The Ledger.

Sampling the Stirling has been slow, and I need to speed it up. So it's moving to a sampling studio that drafts patterns digitally, which means I can see the jacket in 3D before anything is cut.

I caught up with Jack at Pennine Fabrics this morning. He's sending me out a handful of samples that he thinks will work for Barnfield. At least one of them has caught my attention - a 360gsm lambswool melton felted and dyed in Yorkshire.

The latest Ventura sample is back, and it's a much nicer fit. The length looks right now. The sleeves and collar should have been topstitched, but I left that out of the notes. With that and a proper press on the collar, it's close.

The latest Hunter sample is back, and it's the one I'm most concerned about. The collar juts straight out sideways instead of rising first and then folding down, and the sheepskin is too thick to press into shape. The sleeves swing backwards, so much that on the mannequin they looked as if they'd been set in the wrong way round. It's going back to Jonathan to rework the collar and sleeves in the real cloth.

I drove up to Bolton to deliver the graded patterns, the cloth, the buttons and the trims. I could have sent it all by courier, but after everything it took to get here, I didn't want to let any of it out of my sight. It also meant I could sit down with the team and go through every detail before they begin.

The pattern is digitised and graded into every size from XS to 2XL. The full set has been printed and is on its way back to me.

I asked Jason today whether they've ever made a quarter zip. They haven't. His idea is to start from the Anson, now that it's nailed down and split the collar for a zip.

As much as I like the idea of starting from a point that we know is right, I don't think that'll work. It's a totally different garment but what we can do, is make sure we include fashioning marks from the very beginning.

This will add a third style of knitwear to the line up.

Jonathan has spent twelve hours reworking the Stirling's pattern, and it's in the post.

Sample six, in Abraham Moon melton, needs no further pattern changes. The coat fits and moves exactly as I'd hoped, and it keeps the silhouette that made me fall in love with the design in the first place.

The melton toile feels like everything has finally come together. The storm cuff now attaches to its own strip of lining, so the rib can move on its own, especially when you're wearing a watch.

The real benefit is that rather than having a hard stop at the shoulder and the cuff, this will allow for movement and stop the sleeve creasing significantly when the wearers arm is shorter than the sleeve.