Capaldi waistcoat - upgrade

A little while back I made myself a Capaldi waistcoat, using the correct melton fabric.

At the time I didn’t have access to the authentic red silk for the back, so I just used a plain red satin as a placeholder.

However, I now have the real thing and I’m quite excited to start using it, the first thing I’ve done is to remake the waistcoat, using the correct fabric on the back.

It’s a subtle change, and frankly will hardly get seen as it will be worn underneath the Crombie coat.

But as you can see from the two photos above, the plain red just doesn’t compare to using the authentic lining and it gives me some satisfaction to go that extra mile and get things as perfect as possible.

I’ve already got some clients looking forward to getting theirs using my special lining - and it’s almost Christmas!!

The Capaldi Crombie - IT BEGINS!

Over the past few months I have secretly been working on my replica of the Peter Capaldi Cromie-style coat. Okay, so no-one’s surprised at that, but what i have done is go that extra mile to source there perfect fabrics needed to complete the project.

The body of the coat is relatively simple, as the material came from W Bills, and the new owners, Harrisons, still stock and promote the fabric as part of their own range.

The problem has been the lining, as this was an end-of-line found at a London fabric shop. I was able to secure a limited supply, but nowhere near enough to do a replica coat.

My only chance was to get it rewoven. After many months of negotiations my bolt of fabric arrived today, so I can finally crack on with making a truly accurate replica Peter Capaldi coat.

The lining is really not what you expect.

It may appear on screen or in publicity stills as being a nice and simple plain red fabric, but in reality it is a finely woven mix of red and NAVY BLUE silk.

This creates an iridescent quality to it, with the light catching it in different ways all the time. I’ve done an initial batch using a black for now, but it gives a comparable result.

The best way to compare it is to put it side by side with a photo of the original coat taken at the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff.

What do you think?

Capaldi waistcoat - making up

This week I have been working on my Peter Capaldi waistcoat.

So far I have drafted my pattern, adapted from a good fitting waistcoat pattern; made a quick calico to check the fit; made the necessary revisions resulting from this test; and have now started to trace off the pieces I need to make the finished garment.

The back is simple - a trace of the full pattern from the draft for the silk and the lining.
The fronts are similarly easy, with just a position guide for the placement of the pockets.
The pockets themselves are pretty standard fare, based on the work I did for the Regeneration Waistcoat.

But the lining to the fronts are a little more tricky.

I want a firmer edge on all sides except where it joins the back, so I am going to add a facing 3 inches wide.

First I mark a dotted line on the pattern to define the join between facings and lining.

I’m making the facing in two sections: one that goes all the way from the neck down to the points; and a second piece along the bottom edge to the side seam. The internal lining will be cut from the same black cotton fabric I use for the pocket bags, and fills the remaining space.

The pattern pieces are traced off, adding appropriate seam allowances on all sides.

Once they are cut you can see why the facing isn’t cut in one single piece L-shape. It would be very tricky to stitch around the acute corner, and as I'm sure you can see this way its a simple case of attaching the lower facing to the lining, then joining that with the front edge facing.

Notice how I have slightly swung the vertical seam off at the bottom. This is so that it doesn’t finish behind the point at the bottom of the waistcoat. If I had the seam allowance of this vertical seam AND the seam allowance around the point all colliding together, it would bulk very badly and I won't get a nice sharp tip.

My next task is to make the outer pockets. These are identical in construction to a jacket breast pocket, with a single welt sewn up at the sides.



I make mine from three simple pieces: the welt, which is a single piece of cloth folded in half, sloped to the right shape; a pocket facing, which is visible when you look into the pocket; and a pocket bag which hangs from the welt to the facing.
The pocket bag is very shallow, but it is the best way to do it. I need the pocket bag to finish with a fold rather than a seam so I can get the maximum depth I can.

The welt is pressed inside out and the vertical edges sewn. I clip to the bottom of my stitching, turn it rightsides, and press it firmly. The pocket bag is attached to the bottom of the facing now rather than later, as it is easier.

I prepare the body of the waistcoat by marking the position of the pocket on the front with chalk, and press a section of thin-soft interfacing to the rear, over-spilling by an inch all round to give a little bit of extra support where I will be sewing.


Flipped vertically, the welt is sewn to the lower line of the pocket, and the facing similarly flipped to the upper edge of the pocket.

The pocket opening is carefully cut between the two lines of stitch, with a Y-shape on each end finishing exactly at the ends of my stitch lines.
Turned inside out to the back, I then press the edges.

From the front I now have a nice welted pocket.

To finish it off I attach the other end of the pocket bag to the bottom of the welt and finish the vertical sides of the pocket, then stitch the welt on the front along their vertical edges.


With the pockets complete I can unite the fronts with their linings around the bottom edges, fronts and up to the shoulder as well as around what will form the front of the armhole.

After grading the seams around the edges I turn it through the unsewn side seam and carefully press, rolling the hem to the back so it doesn’t show.

Next I put the back together which is made of an outer layer of red silk lining and and inner layer of black cotton fabric, the same as I used in the fronts.
It is sewn up the centre back and after pressing the seams open, in stitch around the curve of the back of the armhole.

With the back still inside out the fronts are set inside and sewn across the shoulders, down the sides, and along the bottom, leaving only a small opening in the side seam on what will be the lining side.

It is through is small opening the whole waistcoat is turned rightsides.

After a pressing around all the sewn seams the waistcoat is essentially done, just leaving the buttonholes and buttons to finish it off.



While I was sewing the back, I also inserted two straps to brace the back. These are sewn to the body of the waistcoat on the rear, and a traditional waistcoat buckle is used to join them together.

I’m pretty pleased with the result!

The finished waistcoat is great fit and feels nice and snug. The wool fabric is very soft and comfortable to wear.

Fabric Friday - Crombie coat lining

Last week on Fabric Friday I showed you THE midnight blue wool fabric used to make Peter Capaldi’s Crombie-style coat.

Well this week I bring you the rest of the coat!

And if last week I shook things up a little - this week I’m gonna rock it!

This is the lining to the coat.

No - really - this IS the lining. Instead of being a plain red silk as it might appear, it actually has a subtly woven pattern in red and NAVY BLUE.

If you look VERY closely on the official publicity still of the costume you can just see that there is a grid pattern in the fabric.

From what I have established, the lining is pure silk, woven in Italy and is long discontinued. The bolt of fabric bought by the BBC was the last available from the supplier used. It may still be in stock at other suppliers, but as yet I haven’t found anywhere that carries it.

My friend James would SO love to get his hands on this!