The Hampden

The sleeves crease up more than I'd expect. This is in part because of the storm cuff. The sleeve essentially has a hard stop at the shoulder and another at the wrist and so any excess creases up along the length of the sleeve.

There isn't enough ease across the shoulders but I'm starting to think that fully lining in melton isn't going to work. I love how substantial it makes the coat feel but in reality, it feels like armour. The melton is 650gsm, the roll is 155cm wide which makes it just over 1kg per liner metre and it takes 3.5 metres to create the outer and line it. 

That makes for a 3.5kg coat.  

Collected the first prototype from Agnes and drove it straight to Bolton for the buttonholes. I've marked where they go but it's still such a nerve wracking moment.

A huge amount of work has gone into getting the garment to this point and the buttonholes can immediately make or break it. If they're cut incorrectly, it means having to unstitch the front panels, recut and stitch them and try again.

Agnes mocked up an idea for the cuffs in calico so that we could see what they'd look like. Although they looked like they'd work in calico, there's no way they'll sit flat in wool.

I don't want to lose the angle on the cuffs, but they don't need to open. Rather than wrapping round like putties, it makes way more sense for them to take influence from the pointed Polish cuffs on a lancer's tunic.

Agnes has talked me out of topstitching where the cuff meets the sleeve. There are far too many layers.

The next jacket is a peacoat. I've sent Agnes in Leicester the first sketches. With sharp lapels, no vent at the back and a few ideas for the cuffs taking influence from WW1 putties. We'll start with a calico toile and the aim is a sample in wool by the middle of January.