1950s suit project

[thunderw21]

I recently won a pattern for a vest and jacket dated 1952 on OFAS.

The jacket has 3 buttons, notched lapels and patch pockets. Vest looks nice too.
I'll be trying my hand at making a nice suit out of this (trouser patterns coming from elsewhere). At the moment I'm looking for a nice wool fabric but so far is nowhere to be found. All I've found is the cheap, lightweight fabric that's so common nowadays.

Once I'm able to make the jacket and vest according to the pattern I'll try different things like peaked lapels, etc. Updates will take some time most likely so check back once in a while.

linky

 

[cookie]

Vintage Material

You are going to have to find a very old material store... or do like MK and order some Holland and Sherry UK fabric on the Internet in 14 oz.

 

[Lonn]

Documentation, please.

Hi,
Great score on that pattern. Please take lots of pictures and let us know what the challenges are and how you over come them.
Not a lot of us can sew; men, I mean. I'm in I.T. and have a sewing machine in my cubicle. Just to let everyone know I am truly insane from the get go. Naturally, once everyone got over the first wave of ridicule, a couple have asked for help fixing this and that. Buttons and whatnot.
Any insight you can share making your own suit will be invaluable to me and others as well I am certain.

Good Luck,
lonn

 

[Jovan]

I encourage and support this project. Good luck.

You may be able to find 10 oz worsteds. That was lightweight back then, and would probably look the part quite well.

 

[thunderw21]

Hi,
Great score on that pattern. Please take lots of pictures and let us know what the challenges are and how you over come them.
Not a lot of us can sew; men, I mean. I'm in I.T. and have a sewing machine in my cubicle. Just to let everyone know I am truly insane from the get go. Naturally, once everyone got over the first wave of ridicule, a couple have asked for help fixing this and that. Buttons and whatnot.
Any insight you can share making your own suit will be invaluable to me and others as well I am certain.

Good Luck,
lonn

Thank you, I will definitely do some documentation now that I have a camera.

I like to sew, it tends to relieve stress but that doesn't mean I'm very good at it. As such, I will be happy to have any insight others can provide and I will share any insight I come across.

I encourage and support this project. Good luck.

You may be able to find 10 oz worsteds. That was lightweight back then, and would probably look the part quite well.

Yes, I was actually thinking about making my first attempt with linen or some other light-weight fabric and have a nice summer suit. Unfortunately, as Cookie pointed out, heavier stuff is indeed hard to come by.

Cheers!
Billy

 

[thunderw21]

While waiting for the pattern I went fabric hunting.
Didn't find any heavy wool stuff but I did get several yards of this handsome cotton twill fabric (on clearance for $5 per yard ). While not super heavy it is a medium-weight fabric and will suffice. I will first work on the vest, since it will be a bit simpler than the jacket.

 

[KObalto]

Nice pattern

and a very ambitious project. Good luck.

 

[thunderw21]

and a very ambitious project. Good luck.

Thank you, sir. I will need it.



The vintage pattern came today. It's uncut and in excellent condition.

I also picked up a modern pattern to make the trousers. In the picture they are wide, straight legged with cuffs. They also appear to be pleated. They are not high-waisted so this is at least one alteration I am going to have to make.

I picked up 5 1/2 yards, 7 pounds worth, of the twill fabric I showed in my last post. It was all the fabric shop had so I'm hoping it will be enough. I will put it in the wash in order to make is shrink before I begin construction.

So far all of the fabrics and patterns have cost me a total of around $60. That seems like a lot but in the long run it will be a cheap price for a vintage-style 3-piece suit.

 

[thunderw21]

Update.

I received the vintage pattern about a month ago. Unfortunately the vest pattern was missing, though the jacket pattern is complete and uncut.

So, I bought a modern pattern not only for the vest but also for the trousers.

Since the vest is not of vintage style I used a vintage vest as a guide and altered the pattern a bit. I shortened it about an inch and altered the points at the front, making them a bit longer and more pointed. Here's what it looks like on a torso.
Note that the bottom 1 1/2" of the pattern is a hem so the vest will be shorter than it appears here.

The trousers look good and are relatively straight legged with a cuff and some pleats so no alteration will be needed there. However, the they are somewhat low waisted so I will be adding about 3-4 inches to the rise. This will allow the trousers to be worn with the short vintage-style vest.

I have cut most of the fabric for the vest and they are in good order.
More updates to come.

 

[Vardeman Sneed]

Bump!

Progress? Photos?

 

[thunderw21]

Yes, progress but it is slow.

I don't have pics yet but the vest is nearly complete. It is turning out very well. I used red satin for the back and lining of the vest. It only has two outer pockets (they are difficult to make so I decided to only go with two rather than four). Trying it on, it fits rather well and is short like vintage vests are meant to be (maybe even a tad too short, but I can't tell at this stage).

I'm away from home right now so within the next few days I'll give a real update.
Cheers

 

[Bugsy]

!!

I doff my fedora to you. I wouldn't know where to start.

 

[thunderw21]

I doff my fedora to you. I wouldn't know where to start.

Thank you sir. It's been tough. My mom (bless her) has been a great help to me, showing me things I would have never known.

 

[Bugsy]

??

I know this is probably premature, but is there an ETA for the unveiling?

Good luck. You'll look terrific. BTW, you'd better be extra nice to that wonderful lady on Mother's Day.
R

 

[thunderw21]

I know this is probably premature, but is there an ETA for the unveiling?

Good luck. You'll look terrific. BTW, you'd better be extra nice to that wonderful lady on Mother's Day.
R

Nope, no date yet for the unveiling. Too far in the future.

And yes, Mother's Day will undoubtably be very nice for her.

I'll try to get pics of the vest up in the next day or two.

 

[thunderw21]

Okay, I snapped some quick pics. The vest as it is today, nearing completion. The bottom needs to be hemmed, the shoulder straps sewn together, buttons and buttonholes added and it needs a good pressing as well.
I was thinking about putting some patch pockets on the vest in place of the normal ones but decided against it.

Front

Back

Inside

This view shows how much of the bottom still has to be hemmed. The vest looks like it might end up too short but I have a solution to this problem...

Pocket detail

Pocket inside detail

 

[Jovan]

Nice! All it needs is the aforementioned hem and a pressing into shape.

 

[Bugsy]

WOW

I am impressed. I love the choice of lining. How long did it take you to do the waistcoat??

 

[thunderw21]

I am impressed. I love the choice of lining. How long did it take you to do the waistcoat??

Thanks Bugsy. To get it to what you see in those pics it took a couple weeks, working on it for an hour here and there. If we worked on it for several hours each day it would probably only take several days.

 

[Bugsy]

Now matter the time it takes, I'm still impressed. Greatly so!