The Lysander

The zip spec is settled: a two-way, 8mm zip in Old Brass. Now for samples.

Development on the quilted jacket has taken far longer than I expected. The next decision is the zip: two-way, in antique brass, to sit against the sand-coloured Ventile.

Giuliano, who spent more than 30 years at one of Britain's best-known menswear houses, is going over the quilted jacket. I've sent him the spec and explained why the body changed: worn open, the jacket we started from looked almost bell shaped and wide across the hips.

Met the factory to agree the changes: a semi-circular facing at the back and a collar stand one centimetre lower. The sample is a Small, and the pattern will be graded from XS to 2XL.

The first sample is here, and from a fit perspective I have no comments. It's worked out beautifully. The hem stitch is a little wobbly and the front panels don't line up at the bottom, and I'm wondering about a thin brown leather strip on the collar and cuffs.

The tech pack for the first sample has gone to Bolton. The collar is plain Ventile over wool, not quilted, and will need interfacing to stand up. Navy silk lining, beige storm cuffs, and no snaps on the pockets.

Twenty metres of Ventile have been quilted with the wool and delivered to the factory in Bolton, ready for the first sample.

The wadding has been made 200cm wide instead of 150cm, and Caledonian's machines can only quilt up to 150cm. It's being cut down in Blackburn before it goes anywhere near Bolton.

The quilting will be done by Caledonian Quilting in Bolton, in a diamond pattern. As on the Lawrence, the wool is sandwiched in a fine scrim so the fibres can't work their way through the cotton.

The wool wadding comes from Kofibres in Shipley, the same people who made the Lawrence's. The minimum run is 200 metres, which is a lot of wadding for one sample.