At the very end of 2015, I realized that my 12-year-old son had outgrown all his nice garb. 9 February was the date for our annual Candlemas event, which serves as an excellent excuse for everyone to wear nice clothes. I had some sewing to do. Because he's in the throes of puberty, I knew I'll need to make him a new one soon. He may only get one wearing out of this before he outgrows it completely (a fitted doublet doesn't leave much in the way of "room to grow"). So I took every cheat I possibly could with this project. All the materials are stash except the buttons, which he picked out. The fabric was also his choice, for his first doublet a few years ago. It's 100% dead dinosaur upholstery fabric, but it's pretty and the price was right. Even with all the machine cheats, it took about 40 hours to make this garment (not counting the time to make the pattern).
I flat-drafted a pattern using the Modern Maker methods, as I have all the other doublets I've made in the past few years. All the construction techniques (except the cheats) come from that book. The full pattern is cut out in the outer fabric, the canvas interlining, and the lining.
Serious sewing requires serious tea.
A 3 inch long gusset is set into the area of the pectoral muscle on the canvas interlining. This helps give the garment shape over the chest. The outer fabric is stretched into place over this, giving the finished doublet a 3-d shape without the seam lines of darts.
White-on-white doesn't show up well, but this is the reinforcing strip of canvas that strengthens where the buttonholes will go down the center front. It attaches to the canvas interlining on the body side. Ordinarily, I would also place a strip of facing fabric matching either the outside or the binding. Buttonholes would go through this facing. The lining would be folded back and slip stitched to the edge of the facing. This construction allows the lining to be removed and replaced if it's ever needed. But this was a speed run, and there's no way he'll get enough wear out of the doublet for the lining to need replacement. On this doublet, the buttonholes go through the lining.
The inside back. Machine pad stitching isn't as nice as doing it by hand, but I had to balance the effort going into the garment against how little use it'll get before he outgrows it. The "felt" is acrylic, because stash.
The last flat stage. Yes, the canvas for the back is unbleached, and the front is bleached. I was using what I had, and I wasn't too worried about a part that will never be seen again once the lining is in place. The side-back seams have their seam allowances folded to the back and held in place with prick stitching. The center back seam allowance is opened out (clipped where needed at the nape of the neck) and both sides help open with prick stitching. The skirting already has its lining in place. The lining on the body would normally be slip stitched into place as the very last step. But as a shortcut, in this case the lining was hand-tacked in place along the side and center back seam lines, and held in place at the edges when I included it in the binding. At the bottom edge of the body (where it meets the skirting), I folded the lining edge to the inside and slip stitched it in place.
The skirting at the bottom is assembled into two strips, and attached with the seams lining up with the doublet seams. I leave the last two inches at center back free until I've bound the edges of the doublet with one continuous line of bias tape, then finish the seam and include the ends of the bias tape in the seam.
Prick stitching is one of my favorite tailoring embellishments, so it was worth the added time. This is #10 cotton crochet thread with a gold metallic thread twisted in, stitched with a #5 tailor's needle and an open top tailor's thimble.
Good thing it fits. I should've made a mockup. The collar here is rumply because it's only got some of its reinforcement: the felt stitched to the back canvas, and the added stiffness caused by the secured seam allowances at center back and each shoulder. Seam allowances at the shoulder are folded to the back.
The collar is much better after the addition of a bias-cut strip of canvas, pad stitched in place by hand. This part had to be done by hand, but that's ok. It's a little too tall, but I'll trim it down before binding the edges.
A handsome young fellow, if I do say so myself.
Of course, I was in a rush to get the project completed on time for the event, so I failed to get photos of the sleeve construction, binding, or a good portrait of him in it. But two kind souls got shots at the event.
Photo by Linden.
Waiting for evening court to start, beside his sister. The kids generally grab seats right up front. The sleeves have their front seam left open, bound with bias strip and caught together with buttons. This style of sleeve was generally seen on an over-doublet (so the fact that his shirt is visible through the gaps is a bit undressed). But the added ventilation can be a lifesaver in the Texas heat (yes, even in early February).
Photo by Elen (http://www.opuselenae.com)
Surprise! Andrew and Rachel received the Baronial award for children, the Dragon's Egg.
The hat is made from the same fabric, following the Tudor Tailor pattern, and was made at the same time as his first doublet a couple of years ago. It's kind of huge (I didn't modify the pattern from the book, and it's big even on me!) It was my first attempt at using buckram and wired edges.
At the bottom center back you can see the overlap of the skirting (high lighted by the binding). The binding edge is just past the center back seam. After I bound the edge of the doublet, I machine stitched the final few inches of the skirting-to-body seam. Then I used upholstery thread to hand-tack the seam allowances folded up.
I could have prevented that little bit of shirt puff at the back if I had included a lacing strip on the doublet, and pointed the doublet and pants together. However, he opted to skip the extra hassle on bathroom trips, and the doublet is not connected to the pants.
Photo by Elen (http://www.opuselenae.com)
He felt very honored. The award is now framed, and in a special place in his room.
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