"Following instructions in a victorian book, on heavier fabrics [16oz plus], I am flat lining every panel with linen canvas including the sleeves." That sounds really interesting. I would love to see some pictures of this. Where did you find out about this technique? Do you sew the canvas together with the cloth at the usual seams? Or do you join the canvas panels separately to the outer cloth?

Great work! Interesting story. I'm glad somebody is saving that Merino wool... It breaks my heart to think of products like that simply being thrown away.

I have been astonished by the quality of garments which are being produced by tailors in China/Korea/Asia recently. They put Savile Row to shame in some instances (particularly Huntsman - some of their publicly visible work is shamefully poor in my view).

I know what you mean here. Particularly now: I'm working on a heavy overcoat for my wife, and the cloth is seriously thick. I find I only need to work 'through' to the other side on the corners. Along the main edges yes, the stitch does get a bit longer than I'd like. I tend to not go entirely through to the other side most of the time, and simply catch a few threads from the underside with the needle. I find this is sufficient to keep the edges in place.

No problem - glad you approve of my suggestion! 😁

The key is getting the slope correct. The method used in the German draft I posted is to start by calculating widths across the chest and belly according to formulae. These widths are applied across from the 'front of armscye line' At-H. So At-B is the front chest width (1/4 Chest minus 4cm, in this case), and H-U is front waist width (1/4 waist minus 1cm). The points e and f are marked halfway along these distances, and a line is drawn up through them. The neck point H1 is defined along that line (some adjustment is made but you get the idea).

Hi Thomas. Let me preface this by disclaiming that I don't know a lot about waistcoats. You should definitely wait for Rory to provide some guidance before you proceed, unless you're happy with trail and error (which does in fact have its own rewards, I believe...) In answer to your query: I would suggest that both of your approaches are incorrect. You might have better luck following the general layout of the draft below, which I have borrowed from a German tailoring textbook: See how the belly area is placed forward of the chest, which matches how it falls on a corpulent figure? The neckline and shoulder slopes backwards (what might be called a 'crooked' cut). This should work better on your physique, as I imagine it. Notice that one problem with corpulent figures is that the front hem can be too loose. The draft above deals with this excess by inserting a dart under the front tip of the pocket, to take up some of the excess cloth, and to create a bulge in the belly area. As you see in the second image, you can displace this dart into the pocket mouth if you prefer (probably a bit advanced if you are a beginner). As I said, if Rory suggests a different approach you should ignore my advice and follow his directions, but this might give you something to think about in the meantime.

That looks really good. Definitely get a supply of cheaper cloth for making 'toiles' (as they are sometimes called) ie. test garments. I find that cheap calico can be bought by the roll for a few dollars a metre, and it's good for test garments because it has a bit of body and stiffness. I'm not experienced at fitting vests. I think it's pretty good but some improvements could be made. There's something going on in the upper back in the rear view, and around the neck in the front view. It almost looks like the shoulder tips need to be raised? (ie. straighten shoulder angle). But in some of the other views it looks like the armscye is loose - is it possible that it's too tight in the waist and is 'sitting' on the hips? These are just ideas - definitely wait for Rory to provide his input before proceeding with any alterations.

I currently use a dry iron and spray bottle of water. But in the past I've had some success with a 'gravity feed' iron similar to the one shown below. The big problem with any steam iron system of this kind is that certain water types can build up 'scale' in the iron, which prevents the water flowing properly. There are various methods of avoiding scale build up, but I've not found any of them to be particularly successful for me (I think it depends very much on the water type in your area). In general, the heavier an iron is, the better. But you can achieve excellent results with a basic domestic iron, as Rory has demonstrated in his video series.

That's looking really good. Can I ask - did you end up taking in the back at all behind the armscyes? It looks a lot neater there than it did before. I'm just wondering how you fixed that. Or did you make an adjustment at the shoulder tip? I suspect that the front sleeve distortion is probably due to lack of scoop (ie. undersleeve seam not hollow enough). However, it's pretty minimal. I wouldn't be surprised if you could rectify that by pressing the sleeve head down a little and gently ironing the sleeve down over a sleeve board. Back sleeve cap could probably be picked up a bit, but be careful because in my experience this may result in an uncomfortable sleeve (diagonal distance from front sleeve pitch to back pitch/elbow seam is crucial for comfort). That being said, these are all minor points. I reckon you could finish it as-is and it would be great.

I have tried both methods. I think the method of drafting the facing off the forepart has the advantage that it will incorporate any changes which might have been made to the forepart during fitting (which might mean that the forepart no longer agrees perfectly with the initial draft). Of course, this isn't really a huge issue if you leave enough inlay on the facing when you cut it. I suppose the only advantage to creating a facing pattern piece from the initial draft might be that you can lay out the pieces more efficiently on the cloth if you know exactly what the shape of the facing will be in the initial cutting. I can't see any other real advantage to this method, though as Rory said it does seem like it would be easier for beginners to manage.

Nice work.

I meant to say - you asked about the neck points not sitting flush. I assume that your photo where you have a finger under the roll line is to convey the problem? That's a tricky one... I don't think it's a huge issue, but if you are troubled by it, I'd suggest that this may be due to the coat being cut too 'crooked'. You might be able to resolve this by straightening the neck point, which will shorten the roll line and shift some of the fullness from the chest to the armscye. That's a pretty big alteration, though.

I would say that the balance looks fine, but the coat needs to be lengthened at the front edge quite a lot. Sleeves could be pitched backwards more. I'd also suggest that the upper back might be a little too wide. I'd try taking it in slightly at this area just to see if it neatens things up behind the armscye (not too much or it won't be comfortable). Also, I would consider lengthening the sleeves slightly (this is a matter of personal preference though). Looks pretty good though.

Bias Bespoke sells a couple of items which might be appropriate. One example below. https://www.biasbespoke.com/1-elastic-with-gripping-rubber-4-colors-available.html?category_id=10 This one is elastic, but you can sew it into a fixed non-elastic waistband just the same. I actually bought a roll of this a while back and have only used it once because I didn't really like the result. I wear all trousers with braces so don't actually need them to grip the shirt. Hope this helps.

Yeah, I bought some 'hat making' stuff recently and it's fantastic for waistbands. I think they called it 'blocking canvas' or something like that. It also has a fusible on one side, which I didn't like at first but I've actually come to appreciate how this assists construction.

I appreciate you acknowledging that, Paul. I cut far too many of my first coats with backs too tight in an effort to 'clean them up', not realising that I was on the wrong path. Many hours wasted... I have to say that this coat looks absolutely sensational. I've seriously seen bespoke tailors with many years experience produce coats of this quality. Excellent job - you should be very proud of your work. If you really want to tweak your next coat, I suppose you might want to lengthen the back balance very slightly, as the skirt does appear to be standing away slightly around the seat line. This might help it sit more into the small of the back as well. I'd only lengthen back balance 6mm-1cm perhaps. Only a very small change is required. When doing this, I would personally try only lengthening at the collar area - keep the back part shoulder tips where they are. Rory has mentioned that you might want to drop the tips to clean up the back area. The change I describe will have this effect by 'lowering' the back shoulder tips relative to the back neck (if you see what I mean?). Anyway, this is just a suggestion. It's damn near perfect as-is.

I think Rory has a couple of web pages with some pics and info about making a Tuxedo jacket on his web site/blog. You can probably find them if you google (if you can't track them down let me know and I'll see if I can find them). Or they might be on this site somewhere... Also - no flaps on the side pockets. Jets only.

I'd move those pockets a bit more to the back, yes. Maybe measure from a pair of commercial pants you already have to get an idea of the kind of distances which should be appropriate. Not sure what's happening with that right pleat... Looks like some kind of internal tension..? The back is baggy, yes, but I don't think that's such a bad thing. You might be able to fix it by straightening the seat seam, but I'd leave it personally because a bit of extra length in the back can make them more comfortable for sitting in. I'd say they are wearable - still 1,000 times better than the garbage we buy in the stores nowadays!

It's not bad for a first effort. You should try Rory's drafting system next time. People here are getting great results from it. Your draft does seem like it needs improvement. There's something weird happening around the side seam & back... Do you have wide hips? It looks like there's some tension there. Sleeves could be improved. I'd say they need to be wider, and the back seam needs to be shortened to get rid of some of that bunching. Looking again, I'm thinking maybe you have prominent buttocks. That might need to be compensated for next time by adding some extra flare to the side seam at the side panel. It's a good start - hang in there!