I currently have a very very nice frock coat made of twill. Problem is it will be incredibly hot for summer usage. I am going to be making a frock coat out of a lighter weight material. I'm not sure what fabric I want to go with for an authentic look (similar to twill), but not as heavy or stuffy. Anybody have any suggestions? I was thinking a tweed with a cotton lining or an all-cotton would breathe fairly well.
Linen. Linen seems to be a lot cooler than cotton, at least to me. The flip side is, it's more expensive, harder to find and prone to wrinkles.
Hard to find?! Three words: Fabrics-store.com (http://fabrics-store.com/). ;D I would say the price of their linens is actually pretty comparable to cotton twill (and when I was looking for a blue twill for a doublet last summer, it took AGES to track some down).
I would actually recommend Fabrics-store.com's linen-cotton blend for your frock coat. It's a little bit heavier than their medium weight linen and it does wrinkle less. You'll want to line it with something (possibly more of the same) to give it a little substance and body since it is so drapey. They also have a heavyweight linen that might work well, but I've never used it so YMMV!
Another fabulous choice would be some wool flannel from Renaissance Fabrics (http://www.renaissancefabrics.net/browse/wool/). Now, this *is* a pretty pricey choice (in fact, it's a LOT pricier than when I bought from them a couple of years ago), but it's a great warm weather fabric, particularly if you line it with something lightweight, as well. It has a nice drape and swing and is really nice to work with. I used it for Milord's Gimli tunic (http://elizabethcbunce.wordpress.com/historical-costuming/fantasy-fairwear/gimli-son-of-gloin/) and my 18th century jacket (http://elizabethcbunce.wordpress.com/historical-costuming/18th-century-middle-class-ensemble/caraco-jacket-petticoat/). (There's a photo of the back of that jacket where you can see how nicely it works for such a garment.) These are both summer weight ensembles--I never make ANYTHING for Milord that's too hot, since he's like a polar bear--and he wears this at our late summer fair.
Have fun!
Is the Frock coat necessary for summer wear? Why not a proper linen shirt and lovely embroidered waistcoat?
I buy a lot of my linen at fabric dot com (they have tons) and at Joanns. Use your coupons to get a really good deal. I love their linen/cotton blend.
Necessary, nay. However for a pirate a coat is second to a hat. It's part of the look I'm going for. A 1750's style Spanish main pirate. A lot of the garb being from different settlements and countries (looted). A motley look. For example: the vest is a very bright red and black in almost a gentleman style with lots of mid-matched buttons to give it a "fast repair" and "oh I like those" appearance. The cutlass I'll carry is a dussack cutlass. It's barebones but proud looking and was easy to fix. The hat is a Captain Kidd (captain jacks hats) with lots of feathers. The shirt is a weather worn poet shirt. A golden Indian style woven silk sash under a very thick belt. Gawdy rings. Jewelry. Etc
It just fits the look so well I don't want to scrap it. And part of the appearance is influenced by my being a quarter apache, Italian, Scottish, and German. I have a somewhat Indian appearance so I am going with a "mixed" culture pirate look. I have some Narive American jewelry I will wear with it to fit it. I envision my character before garbing.
http://bbprivateer.ca/?q=book/export/html/7 This may be of help.
Remember, whenever a pirate would take anything - it probably wouldn't fit him. Instead, he would retailor it to the fashions he knew of - particularly if it was from a culture he considered lesser than his own.
That's actually a big part of what I've been doing. I've been losing weight due to a new diet. So the clothing I have been making or accquired is sized to that. It will be very big and flowing this season. As well, some of the parts will be too "small" by choice. Or at least ratty.
Dont know if you have seen this but:
http://www.lacma.org/patterns
GREAT period patterns that you will have to scale up....and if you are near my size (im a 40 chest and a 35 waist) It will also take some slicing and piecing (they were a lot smaller back then). BUT great period patterns for waistcoat around the mid 1700s area. These can be altered a bit to become a justacorps (frock coat) :D