Two cloth merchants, two drafting systems

OK so here are the finished garments. The navy is Harrisons and the charcoal is J&J Minnis. Aside from the differences in lapel, the Minnis was drafted using Whife, with no side body (which I think contributes to that wobbliness on the front) and the Harrisons was drafted using the Mitchell system. Each system has its strengths and weaknesses, but I definitely vote for separate side body- it's far easier to get a good fit with it. I used my own sleeve system adapted to each draft, which worked out better on the Mitchell system than on Whife.

Thoughts?





Thank you, all, for your comments.

Karen, here is a partial backview of the Harrisons, taken before it was finished. I'll get better shots of both of them soon.

And you are quite right, a donlon wedge at the level of the pocket would have fixed the front or the Minnis, but a separate side body is required for that, which was why I expressed that preference. That's the thing about experiments; sometimes they don't turn out the way you would have wanted them to. That's why I make so many suits for myself- I wouldn't want to experiment on a client's suit and the best way to learn is to try new things out and make mistakes. So it's all good

Superfluidity? You have taught me a new term, Jordan. But what do you mean by it? They are both pickstitched by hand, ever so discretely, to keep the edge crisp and flat. Perhaps you would have liked a swelled edge or a more decorative stitch?

Regarding the drafts, Whife was the editor of the Modern Tailor, Outfitter and Clothier, a massive 3-volume encyclopedia of tailoring last published, I think, in 1951. It's now something of a collector's item.

The Mitchell System was published by Frank C. Doblin in the 1950s as the New Mitchell System, and then in the 70s as the Modern Mitchell system- I believe that they are still available, and a few pages of the New Mitchell System are available oon the Cutter and Tailor forum. I originally learned a system very close to this, and later studied this system, but abandoned them for what I thought were systems which made more sense to me, since the drafts need to be "straightened" after cutting them out- that is to say, the main construction lines are not parallel to the grain lines, which is a pain when grading or trying to cut directly to cloth. I was speaking recently with a tailor who uses and speaks highly of the system so I decided to give it another go. He likes the sleeve draft, so long as you don't change the scye- I am particular about the scye fit and so used my own sleeve system for this draft. It should also be noted that neither of these garments fit like this "out of the box" (from the first draft) several fittings were necessary, as usualy, to get them to a point where I was somewhat satisfied with the fit so anyone using these systems should not feel discouraged if their first attempt at a draft does not fit as well as they expect. It should also reinforce the notion that fitting skills are more important than drafting systems- there is no magical system which is always perfect, and so long as your fitting skills are strong, you will get decent results no matter the system used.

A last note about these systems- they were published as guides for trained cutters and not as a step-by-step manual to teach how to cut patterns; it was assumed that one already had a firm understanding of drafting or was under the guidance of someone who did. If you are just starting out it is very easy to make all sorts of mistakes, and very hard to spot those mistakes; I would advise anyone who is just learning drafting to find someone who is familiar with the systems to give them some guidance for their first few drafts or to be prepared for a bit of frustration at first.

Rundschau trousers

On this latest suit, I decided to try a German draft that Schneidergott translated for me from the Rundschau. I made a few minor changes to the draft itself, had quite a bit of fitting in the seat to do, but otherwise a rather painless fitting process. The balance of the rear of the leg is different from my usual draft and I find it hangs straighter with less fuss and manipulation. Observe the stripes along the side seam between this trouser and the previous one- you will notice some of the difference in the cut. But this is draft definitely a keeper. Thanks SG!

A little clarification- by draft, I do not mean a pre-made pattern, but a set of instructions for drafting according to one's measurements. It is understood that the cutter will adjust the instructions according to the customer's posture and stylistic choices.

At Jordan's suggestion (IIRC) I did away with the rear pockets, but I'm not crazy about the look of it, even though it saves me time.

Tomorrow I'll try to find buttons, press the vest and coat, and get some more photos up.



Rundschau side seam



"My" side seam



Now to answer a few questions-

Dukemati- Thank you! Actually, the draft dates to 1954. So recent More recent than some but less recent than others.....

Karen-

And thank you, as well. The knee is a little fuller than my usual draft, in the back only (about 3/4") but that's it. It's the way the seat angle is pitched relative to the rest of the leg that is a little different, as evidenced by the stripes being more straight down the outside of the leg but continuing to taper to the hem. I cut this knee more tapered than the original Rundschau draft, which is quite straight- the draft provides an almost straight line from fork to hem; I prefer to taper from the fork to the knee and then almost straight from the knee to the hem but that requires more ironwork than the original draft would.

In response to Jem's questions, I am pleased that you enjoy the blog and you can find a tutorial on making the flannel flower here. Unfortunately my schedule does not permit me to take on new clients right now, however the occasional flower is not out of the question :)

A tale of two cloth merchants

Fun thing about blogging- I get to rant every once in a while. Well, rant and praise.

I have been flirting with English cloth for a little while, with some interesting results. Since I don't buy significant quantities of it (I buy Italian usually) I am going through an agent who represents a number of English mills. I bought a piece of flannel from his own stock- a charcoal flannel from J & J Minnis; Minnis is one of the stable of mills, including John Hardy, which come under the umbrella of Huddersfield Fine Worsteds, and has a very good reputation, as well as a few royal warrants. The suit made up nicely and I should really get around to posting some photos. Before cutting I asked Andrew (the agent) about sponging and he asked the mill; the mill had previously given a rather snarky answer to another person on the same subject but I let that one go. However the mill never did answer me.

Encouraged by the results of the suit (but not the service), I found another lovely swatch from John Hardy (HFW again) and placed an order. Temporarily out of stock. Well, these things happen. Since this is a winter-only swatch, I asked when they though the cloth might be back in stock- if it were only to come available in January or February, I would pick something else. A week went by with no response from the mill. I would have liked a simple- we are a little busy moving or getting our nails done or whatever and we will answer you shortly, but nothing.

So I picked another swatch from another English mill, Harrisons of Edinburgh. The navy suit with the pink stripe and the pagoda shoulder is Harrisons cloth. A Sunday afternoon I picked the swatch, with a few trouser lengths as well, and put an email in to Andrew. Monday I had a response that one of the numbers was out of stock so I gave them instructions on what to do. This would have been Monday afternoon in the UK. An hour later I had a tracking number but they could have just taken the number off a shipping label so I didn't think much of it. But no, Wednesday I got a parcel with my cloth (I remind readers that I am in Canada). Within an hour of receiving instructions my parcel was shipped, and HFW still hasn't answered any of my questions.

I have to say that the Minnis flannel makes up better than the Harrisons flannel. So next time I am in the market for some flannel will I buy Minnis or Hardy? NO WAY. It's Harrisons for me. I would even pay a premium for it, just for the service.

Sadly, Andrew is stopping his business soon so if you are interested in some nice, sturdy English cloth, I STRONGLY recommend you look through his stuff. And buy Harrisons, not HFW.

Rant over.

Soon the next suit will be finished and I will get some photos of both of them up. Doing a last fitting on the Harrisons flannel and I don't have good mirrors at home so I resort to taking photos from different angles- I wasn't able to spot the pulling at the waist until I took a photo. I'll fix that before finishing completely.

Another suit completed

I don't know why I have always hated the term "pagoda shoulders", but I do. Spalla insellata sounds a little better if you speak Italian but sounds pretentious to those who don't. Well, whatever.



But to something more important. I think that the survival of our craft depends not only on the propagation of the technique but also the survival of our suppliers. It's getting harder and harder to find the necessary stuff for making nice suits so when I find someone who makes it just a little easier I like to support them. I normally buy cloth in large quantities from the Italian mills, but when I want to cut something special, they aren't very helpful. Enter people like Andrew Rogers, from whom you can buy half a meter of Fox, Minnis or Harrisons cloth if you want; we need to keep people like this in business. So if you like the cloth I used for my suit, check out his stuff here or at britishclothsales@gmail.com; he offers good service. And tell him I sent you.