Starting work on the suit

UPDATE:

I have revised this post following some comments from Seth, who refers to the back as ‘belted’ and the breast pocket as ‘box’; and Primrodo who has helped with some pocket detail.

There are several key design points I wanted to achieve with my suit.

LAPELS & COLLAR

The lapels and collar are set quite high. The way the pinstripes sit on them give some clues as to their shape, but conversely, also limit how it can be cut without them hitting right, so I will have to be careful.

POCKETS

The breast box pocket is a fairly easy design to follow; the outer pockets have a peculiar quirk to them that will need some further research to get right. The pocket flap is attached to the lower welt, not he upper, hence access to the pocket is ABOVE the flap, not under it as with conventional suit pockets. But then, this is no conventional suit!

BACK

The belted back needs to be at the right position, just above the back vent. This will make sewing it on a little challenging, but I'm sure I will work it out.

TROUSERS

I will make these to a fairly standard pattern I have bought - only thing is, I have never made trousers before, so that will be fun!

To arrive at a decent pattern, I have, like I did with my coat, sacraficed my old Honest Dragon suit in the name of tailoring, and have taken it apart to see how it was made (with a pinch of salt) and use it as a spring board for my pattern.

A new journey begins

This is intended to be a 'brother' blog to my Tennant Coat blog. I thought it best to keep the two separate, that way if you are interested in one or other you can follow them without having to trawl through to find the next step or one or other.

This will be a bit more of a long term project, as the pattern for the suit is a new one on me. I have been making coats for a couple of years, and have gone through several drafts and versions along the way. I have never made the suit before, so this is coming in from the ground floor.

I would not have started this project if it hadn't been for this posting on dw_cosplay:

Ten Jo-Ann fabric

I came to the thread a bit late, and thought I had missed out, but through the generous help of the guy that started the thread, I managed to nab a load of the Jo-Ann fabric. I am eternally grateful to him for his help - it is much appreciated. He is a top bloke!

I want to be careful with my allowance of fabric and don't want to waste any, so my plan is as follows:

1. Calico test suit 
   To thrash out the pattern and make sure it fits, I will first make a test suit in classic cheap calico
   
   
2. Fully made suit in brown moleskin
   I have some left over brown moleskin fabric from an abandoned project from last year, so will make good use of it and work up a fully finished wearable suit with all details in place
   
   
3. Fully made suit in Jo-Ann fabric
   Once I am happy with my pattern (in calico) and the assembly / technique of making it (in moleskin) I will only then start cutting it in THE Jo-Ann fabric

I will be dovetailing this work in while making my next Tennant coat, so entries will be in fits and starts.

Like the Coat blog, I'll also touch on other suits out there; my experiences of buying/owning the suits; the making of my new Tennant suit; techniques I have picked up while working on it.

Anyway, hope you will look in and see how I am getting on.

Let me know what you think and don't be shy about giving me ideas.

So long for now.