Calico Jacket

I wanted to check the fit of the jacket as I will not have the chance to do a fitting, this also give me the opportunity to alter the pattern before cutting out in top fabric.

Here are some photos of the calico jacket on my model:

The CF sites in the right place as I have added an extra allowance of 4cm. The jacket length also has the extra seam allowance, and will sit in the correct place for the style of the jacket as it quite short. I was concerned about the size of the armhole for the jacket to compensate a waistcoat though taking out the SA totaling 4cm, it will give plenty of room.    

The side seam bottom is left open as it has a side slit.


The back also fits correctly.

Week of 15th April Schedule

I will know in more detail what to schedule for Friday and Saturday after Thursday's session.

New Chosen Fabric

I have had a really successful day! 

I managed to find a 'Brown Scottish Hunting Tartan' They did not  know to what clan it belonged to, though they expect that it is a general Scottish tartan that anyone can wear (This was told to me by the shop assistant who happened to be Scottish!). Unfortunately it does not feel like a 14oz wool, it is thinner, though it still has a strong weave and is thick enough historically not be mistaken for the modern suiting wool. (From researching I found that the weight of wool historically depends on season, though they still wouldn't be as thin as modern suiting wool.)

I then managed to match the navy blue in the tartan to a plain navy blue wool in the second shop, which will blend nicely with the navy blue in the tartan. This is thicker and feel more around the 14oz. Both fabrics are 100% wool and Scottish! It would have been better to have the same ounce of wool for both, though the match is more important. 

I am very happy with my brought fabric, historically a navy blue was used for the 'Tweed kilt Jacket' and the tartan, although not the Mackenzie looks similar and is brown like most of the Scottish hunting tartans. I would have been good to have purchased a Mackenzie tartan and would be more historically correct but I think that this is the next best option.

While I was in the shop I also managed to buy a brown lining, thread and braid, and was also able to go to the Haberdashery at university to purchase hair canvas, shoulder canvas, breast felt and stay-flex. All in all the day has been very productive and allows me to start making my costume!

I have started to source buttons, historically I want stag horn or leather. 

Here are photos of my chosen fabrics, braid and buttons:

 This is my navy blue fabric, this photo shows darker than it really is:

This is the hunting tartan, I did find a green to match the green in the tartan, though it was just to bright historically to be right.

This is the brown lining for both the trouser and jacket, its thick so your hand can not tbe seen underneath or through it. Although the jacket is navy blue I chosen the brown to blend the brown more into the costume:

This is the braid I also brought this in brown to blend the brown of the tartan into the jacket:

Below is a combination of all the fabrics:

Here is a photo of some stag horn buttons, they all vary because of their natural substance:

Change of 9th April Schedule

Due to the cancellation of all my fabric the rest of my schedule for this week has been changed. It goes as follows:

Friday: Source fabric for Jacket, trousers top fabric, lining, braid and start to source buttons.
             Haberdashery to buy Hair Canvas, Shoulder Canvas, Breast Felt and Stay-flex.

Saturday: Blog brought fabric, make Calico jacket and alter pattern in needed.

Sunday: Cut out jacket and trousers in top fabric, mark and flat tack. 

Fabric

I was expecting my fabric today though have just received an email from the supplier, which have unfortunately told me that the fabric I ordered will now not be available until the 28th May, giving me no explanation why.  I have quickly contacted other suppliers, who are unfortunately out of stock and it would take 6-8 weeks to receive the fabric, just my luck! 

Undeterred, I have decided to go fabric shopping again tomorrow to try and find a hunting tartan and matching plain fabric for the jacket. I realize that the likeliness is really small, so I have a second plan to do the whole costume out of a Scottish tweed/wool. I have two main shops, from looking to match the Mackenzie tartan fabric, that I know sell Scottish fabrics, so I will visit them first. 

Week From 9th April Schedule

This is my schedule for this week, of course this will change if my fabric does not arrive by Saturday.

Chosen Fabric

After ordering the fabric sample I have spent the last week, trying to match the Mackenzie hunting tartan. I had no luck in London or in the local area as the brown and green is a muted colour and was hard to find a good match. Most shops also did not know the weight of the fabrics, though I  over came this as I had my 13oz tartan to compare them to.

 I phoned the supplier of the tartan, who were able to provide me with details of a mill that specialize in matching the tartans to the plain wools, as well as being 'Scotland's last artisan tartan weavers'. They also do the Mackenzie reproduction fabric which is the hunting tartan, which would have been worn historically and would give the best match. I have chosen to do it in brown, though I could have chosen any colour on the tartan. I also managed to find the fabric surprisingly cheap at £20.99 from a different supplier in Scotland. As I am ordering through the internet I've asked for a sample first, though due to the Easter holidays and bank holiday the orders are slow, and ideally I would like to start making my costume next week. So instead of ordering samples I have just ordered the fabric. This is estimated to be delivered by Thursday 12th April.

Here are some photos of the my fabric, taken from the D.C. Dalglish website (this is the mill, and is not where I have brought my fabric from) :

The plain is for the jacket and the tartan for the trousers.

After doing the research into the Mackenzie clan it aided me in the choosing of the fabric (Mackenzie hunting tartan and muted brown) and button (stag horn due to the Mackenzie's relation with the stag and their clan badge). It has also given me a great sense historically of the Mackenzie's tartan, past and fashion. I hope to bring my research into my costume to give it a true historical feel.