Field Notes No.13
Every month, I email out a progress update on our jackets. We also drop in inspiring articles, podcasts, videos, books, events and others. Click here to sign up and be the first to know when pre-orders for our limited edition jackets launch.
THE (NOT QUITE) FINAL PROTOTYPE
Last month, I picked up what I'd hoped would be the final prototype of the Lawrence and honestly, it's so close.
I finally have the fit right. We've increased the length by an inch, tapered the back in towards the waist and cut the pattern to follow the curve of the lower back a little closer. At the same time, we've adjusted the felting on the inside of the sleevehead which has given the shoulders structure - without looking like an 80's powersuit!
THE DETAILS
We've also increased the length of the sleeves by another half inch and have upgraded the button holes from a standard 'cut and sew' to a 'keyhole' that's created on a specialist machine. Although it seems like a small detail, it makes a huge difference to the look and durability of the jacket.
As you'll know by now, I'm all about the details. Keyhole button holes have a round hole at the end and are reinforced with stitches in a fan shape. Because buttons are normally under some level of stress, the fabric will pull against it, moving it towards the end of the hole closest to the gap in the jacket.
Adding a keyhole locks the button in place without the fabric distorting. It's also a method that you'll see in most, if not all, military dress uniforms.
THE INTERFACING
What hasn't worked, is the interfacing. Interfacing is stitched or glued into areas of a garment that need to be more rigid between the layers of fabric. In the case of the Lawrence, the collar, the front of the body and the pocket flaps.
I wanted to use an interfacing that was stitched in rather than a fusible version which is glued in place. I'm keen to minimise the processes necessary to put the jacket together but this was an experiment that didn't work.
Without the glue, the interfacing, especially in the collar and the pocket flaps separated from the fabric meaning that they lost their structure.
The Lawrence is, first and foremost, inspired by the sharp and tailored look of military uniform and it's important to me that carries through every element.
So my current mission is to source a medium weight, organic cotton interfacing that uses a formaldehyde-free resin for the glue - wish me luck!
THE LAUNCH
Some of you might have noticed that I sent out an email in November that said I'd be opening up preorders in October. I'd written that email in July thinking I was giving myself a huge buffer but if there's one mistake I've made throughout, it's underestimating the prototyping phase.
Things will slow down over the Christmas break whether I like it or not but as soon as things reopen in January, my next steps will be to create one final prototype that incorporates the new interfacing. From there, it'll be digitising the pattern and then grading which calculates the measurement difference between each size to create the patterns for the S through to the XXL. Based on that, we can stitch up samples in each of the sizes to double check everything looks and fits right.
That said, I'm aiming to open up preorders in February/March 2023.
But for now, thank you so much for your support. As of today, 2547 people have registered their interest to know when the Lawrence launches. That number continues to bowl me over.
The jackets are the product and the business but Barnfield is a story of community
I hope you all manage to get some down time in over the break and look forward to catching up in the New Year.
