cadagh and waistcoat planning

[AKScott]

I decided today I am going to make a pair of cadadh. I want to buy enough tartan to make a bias cut deep gorge waistcoat from the same dye lot as well. What I need to do is free up my claret hose for day wear, so I need something for formal evenings to replace them in the lineup.

I was shopping diced and argyle hose and just cringing at the prices. I finally looked in my closet again and was inspired by a 1/2 meter remnant of double wide I already own....



I found a thread here with directions by MAC Newsome, so far I have $14.92 invested in safety pins and the cheapest twin sized flat sheet I could find on the closeout rack. But I have a pattern, and since I used safety pins for the pattern making I don't have any holes in my feet.

On my green wedding plaid (double wide deep, 2 meters L to R before purling) it looks like I will have a sizable scrap left if I cut one pair of cadadh from one meter of double wide. I did press a crease into the center of my rough piece and kept it lined up on my leg as i was pinning the piece down so the plaid pattern will look right on the finished cadadh. Put the crease on the diagonal, put the crease on the front of my shin. Put the crease on the diagonal...



However, my assistant and I agree the half meter remnant of double wide I have in clan red is not big enough.



So I am going to have to order some fabric.

And I am not wild about the baggy ankle thing either. I get that it is traditional, but seriously. I am not a reenactor, I just want some $200 hose for under 50 bucks.

And I remembered the vamshields I made back when I was using a chainsaw a lot in the days when I was heating my home with wood.



The way I sewed these up is I closed the cone from my elbow down towards my wrist until I could just get my hand through the narrow end of the cone, and then I did a wrap and snap to close the rest of the cone down to my wrist.

For cadadh I am thinking slit and multiple snaps. Looks like I can sew the cladadh shut to within about eight inches of my heel. I'll need to add some material to the pattern in this area, so I'll have doubled over cloth wide enough to take snap hardware on both sides of the slit, and overlap so the snaps can close- directly over my Achilles tendon so I'll have something to press against.

Took about 0.006 seconds to find 7/16" red colored snaps on the internetz...: http://www.snapsource.com/store/aboutoursnaps.php

So questions:

1. Does one meter of double wide sound like a reasonable amount of fabric to order for a bias cut waistcoat? I have about a 44" chest and the back can be plain satin or burlap sack or whatever, all I want is the two front panels. And the whatchamacallits for the two pocket openings.

2. Anyone know of a sewing pattern for a waistcoat/ vest with a deep gorge suitable for black tie and shirt studs?

3. I can get one meter of doublewide in the pattern I want (16oz House of Edgar) for a lousy $30 + s/h. Is 16oz OK for cadadh considering it is the pattern I really want, or do I need to look at something lighter? I do live in Alaska, I am a lot more concerned about frostbite than a little sweat.

4. If my cadadh don't have puffy ankles are people going to laugh at me, even notice, or ask how I did it? I think the snap heads might show under flash photography, but will likely otherwise be overlooked.

Thanks,
Scott

[AKScott]

Actually, Matt answered question one already in the bespoke waistcoat thread in the STM section, so I got Q1 answered already:

Yes, one meter of double width tartan is good for a bias-cut waistcoat.

[Ian_G]

Have you thought about using plastic snappers in the same colour as the fabric?

Iam

[Tobus]

The idea of using snaps for closure to prevent baggy ankles is interesting! Though I'm not sure how it would look in the end. I'm wondering if hook-and-loop (Velcro) might be a better option, both in terms of comfort and aesthetics?

[Dixiecat]

If it were me, I might experiment with a clear elastic in the ankle seam. To ease in the bagginess, and leave the ease so that you can put the foot in.

[creagdhubh]

Scott,

You could inquire with Lady Chrystel, as she has made this type of tartan hose before, as well as plenty of tartan waistcoats...among other bespoke items. Her work is truly amazing.

Best of luck mate,

[AKScott]

Scott,

You could inquire with Lady Chrystel, as she has made this type of tartan hose before, as well as plenty of tartan waistcoats...among other bespoke items. Her work is truly amazing.

Best of luck mate,

I did find the Ancienne Alliance / Lady Crystel cadadh thread and spent a looooong time looking at those pictures. It looked to me like she made at least three corrections to the pattern, two in the toes and one in the ankle before she ever applied chalk to tartan. I went back and looked again after I made my first pattern.

For me to get traditionally made cadadh that fit that well, I would have to take my leg to Lady Crystel. The mechanics of the project require the heel of the foot to fit through the circumference of the cadadh at the ankle. It isn't negotiable.

However, if the ankle seam isn't sewn shut, I can use a smaller amount of fabric in the ankle and then temporarily close the seam while I am wearing the cadadh.

I don't have a chambermaid to sew them shut while I relax in my dressing room with a wee dram and I personally learned to sew in the tack room of a draught horse barn repairing harnesses. I can make very very strong things with needle and thread, but I have never been talented at sewing clothing. I did think briefly about laces, but I would end up with some kind of knot and or bow hanging from my calf.

Eventually, I got over being gobsmacked by the talent on display in the Lady Crystel thread I remembered my vamshields. Snaps go on just like copper rivets, only with a wee timy hammer and a wee tiny anvil and a wee tiny set. That I can do. Off to my local sewing store here in a bit, they have only lately opened.

And I do agree with Kyle that Lady Crystel's work is amazing. Absolutely no disrespect at all is intended to her by this thread.

[AKScott]

I have concluded the"Stich Sew Quick" by Singer is not a bad device for US$25, if you have three hands. Or a vise.



This is the slit and snap system for cutting down on the amount of cloth bunched up by the ankle I was talking about in post one above. Perhaps this pic will be worth 1k words:



And prototype one is done.



I have enough of this "shirting flannel in a pattern that isn't quite close enough to Black Watch for us to have to pay license fees" to make one pair tonight. I am probably going to make another pair in some other shirting flannel before I start cutting on House of Edgar 16ounce.

[Baldybrown]

Awesome! Though I didn't need another project, now I have one.

[MT4Runner]

Great project!

How about making the hose the circumference of your heel. Instead of a slit along your Achilles tendon, simply place a fold there--and still use the snap.

Less drafty in your cold climate, and the upper fold of fabric would hide the snap head.


Or..same idea, but use a hidden zipper?