Work in progress: Gareth Pugh jacket

[marc1975]

Hi,

I thought I might share pictures of some work in progress I am currently working on. As you might have read in the other sections of this forum, I particulary like the F/W 2011 edition paneled jacket from Gareth Pugh.

Make or Buy?

Unfortunately, this style is available for women's only, which means that the sizes produced are up to an Italian size 46. If you search online, you will find a jacket at lindestore in size 44 (IT) only, which is way too small for me anyway.
In addition, I had mailed Gareth Pugh's press contact a few months back, and back then, the official answer was that the jacket would be produced with Neoprene and matte lamb leather.
The current version which is sold is made of PVC and jersey. I don't mind the jersey, but I don't like PVC that much. Lastly, the quality control is not the best, as the topstitching leaves mixed impressions:

While looking closer at various pictures of the item that is for sale, I even discovered a couple of seams that were even further off.

Gareth, if you are reading this:
- Please produce your jackets in a size 48 also
- spend some more resources on quality control


A new project is born: Gathering the ingredients
So I decided to sew this jacket by myself.

I bought Neoprene fabric while being on a business trip in London back in April, and searched for a very long time for the appropriate leather.

The original (maybe the runway) jacket had matte lamb leather, so I tried to find this type of leather. That's not as easy as one would guess, as even the leathers that are sold as "matte" do still reflect very much light.
In total, I contacted 8 online stores and got over 20 samples of leather, all that should have been "matte". Especially in the automobile industry, matte leathers are used for seats, whereas the matte leathers that you find in clothing are still too shiny.

I ended up with BMW nappa leather. As the dealer doesn't sell smaller sizes, I ordered a full animal's skin, which is around 5.48 square meter (which now occupies most of my living room floor not to get further bends ).

I also found a store that sells the golden metal zippers in custom lengths, so I've got the exact size of the zipper that I need for both the front opening + the zippers at the sleeves.


Appliqué analysis
I developed the basic pattern via a jacket pattern that I still had, and adjusted the fit, so it would fit very closely - closer than a slim fit shirt would fit.

Then I started analyzing the geometric proportions of the various appliques on the jacket, using a tool that allows to measure angles on one's computer screen:

(here you can see an angle of 25°)

I also analysed the proportions of the size of the pieces to each other and adjusted these for the bigger size and different pattern that I would be using. I copied my pattern onto cardboard, drew the applique pattern onto it and cut out the single pieces:



(same applies for the back and the sleeves)

Today, I started cutting out the appliqué items from the leather, glueing them onto the neoprene with a temporary spray adhesive (so they wouldn't move while putting the topstitching on) that will dissolve in the next 5 days without residue, and finally did the topstitching on one front panel.

Here's how it looks so far:

It's a lot of work, especially cutting the leather. I will probably stop working on the jacket for today, and continue next weekend.
I can probably do one item (other front, back, sleeve 1, sleeve 2, collar, lining, finishing up) per weekend, so it might still take several weeks to finish. Still... I was so excited to finally see things coming together (after spending the previous weekends on gathering the materials and adjusting the underlying pattern) that I just needed to share this little bit... :-)

Cheers,
marc

[ACM]

Wow this is insanely impressive. I am so excited to see the finished product. How much was that BMW leather???

[messenoire]

i saw the white leggins produced the same way and it was literally a cheap looking tight with either leather or pvc sewn onto it. it was very disappointing. in this instance i very much appreciate the design but the materials could greatly be improved from what gareth has on the racks currently. good luck!

[michael_kard]

OMFG, this is amazing. Good luck Marc, hope it fits awesome - can't wait for the update.

[marc1975]

How much was that BMW leather???

The BMW leather was around 260 Euros (approx. 380 USD), excluding shipping, which cost 30 Euros alone because of the size of the roll.
Even fine leather types aren't that expensive. The various leather types I've had samples from ranged between 30 - 80 Euros per square meter (though most aren't sold that way... many sell half or full skins).

Problem is: Even if you just need a fraction of a full skin, you still only want certain parts of that skin. The surface of the leather is different in the middle than compared to the sides. If you want to have very smooth leather (similar to the smooth surface of the PVC that has been used), you don't wanna use the left and right edge, but rather the top and the bottom...geez... at one point I've to draw a diagram of this. Anyway... skin thickness is also not similar across the full skin, at least that's my feeling. In addition, there can be small blemishes, which you don't want to see in your finished piece.

Working with leather is a thrill in itself... one wrong stitch and you've got a hole punched into it that you cannot get rid of anymore. I've managed to press the wrong button on my computerized sewing machine (wanted the needle to go up), which made it go back one stitch and "finish up" the sewing, cutting the thread automatically. No fun.

After getting up at 6.15 this morning, a long day full of meetings, I still had the energy to finish up the second front part:

Good luck Marc, hope it fits awesome

Thanks!
I really hope it fits well in the end. Normally, I can adjust fit while I am sewing with the final fabric - not in this case. The neoprene is thicker than the test fabric I had, but also more flexible. Trust me, I also wish this thing was finished already...

Cheers,
Marc

[Icarium]

Wow this is a pretty amazing project. Good on you for producing what should have been produced! Your stitching looks excellent especially when compared to the original's pics.

[tomatous]

Looks great so far Marc. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[nadir]

This looks unbelievable - I can't wait to see the end product.

What sort of sewing machine are you using?

[triumphoftiredeyes]

Really nice job Marc.

I would have to say my drunk ass would probably walked all over that full skin in the middleo of the room, or used it as a blanket.

Can't wait to see the end product.

[marc1975]

What sort of sewing machine are you using?

I am using a Pfaff Creative 4.0.

It's my second sewing machine. My first was a Pfaff, too, which also had the upper fabric transport ("IDT"), but was a mechanical machine - no computer or display at all.
The current one has the advantage of being more precise (among a bunch of other things). When you want to have a stitch length of 2.5, you adjust it to 2.5. It will always be 2.5, not 2.4 or 2.6. Same applies to the needle position. If you want to position it exactly 3.0 millimeters to the right, you can do that with digital precision... now you only have to be as precise in your sewing ...

But it doesn't come without problems: The newer Pfaff machine use a different type of bobbin thread.



When I adjust the needle to the right (e.g. for edge sewing), the needle doesn't pick up the lower bobbin thread and will just punch the leather without forming any seam. In my opinion, this is caused by the thread leaving the bobbin at the lower left corner (marked by the red arrow), so it doesn't reach the far right side position with thicker materials like leather. (dashed green: needle middle position, dashed red: needle right position around +3.5 mm)
This drove me crazy when I first did the test stitches - till I learned that I can only sew leather with the needle in the middle position. No big deal, still something noteworthy.
The Pfaff can also do embroidery, which is nice for e.g. putting your initials or complete name in the finished garments (which I usually do). Via embroidery, you can also do perfect button holes that are otherwise hard to achieve with normal sewing machines. Funny thing: This machine even has a USB port, which you can connect to either a mouse (instead of using the touch-screen) or a PC for transferring embroidery files...

An even better machine for topstitching and edge-sewing would be Brother's Innovis-I, which has an integrated camera above the walking foot, which will show you the edge of the fabric better than you can see it when looking from the front. But that's a machine priced at (currently) around 6000 Euros... I would rather spend another 3000 Euros on fabric ...

[Patroklus]

the Galactic Empire appreciates your ambition, but would like to remind all citizens that homemade battle armor does not meet the standards set by the Inquisition of Logistics for use in military action. You will have to use standard issue armor as per militia regulations.

[nadir]

Does the Pfaff have any problems with leather? I always struggle to get through much leather before my needles snap...

[birdytg]

what a wonderful job you're doing Mark! Can't beleive it!
Please keep us updated with the process, I am so impatient to see the result and how beautiful it's gonna be!
Love this jacket too +++++!
You gonna receive orders, Mark, I am sure!

[marc1975]

Hi,

progress has been somewhat slow since my last update, as I found that using darts to shape the garment in conjunction with using neoprene as a basic material doesn't work.
I had put two darts at the back that would take some material off from the mid-section to shape the torso. The excess fabric of the dart normally doesn't cause a problem, but with the neoprene and the leather appliqués, the area where the darts are becomes too thick.
Back to the drawing board... I've removed the darts, tried the changed pattern with nettle cloth to see whether everything still fits well, and transferred it back to cardboard.

Then I started cutting out the pieces again from the leather. Gosh, I wish I had some sort of computerized laser cutting machine that could do that work for me... it's not so easy cutting two pieces each that are mirrored, but are cut exactly identical.

I also managed to mess up two pieces while sewing (topstitching didn't pass my own quality control ), which I had to cut out again.

Here's the backside piece of the jacket, not sewn on yet:

The red piece to the right is cardboard cut at exactly 8 mm width, which helps me to adjust the spacing of the pieces. In the end, not every piece was aligned at the 8 mm as planned, as my cutting isn't that precise unfortunately. Cutting the leather by hand is a strenuous job, and the longer you do it, the harder it becomes to achieve nicely cut, precise pieces. You just have to take a break, otherwise you end up wasting leather by cutting it imprecisely.

After I took the picture, I again glued on the pieces with temporary spray adhesive, and did the topstitching. The right side of the back is sewn on already, the left side pieces will be done tomorrow. I just arranged them loosely to see whether everything fits well.

If I have got the energy, I will try to finish up the side panels (that connect the front to the back) and sew all pieces so far together on Sunday.

Does the Pfaff have any problems with leather? I always struggle to get through much leather before my needles snap...

It's the first time I am working with leather. The BMW leather has a coating on the back, which makes it even harder to permeate with the sewing needle (or knife). So far, the Pfaff went through it like it was regular fabric - no problems at all (if you keep the needle in the middle position). No breakage of needles so far, I am using Schmetz Leather needles (80 gauge).

You gonna receive orders, Mark, I am sure!

LOL... believe me, when I've finished this thing, I won't touch something similar for a long, long time ...

I wonder how they are mass producing it. I don't think that someone will sit there with a knife, cutting out PVC pieces all day long (although this might be easier than the thicker leather I am working with). For a hobbyist, this is what makes this jacket difficult...

Cheers,
Marc

[Patroklus]

Have you tried cut-out darts?