Fabric Friday - Harris tweed

Each week I get a number of emails from readers asking for help with patterns or fabrics.

Aside from suggesting a few sources I can’t really help much with patterns.

My assistance with fabrics also has to be a bit limited as I’m getting mine from the original suppliers, which don’t come cheap; or using my own weavers to recreate discontinued lines which takes a lot of investment and time.

So I thought I’d create Fabric Friday, and each week bring you a bit of detail on the materials used to create the Eleventh Doctor’s wardrobe.

Many readers are on budgets, so screen accurate materials can be prohibitive. Their only chance is to find something similar or evocative that can do the job - so long as you don’t look too closely.

The most requested at the moment is the Cashmere used to make Matt’s frock coat.
I’m asked what is it like - or is this or that fabric close enough to use.

Only once you see the fabric in-hand can you realise how unique it is.

So what I’d thought I’d do is share some detailed scans of the fabrics used for Matt’s wardrobe to once and for all give the definitive reference guide, going through from series five to seven.

Worn for the first episodes shot was a vintage Harris tweed jacket.

The jacket dated from around the 1970s and was made from a Mackenzie two-by-two dogtooth fabric.

As you can see, it’s woven from a beige, brown russet and green thread.

My tailor's bookshelf

I’m often asked where I get my patterns from and for tips on how to make garments.
Since tailoring is now my full time profession I’m not at liberty to hand out the patterns I have created and refined.

But what I can show you is my bookshelf of reference material I use when I’m in need of some direction or inspiration.

I use a mixture of modern and antique books.

Many of the vintage books I have contain contemporary instruction on how to draw up frock coats, lounge jacket and waistcoats, all with that distinctive Edwardian twist.

The more modern books give me construction ideas using up to date fabrics and interfaces.

It is a mix of these two that helps me do what I do.

Here’s the full current content of my library.

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!

All Saints boots on eBay

Just to show the All Saints Layer Boots can still be found on eBay, a pair is currently up for sale.

The seller knows what he has, so the Buy It Now asking price is a full £250!
Ouch!!!

All Saints Layer Boots

I am selling my second pair of these boots.

Worn by Matt Smith in Doctor Who.
Good condition, see pictures.
Comes with original box.

Matt Smith’s costume tests

Some photos have been doing the rounds on the net, and I’ve avoided reprinting them here, but the latest was posted by Karen Gillian herself, so I’m kinda thinking they aren’t being seen as too confidential.

Most of the photos relate to a costume test day held to finalise Matt Smith’s costume as the Eleventh Doctor.

The first shot shows Matt wearing a cream coloured long coat.

From what I understand this is a costume Ray Holman was developing for the Eleventh Doctor to wear. For whatever reason it was shelved.

Ray can be seen in the mirror taking the photo.

Next Matt is seen in a short sleeved white t-shirt, under a black high-cut waistcoat, worn with black jeans and a leather belt.

It’s hard to tell, but Matt may or may not be the All Saints boots which were his specific choice.

Next Matt adds a simple three-quarter length black coat.

Matt then changes outfit, adding a large dark grey coat, with a grey tie and shirt and the black waistcoat.

It’s amusing to remember that costume designer Ray Holman also choose the Belstaff coat for Sherlock, and this look isn’t so far removed from that.

The next look is all a bit piratey, with a red and white striped t-shirt under another waistcoat.

This waistcoat doesn’t have the extended points at the bottom.

The jacket over the top has brass military style buttons.

Matt looks less impressed with combining the striped t-shirt with an overcoat.

Next Matt changes the the striped t-shirt for a checked shirt.

The discarded t-shirt can be seen hanging on the rail behind him.

The jacket and waistcoat look to be the same - don’t be distracted by the very different lighting between this and the previous shot.

Matt then switches the brass-buttoned jacket for a leather one.

Finally Matt tries on a Paul Smith shirt, with braces and a bow tie -
The Doctor is in the building!

The last photo, which Karen Gillian posted on Twitter, is the very first time Matt and Karen were taken together in full and final costume.

Matt’s jacket is the Harris Tweed seen in Time Of Angels and if you look closely he is wearing a blue bow tie with the burgundy shirt (as above), a colour combination never seen in series five.

A tie at the Eleventh Hour - the finishing touches

My plans to make a perfect copy of the Eleventh Hour Christian Lacroix tie have been going well. So well I now have a handful of finished ties. I was kind of expecting something to go wrong along the way, but all has gone to plan, which is reassuring.

The last thing I need to do is add some special colour to finish them off.

When the tie first appeared there was a lot of debate and speculation about the colouring of the tie. The blue swirly design has areas of enclosed shapes, which look red, but not quite the same as the tie worn by David Tennant.

As we now know, it wasn’t the same tie, hence the differences between them.


But if you look very closely during The Eleventh Hour, three are inconsistencies even within the episode. This is because there are multiple copies of the tie used.

If you look at the location scenes, there are no red sections to the tie.

These scenes would have been shot first, so it is possible the red areas were not yet painted.

The blue highlights are present.

But if you look at the studio scenes, the red patches are very prominent.

The placement of the blue swirly pattern is also notably different.
If you look at the section below the knot (with the two red patches) the location used tie has this moved over to the right.

When I saw the real tie close-up I found the red patches of colour were actually just simply painted on.
There were also some dark blue highlights on the embroidery.

I needed to match these to make the ties complete.

I’ve kept some off-cuts of the brown silk which I can use to swatch test the red paints on.


There are a number of fabric paint suppliers on the market, and before committing to which to use I went through quite a few.

Some are transparent paints, for painting on light colour fabrics; others more opaque for use on darker colours.

I found the latter to be too dominant, so a blend of the two produced a result I liked.


Now I’ve got a good mix of red I can begin painting.

This is all a bit out of my comfort box, so I just have to trust that the paint will take and settle down to an even coverage.

When the paint is first applied it looks a lot brighter and blotchier than it ends up.

A second light coat evens out any remaining inconsistencies.


Finally I need to add the blue highlights.

Comparing the photos I took of the screen-used ties to my Lacroix, I realise the highlights are in corresponding places, so I use my tie as a guide as to where to put them.

I need a very dry brush and to just lightly rub the paint on. You can see the before and after here.

Here’s the finished tie.

What do you think?

If you’re coming to Gallifrey One this week, look out for me wearing it!

Gallifrey One 2014 - Advanced Tailoring Techniques

Last year when I attend Gallifrey One in Los Angeles, I presented a solo panel in which I discussed and showed some of my more challenging tailoring projects.

Due to popular demand, I have been asked to do a similar panel again this year.
The premininary schedule is now out and I am down to present my panel at 4pm on Sunday 16th February 2014.

The main drive of what I shall be presenting will be British Tailoring and the art of the Frock Coat.

I have been making a lot of Frock Coats one way or another over the past 18 month so I’ve gain a lot of experience.

All of the coats have their roots in the classic Edwardian design despite their differing appearances.

I hope if you are coming to Gallifrey One you’ll come alone and join the audience - there will be Jammie Dodgers.....



If you can’t make it, or just want a good idea of what I’ll be talking about, here is a video of my panel from last year.
Enjoy.

If you a specific topic you’d like me to discuss at my panel, please mail me at tennantcoat@me.com 
with your suggestion.

A tie at the Eleventh Hour - the tie making

The making of my ties are now out of my hands, but I’m confident that the guys working on them are the best in the business and are doing it with the same passion I put into my own work.

Almost everything about these ties is a bit of a pain to handle.

First the ties have to be cut. As a long experienced tie maker, they have pre-made patterns to use for all common sizes. Luckily they have one which is just the job.

The card template gives the cutter the shape he needs to cut. The window inside this is the finished visible face of the tie.

This was positioned over the embroidery, referencing my Lacroix tie which I left them as a guide.

The ties are made in three pieces: the front leading up to and including the knot; the tail which has a partial repeat of the embroidered design; and a joining piece between the two.

Here they are, all cut and ready to make-up.

The ends of the tie are lined in red silk, and I provided them with some suitable fabric to use.
This is machined in place before the three sections are joined together.

The ties are then folded along the length, pinning them together at the seam. The seam is then hand-sewn together, leaving a short opening at each end.


A strengthening stitch is added at the end of the hand sewing to stop it accidentally tearing. This is on the original tie, and has been replicated in a red thread to match.

It took a couple of weeks for the ties to be made, but I now have the first one finished and it looks FAB!

I still have some work to do, which I shall do soon.

A tie at the Eleventh Hour - finding a tie maker

So far I’ve gone through the process of making a vector-based trace of the Christian Lacroix tie and had it embroidered into suitable dark chocolate brown fabric.

Now I need to make them up into ties.

I have absolutely no experience on making ties, and the thick embroidery isn’t likely to make it easy, so I’m gonna find a proper professional company to do the work.

Through some fabric weaving contacts I’ve been given the details of a company that will fit the bill.
They do massive runs of thousands of ties for major high street names - and on the other end of the scale will hand make ties in short runs with minimum quantity.

I’ve called and spoke to their boss, outlining what I wanted to do, and it is something he would be more than happy to take on.

I’ve arranged to go down to visit their workshop after the new year and personally brief the job over. I’m keen to get a little insight into the tie making process.

Chatting to the boss I quickly realised that the Doctor Who connection was piquing his interest and a number of staff are excited to see what I will be bringing along to show them.
It seemed this will be one job everyone wants to be involved with!

I found out that although the 10,000 run jobs are where they make their money, the little one off commissions are what made their day-to-day production that bit more interesting and enjoyable.

For now the fabric is sitting in my room, and every time it catches my eye it makes me smile.
I can’t wait for thew new year and to see the ties taking shape.

A tie at the Eleventh Hour - the design

After seeing two of the original ties from The Eleventh Hour at the Doctor Who Celebration, I’ve been inspired to have a go at making my own, as close to the real deal as possible.



The ties were copies of the original Christian Lacroix tie worn by the Tenth Doctor.

The blue swirly pattern, which is part of a woven pattern on the original, was recreated by embroidering the design onto brown silk fabric and then making it into a tie.

I’m lucky in that I have an actual Christian Lacroix tie, abet in a alternative colourway. Nevertheless, the design is the same size and weave, so I can use it as gospel to match to.


The first thing I did was to scan the tie in using my desktop scanner.

This had to be done in sections, which I stitched together in Photoshop.


I also needed to scan the reverse of the tie so I could catch the sections of the design that wrap around to the back.

Once this was assembled into a single file I then imported it into Illustrator where I could trace the edges of the design to make a vector based file my embroider could use.

It took a bit of jigging around for the embroider to make it work, but finally she broke if down into manageable sized sections to stitch which once joined together create the full design.

I also needed to provide the embroider with a lay down to show how to place the artwork on the fabric.

I used a section of fabric to plan it out, and cut some paper so they laid diagonally across the width of the material.
I laid my Lacroix tie in place and traced around its shape.


Next I put the tie under the paper and traced the design to show how it fits in place.


I then passed this to the embroider to help her place the design on the diagonal and with enough space around it to cut the finished tie.

We didn’t know how well it would work or how hard it would be to make the fabric up into ties, so we sewed half a dozen to give me some spares in case of problems.

Here’s the finished embroidered fabric ready to be made into ties.
I’m very pleased with the result, and it’s made my Christmas getting it done so well.

Check back and see how things progress.