you want - nothing sticks. ARRRGH! But it's all my fault, and now DH and I have to attend to things. And trips to Dear Auntie are a thing of the past for the next few weeks for her. But perhaps, if things go well, she might be well-behaved enough to be taken along and we can camp out in your garden. OK, I'd rather leave her here, but, let's face it, all this is a long way off... SIGH! (I have to get my 'Kur', soon!)

Anyway, I thought I might try one of these patterns for the jacket:

or Comments? Recommendations? Suggestions?

U.

or

Ooh, go for the second one! I see him more in Teddy Boy style than a conventional suit! Velvet collar?

With luck, by the time we get to it, the new loft will be done, so there will be more space and a second bathroom! And the GMNT may be off at Uni. Or at sea!

Thank you, Kate, for letting us go on your creative journeys with you. I love every stitch of the way. Polly

Thank you. It's always a fun journey.

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Hmm, I'm afraid the Viking wouldn't like it at all. We shouldn't ask too much of his style buds. The fabric is for a sports jacket, classic style:

(enter 'vastoa' into the 'suche' template) He doesn't need too many suits; one for funerals (the wedding suit did its duty on DM funeral quite well), and one jacket to go with jeans for the not so formal occasions. Since he looks adorable in blue I was quite charmed by this unusual fabric. He has a similar jacket that we bought for him last Christmas which just doesn't fit him (sleeves too long and body a bit too short for my taste). Personally I think that the version with one slit in the back doesn't look as good as the one with two, but I didn't look into the other details. Well, there's still loads of time...

Oh wow! That sounds as if you have great plans, both with the GMNT and your loft. I'm soooo looking forward to it. BTW, how's the garden? Did you carry out all the wonderful plans?

U.

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He's quite broad, so two slits would suit nicely. Love that classic Prince of Wales check in the blue and browns... Nom!

Loft conversion to make a proper sized bedroom for the GMNT, a second bathroom, and a storage room for stash, etc. Himself will then get the runt of the GMNT's tiny bedroom as office, so we'll get the dining room back! Yay!

Nothing done on the garden: we needed to save a bit of cash, and I was going to start on it last year, but... With mum going and me restarting the business with Su, it kinda got put on the back boiler!

But there will be a new big shed, the currant collapsing one will come down, and where it stands I'll have a summer house and decked area. Outside the conservatory will be a new big patio area. This will reduce the grass, what with paths and such. Make it easier to look after! After that' we'll start looking at the planting, keeping what is sensible of what we have, and the apples trees, rowan tree, and copper beech hedge.

So tickled to see that you are going to expand upwards!!! Our own attic (loft) has a full bath and a full kitchen, and was originally for my mother-in-law, but after she left we put an outside stair (with tiny deck) and rent it as a large studio. I would love to keep it as guest quarters, but his nibs likes knowing that some of the bills are covered by the rent.

Well, people keep telling us that WE ought to have the new rooms, but with both himself and I having knee problems, the extra flight is not so attractive! We are in the middle of a terrace, so an outside stair isn't an option, but it'll make great guest space when the GMNT is away.