Donegal - limited supply vintage roll

While trawling the fabric shops of London’s Soho, I recently chanced upon a great find - a bolt of Donegal tweed in just the right colour to match matt’s series 5 jacket!

The original tweed had been sourced at W Bills, and was a hand-woven half-width cloth. There was two bolts in stock when I first went in, and these quickly sold out.

At the time I made enquiries about getting it rewoven, which was something W Bills was keen on doing, but the weavers could not reorder the same yarns, so their attempts were less than inspiring.

Later, when W Bills was sold to Harrisons, I had a meeting with them to discuss ongoing restocking of legacy Doctor Who cloths, and the Donegal was one of those we talked about.

Ultimately they produced a reweave, which overall was a visual match, but used a thicker yarn and had a notable red fleck which detracted from the simple duo-colour of the original.

The cloth I have stumbled across is woven from a yarn of a thickness between the screen-used and rewoven tweeds.

It has some very minor flecks, but in a light colour that do not distract too much from the overall look of the fabric.

I have made up a couple of jackets now in this new option, and it has proved very popular.

Personally I would recommend this cover over the current W Bill reweave, as it is closer to the original screen-used fabric.

I’ll make this new cloth the subject of a Fabric Friday very soon, so you can see a comparison between this and the two W Bill weaves.

If you are interested in a bespoke made Donegal jacket which stocks last, please mail me at tennantcoat@me.com 
and I can send you details.

Rewoven Donegal tweed - side-by-side

Last week on Fabric Friday I showed you the recently rewoven Donegal Tweed now on offer from Harrisons (the company who bought out W Bills).

I showed had although it was not totally perfect, I think it passed the distance test.

I mentioned that I was working on making a tweed jacket out of this new cloth, and would show you the results alongside my own jacket made from the screen-used fabric.

Well, true to my word here are some shots to show the two side-by-side.

The first thing I should mention is my jacket (on the left) is a chest 42, and the new jacket (on the right) is only a chest 35! So this is a like-for-like on the fabric only - the cut of the jackets will look a little different compared to each other.

The next Donegal I have to make will be a chest 44 - so from one end of the scale to the other.

Overall I think the reweave compares well, with the visual read of the fabric very close to the original.

The new fabric has a warmer shade to it, compared to the screen-used cloth, which is greener.

Getting closer, its only now the red flecks start to show up, but they are not to frequent for it to notice too dominantly.

You can’t get around that they are there, but frankly compared to a lot of other cloths I have sourced, this is by far the least intrusive available.

It’s nice to be making this jacket again, as I haven’t made one for several years.
The cut is a classic lounge jacket shape, and the cloth is a joy to work with.

I hope to be making more in the future.

Fabric Friday - Donegal tweed: REWEAVE!

This week I’m bringing back Fabric Friday!

First up is the reweaving of an old favourite.

Matt Smith’s main tweed jacket for his first season was made from a hand-woven Donegal fabric sourced at W Bills.

At the time there were two bolts of the cloth available, and both of these were used to make a number of jackets for use throughout series five.

The tweed had been woven sometime in 2007, so by the time it was used it was already a few years old.

Only 36 inches wide, the fabric quickly sold out once its notoriety as being a Doctor Who cloth became known, alongside the Shetland tweed which was used for A Christmas Carol onwards.

Unlike the Shetland tweed, which has since been rewoven no less than three times, the Donegal proved to be more troublesome.

Woven from only two colours of yarn (unlike the six used on the Shetland) finding a match for both was not as easy as it sounds. If one yarn is off, then half the design isn’t right.

When I returned to W Bills to discuss the restocking of the Donegal, I was shown some samples the weavers had produced using the available yarns. None were remotely acceptable, either being too light or too dark or simply combining to produce the wrong colour.

Ultimately W Bills gave up the quest to restock, so it fell by the wayside and has remained unavailable since.

However, once Harrisons took over W Bills, they were much more proactive at maintaining stocks of popular fabrics, and took on board the interest in the Shetland tweed, which has since been rewoven. This comes under the WEAVE 3 that I covered on a previous Fabric Friday.

I took the opportunity to talk to them about the Cashmere for Matt’s frock coat, which they researched but were unable to come up with a satisfactory result.

I also gave them a swatch of the original Donegal, and using that they have now produced a rewoven fabric, abet a close but not perfect match.

These images are directly scanned from fabric. They have then been colour-matched back to the material to give the best visual representation of the fabric.

First impressions is that the fabric is the best I have seen to date - and it is first impressions that count.

I have seen others which are close, but either use yarns that are far too thin or too thick or have an excessive number of nepps (the lumps on the yarn that give it character) in contrasting colours such as red, blue or green.

That said, this new cloth does have a few coloured nepps, but nowhere near as many as I have seen on alternative cloths.

The two yarns used are a very good match to the light coffee and dark chocolate colours in the original, though they are a little on the thick side.

I think the cloth passes the test for its overall appearance and feel, though at extreme close-up it maybe falls down a bit.

All this taken into account, I have investing in a length to see how it turns out as a jacket.

It’s nice to have the fabric available again after so many years of being out of stock.

Fabric Friday - Shetland tweed: reweaves

A few weeks again on Fabric Friday I showed you Matt Smith’s screen-worn Shetland tweed.

It’s a very popular fabric supplied by W Bills, and the one and only sixty metre bolt soon sold out.

So it wasn’t long before it was being rewoven to keep up with demand.

However, being a number of years since it was original made, matching the yarns wasn’t as easy as it sounds second time around.

WEAVE 2

This was the first time the tweed was rewoven.

The design is created from six different colours of yarn, and the weave was identical to the original, although one of the colours was not the best match.

There is a sparsely used shade of green yarn woven into the brown background. The original thread was not available, so a slightly darker version had to be substituted.

The original version of the Shetland Tweed is shown either on the left or top in each of these photos, to give a side-by-side comparison.

This give the fabric an overall darker and more green shade. You can particularly see the green yarn in the extreme close-up below.

One bolt of sixty metres was woven of the Shetland Tweed in this form.

The finish of the fabric was very cut compared to the original, which had a softer and slightly fluffier surface.

WEAVE 3

Despite giving feedback about the colour, the same six yarns were used for the next weaving, giving the fabric the same greenish blush.

Again the finish is a lot more cut than the screen-worn.

But the thing that is most annoying is the mismatch of spacing on the horizontal orange stripes.

As you can see, if they are aligned at the top, within five repeats its already a good half-inch out.

Two bolts of sixty metres each was woven of the Shetland Tweed in this form.

These reweaves shows that even if the SAME waver, using the SAME looms can’t always precisely match their original work.
That said, there is no other option to get this exclusive designs, so it is what it is.

Fabric Friday - Shetland tweed

This week on Fabric Friday, I turn my attentions to the Shetland tweed used to make the jacket first seen in A Christmas Carol.

The jacket was a smarter, more tailored cut compared to the Harris tweed and Donegal versions seen in series five.

The elbow patches were dropped - though this seems to have been an oversight since they reappear in the very next episode.

The tweed used came from W Bills and has been likened to a plaid, though it is not truly defined as such.

The fabric has a distinct orientation, with bold vertical stripes of darker brown mixed with a lighter beige colour.

These images are directly scanned from fabric that was part of the bolt that was cut to make Matt’s screen-worn jackets. They have then been colour-matched back to the material to give the best visual representation of the fabric.

The only discernible pattern repeat horizontally are some narrow orange stripes, which are at irregular spacings, alternating between 35mm and 45mm.

This can make the fabric a bit awkward to use when pattern matching, as the true pattern repeat is effectively 75mm.

Woven in 100% pure Scottish wool to a full width of 54 inches wide, it comes from the island of Shetland off the coats of Scotland.

Fabric Friday - Donegal tweed

This week on Fabric Friday I’m bringing you the second of the jacket fabrics from Matt Smith’s wardrobe.

After shooting a handful of episodes with a single vintage Harris tweed, the costume department produced a number of jackets for Matt to wear, all made from Donegal tweed sourced from W Bills in London.

The hand-woven fabric was made on foot operated looms, and so was only a half-width 36 inches wide.

The weave is very simple: a light coffee colour in one direction in a plain or hopscotch weave with a dark chocolate colour in the other direction.
The lighter of the two colours has a flecking in the same shade, which gives the fabric the slightly corse appearance.

I have seen a number of very similar Donegal style fabrics, but their flecking has been in other colours such as red or green. These can ruin the appearance of the fabric.

With the very nature of the weave the fabric is reversible and looks the same from both sides, though it does need to be orientated consistently.

These images are directly scanned from fabric that was part of the bolt that was cut to make Matt’s screen-worn jackets. They have then been colour-matched back to the material to give the best visual representation of the fabric.

W Bill - The End Of Time

I can announce some very sad news today.

W Bills, the supplier of tweeds for Matt Smith’s costumes, has been sold and is changing hands. It’s future is currently uncertain.

W Bill has provided cloth for a number of Matt’s costumes, from the series five Donegal tweed; to the series six Shetland Tweed; and finally the gorgeous Cashmere frock coat from series seven.

All of these began their lives as bolts of anonymous cloth on these shelves in W Bills basement showroom a couple of streets from London’s Savile Row.

The longstanding stalwart of their showroom, Ray Hammett - who has worked for the company since 1947, when he joined aged just 17 - has retired, although reluctantly.

From what I gather large amounts of stock are in the process of being transferred to the new owner’s premises in Exeter, leaving a skeleton range of short lengths.

It is unclear if fabrics exclusively woven for W Bills will be repeated or requested by the new owners.

This means the Shetland Tweed used for Matt’s series six jacket could well be discontinued.

If it is picked up by the new owners, there could be a gap in production while they review and replenish stock.

Luckily I found out about this change of hands shortly before it happened and was able to secure the entire remaining stock of Shetland Tweed, just over thirty metres.

This means I can make a few jackets yet, or if anyone wants to buy the fabric by the metre, they can drop me a line and I can give you details.

If you’ve been toying with the idea of getting a jacket made in the original fabric - NOW is your possible last chance!

Tweedaggon

I’ve had a very busy week - been having a very busy couple of months come to that.
October has been manic for US clients wanting something for Halloween, and now I have a rush for the 50th Official Celebration - all on top of my usual bits and pieces I do.

It’s funny sometimes how I don’t get asked to make a particular garment for ages, then I get a run of orders and find myself under a mountain of cloth.

This month is seems to be tweed!

If you’re waiting on a jacket from me - it’s likely yours is one of those shown above!

Donegal discovery

I’m on a bit of a roll - no pun intended.

After securing the very last piece of the Cashmere from the season 7b Frock Coat (see left), I have now managed to track down a piece of genuine Donegal tweed a-la the series five jacket.

The original tweed jackets worn in series five were cut from two rolls of half-width hand woven Donegal tweed from W Bills in London and sold for around £40 a metre.

Once the supply had been exhausted, the weavers tried to match the fabric, but could not source the original yarn.
Since there are only two colours in the weave it meant the finished result would have been wildly out, so no attempt has been made to recreate this fabric.

What I have found pre-dates the original weave and uses the correct colours, abet a different dyeing batch, but it is essentially exactly the same stuff.

Just like the screen used, this is half-width and hand woven - so a top quality fabric!

I have a good dozen metres, so enough to make three jackets (4 metres is needed for an average jacket up to chest 44 or so).

I am happy to sell this by the metre or as made up jackets, just like the Donegal I made a couple of years back (see right).

If you are interested in a the Donegal fabric by the metre or as a made-up bespoke jacket, please mail me at tennantcoat@me.com 
and I can send you details.

W Bill - Ray Hammett interview

As you’ve probably read in my blog, the original Tweed fabrics used to make The Eleventh Doctor’s jackets came from W Bill, a long established fabric merchant close to London’s Savile Row.

I’ve always dealt with a great chap there called Ray, who’s been with the company for well over 60 years.

Well, I’ve just come across an interview Ray gave to a blog about tailoring called PutThisOn.

It’s nothing earth shattering, and he doesn’t mention Doctor Who, but you might like to see who sold THE fabric to the BBC and see inside the company offices.

PTO Place: W. Bill from Put This On on Vimeo.

The Ultimate Crossplay

From time to time I get asked if I can make a coat or tweed jacket for girls as well as guys. It’s not something I often do, but it’s not unknown.

Well a photo has reached me this weekend of one of my tweed jackets being modelled by a very special young lady.

None other than THE Karen Gillan!

Karen is currently in America completing post-production dubbing on a new horror film called Oculus.


Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, it is a full length feature film expanded from a previous award winning short film.

Without giving too much away, the film is about a woman trying to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.

I had made a tweed jacket for Mike a couple of years ago, so I was surprised to hear Karen attached to a project directed by one of my clients.

He suggested getting Karen to pose in the jacket at some point, and true to his word he finally snapped her in a break between dubs.

It looks like Karen’s been enjoying her time in the US, and I’m looking foreword to seeing the film when it’s released next year.

My thanks to Mike Flanagan for arranging the photo and to Karen Gillan for being such a sport and posing for me

Mini Doctors on eBay

I’ve had a number of emails lately from parents looking for Matt Smith costumes for their children.
Working as a bespoke tailor it isn’t possible for me to make such clothes cheaply. After all a child’s jacket still has two sleeves, a collar and lapels as well as the necessary pockets and detailing.

As an answer I have always pointed them to eBay in search of bargains.

Just to show what can be found, here are half a dozen items currently available, or recently closed.

This shows the price range of options available, so keep searching – they are out there.

The first of these is actually an officially licensed dressing up outfit from UK clothes retailer, Marks & Spencer.

Boys fab DR WHO fancy dress outfit
from M&S age 5-6yrs