The Ledger.

I want a quilted lining in tan, and of course I've picked a difficult colour to match. I found one this morning, but there's only a metre of it. That's enough for the body, and the sleeves and pockets get the same lining without the quilting.

The next Ventura sample will be fully finished. Dorota has seven metres of the gabardine, and navy silk is on its way to bind the seams.

Jonathan has revised the pattern. The back is longer, so it doesn't kick up and away from the body, and that means a new sample rather than altering the old one. This one will be fully finished, in the cloth I intend to use.

Back with Jonathan, we've built a new pattern from the ground up. The next sample is deliberately stripped back: no lining, no pockets, no storm cuffs, just the shape, now in melton rather than calico.

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

Five toiles in and we haven't reached a workable starting point to build from. So I've gone back to the original pattern and back to Jonathan now that his time has opened up.

I want to try quilting the Hunter's body lining. Jonathan has measured the jacket at 68cm from shoulder to hem and added a few centimetres, because quilted fabric shrinks as it's stitched. The sleeves and pockets stay unquilted.

Met Jonathan and Dorota in London today, the first time the three of us have been in the same room. On the table were the first samples of the Hunter and the Ventura, the Hampden and the funnel neck jacket. The Hunter and the Ventura go back with Dorota for the changes.

What started as "the shoulders are tight across the front" looked as if it had a clear way forward. Instead it led to a full 3D investigation of the pattern, then four toiles, with a fifth underway.

Everything is connected. Opening up the shoulders to improve the fit made the hem at the back kick up and away from the body. So in the next toile we adjusted the hem, only to find that it changed the way the front drapes.

It was my mistake not to have noticed the issue before opening the order books, and I'm sorry it has caused such a delay. We will get this right, and it will be the coat I promised. Realistically, that means the summer.

The Ventura is a chore coat in navy cotton gabardine, and I want every seam inside it bound in lining so none of them show. The armhole is the tricky one. Dorota is binding one and French-seaming the other, so we can see which finishes better.