Sunday, July 17, 2011

Upcoming project: Pinkerton vests

In the midst of several other errands, I stopped off to pick up the final parts to assemble some sample vests.  I'll be working on samples and one-offs for Lastwear, starting with the men's vest.  Thom and Lyssa have provided cut parts for several vests to give the pattern a go, and gave the green light to document the process of making the vests.  This works out nicely both for me and for them, as part of the concept for the company is that their clothing is open-source.  In theory this means anyone can download their patterns and make their own - or use it as a launching point for something new.  The patterns aren't actually available yet, but I expect someone truly interested in obtaining a copy could get one if they asked nicely enough.

I'll be putting together one Pinkerton vest on its own, and then assembly-lining a couple more; expect the same kind of photo documentation you saw on the jacket and ticking-stripe corset.  A certain amount of sewing know-how is expected, and I won't be slowing down much to explain the differences between production and commercially available patterns, or on the sort of thing a production sewer would be expected to know.  I will try to recognize those things and provide links to outside tutorials, but if you are following along and don't understand something I encourage you to comment so that I can make sure the instructions I'm providing are adequate.

6 comments:

  1. I don't sew, but I love following your projects! Congratulations on this latest one - I am glad they gave the go-ahead for the documentation piece. Also, I've seen this business model applied in many other places, but would have never thought about clothing. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, actually. Shortly after finishing the White Bird wings, I got quite sick and wasn't able to sew; it was a long recovery and I have just now moved house. Next post will be photos of my new workspace, followed in short succession by the Pinkertons. They are definitely the next project on the table!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi. I'm about to start on a Pinkerton vest too. I've printed off all of your blog posts about it. I'm sure it will stop me from swearing too often. Thanks so much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello!
    Was wondering if any of you have a digital copy of the vest. I have looked but lastwear is out and my partner is in love is love to make this as a wedding presents.

    Can one of you email at slagasse@me.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lastwear has been out of business for over two years. Sorry.

      Delete