Jacket 3.0 Open Source Design

[kevinkinney]

Hello again,

Thank you all. I'll hazard a guess that I'm pretty close on the design. I'll make my next one and Matt's like the last one, leather and all. Then we'll see what happens.

In response to a few of the questions you've raised:

1. Leather or no leather really makes now difference in the cost. The extra price of using leather is offset by the time it takes to cut and align matching fabric for pocket welts, reinforcements, etc. Either should look fine. For now, I'll stick with leather.

2. Welt pockets, slash pockets, or bellows patch pockets are all fine. I prefer the bellows pockets, but will probably change the shape a bit to be easier to assemble.

3. I kinda like the lapels, but I'll be changing the base pattern to remove the sharp detent at the notch. This eases the seam, allows a more natural roll in the collar, and is the same collar seam shape I would use for a stand up collar. Substituting a stand up collar would be easy, but I already produce an excellent shooting jacket in a regular format. As it is, both of the jackets have extra tabs to roll the collars up for full coverage. (I wear a nice woolen scarf with mine, because it adds to the effect.)

4. Rear belt or not, the jacket is pretty well fitted. I found the belt useful because our team fell two members short, leaving me shooting twice per station, loading twice as much, and much faster to keep the field moving on the crowded day. The belt kept things in place. That said, I could add small tabs at the pocket corners to accept a removable belt.

5. Tweed is just as warm as it is breathable. The big advantage I'm trying to build in is the latter. Granted, a regular satin or acetate lining would block the wind, but it only traps sweat. I'm not gonna wear mine in August, even here in MN.

6. Epaulets it is. I'll probably make them from leather with a fabric covering.

7. If I can't find a nice brass button for the front, I'll stay with the brass snaps. They were highly functional.

Stay tuned. Once I bang off a bunch of oilskin coats, I'll be ready to craft some goodies.

Cheers,

Kevin.