11 shirt - pattern cutting

A couple of months back I started work on producing a replica Matt Smith shirt.
To make it work I need to pull two aspects of the shirt together before I can make my first one.

Firstly, I needed to match the squiggly pattern design, which I have now done (see left), as well as the stripes for the cuffs.
You can read about that under Pattern Repeat and Screen-accurate Cuffs.

The other thing I need to do is sort out the pattern for the shirt itself.

Although I have a couple of Paul Smith shirts, each to a differing fit, my plan is to make a shirt that is much more of a classic size, rather than the over-tailored tight fit of the Paul Smith originals.

But instead of pattern trace my shirts, I am going to use a commercial pattern by Burba (see right) as a starting point.

It is a fairly straight forward shirt pattern with a number of permutations of style, but I will be making my own adaptions based on what I have learnt on my recent college course, as well as how the real Paul Smith shirts are cut.

I also have a cunning plan to make the cutting of the shirts a lot easier in the long term. I was originally going to have the fabric printed, then cut it out to my adapted pattern.
However, I have realized I need to make quite a few changes, so my plan is to make all those changes in a digital format, then directly apply the pattern shapes to the printed fabric itself.

First thing I need to do is scan the entire Burba pattern, which I have to do in A4 bits and patch together (see left).
To aid matching up, I spray-mounted it onto dot and cross paper first, giving me alignment reference. This also made it more robust for scanning.

I will not be using all the pieces. For example the collar comes in three styles (see on the left edge of the image), but none of them are to the right shape. This I will crib directly from my Paul Smith shirts.

I then retouched to remove the background paper colour so it was easier to trace in Illustrator (see above).

The pattern contains a range of sizings, from S to XXL, all of which are superimposed on top of each other. You can see this in the sleeve shape.

To start with I will trace the L size and make sure the pattern works. Adapting it for the other sizes will then be a very simple job.


Anyway, after tracing just the pattern pieces I need, and making the necessary adjustments and adaptions along the way, I can then impose them together.
I need to remember to duplicate and flip certain pieces, such as the sleeves, and mirror others such as the back, only half of which comes in the pattern.

The outlines are then transfered into Photoshop and used as a mask to outline the shapes I need (see left).

I have filled the spaces available on this first run with spare sleeve plackets.

Due to a size limit on files for Spoonflower, I had to break the pattern across two sheets: one with the body of the shirt and the collar (see above); the other with the sleeves and cuffs (see below).

As a back-up insurance policy, I also made up a single yard of plain pattern repeat, in case part of my design does not work as intended. I can then redesign it and cut it from the spare fabric before feeding the revisions back to my master pattern.

It’s then just a matter of placing the order and waiting for the fabric to arrive.

Well, all that was a few weeks back and this weekend the package arrived (see below).
A quick inspection and everything looks to have worked just as I planned. All I need to do now is cut it out, and make up my first working prototype.

Very exciting stuff!

The Third Way

After everyones excitement of find the Paul Smith PS shirts last year in burgundy and blue; then the discovery of another shirt in blue, but with more screen-accurate cuff; there now comes yet another variation!!

This time it has cuffs with stripes, but these cuffs are french-style cuffs, intended for use with cuff links, though there does appear to be a button to do them up with as well (see below, left).

Paul Smith shirts often like to have little hidden details that only the wearer knows about and can see. The striped fabric is on the inside of the french-cuffs, and when worn conventionally cannot be seen (see above, left).

They could be folded inside out to display the stripes, though it would make them a bit bulky.

Thanks go to Ryan for sending me the pictures and sharing with us his amazing find.
Well done Ryan!!!
(And well done for wearing your watch face down.)

11 shirt - Screen accurate cuff modifications

As the broadcast of the first Matt Smith episode drew nearer, we started to get more publicity images of Matt in costume.

The only image til now that showed the cuffs on the burgundy shirt had the jacket over the top, so it was only possible to see the edge of the cuff and two stripes burgundy around it (see right). At this point it was thought that the sleeve straps had been butchered and adapted to modify the cuffs, which at the time made sense.

Later, through a reader of my blog, I found another variant of the shirt in the blue, which appeared to have a lot of the modifications needed already done – and the cuffs were pre-striped into the bargain.

The stripes, however, covered all of the cuff, not just a couple around the edge (see left).

This had caused a flurry in the forums, as it started to look like I had acquired a more likely Paul Smith shirt compared to what had been found to date.

A clue to confirm this then appeared a few weeks later in the 3-D trailer, where it was very briefly possible to see that the blue shirt had more than just a couple of stripes on it (see below).

My new shirt was looking more and more like the real thing. But we still had not seen all of the cuffs on the burgundy shirt. Could this be fully striped too, like my blue shirt?

Then finally, as the broadcast of the series drew even closer still, one particular image published in The Sunday Telegraph Magazine caught my attention (see left). It shows Matt wearing the shirt, but without the tweed jacket, so for the first time we got to clearly see the cuffs, and yes, they were just like the blue shirt I had!

There was then some criticism of those who had done the sleeve strap modification, saying it was all wrong – which in truth it was. However, the straps are not that long, and even when pressed out fully, they only gave enough fabric to add two stripes around the cuffs. It would never have been possible to add stripes to the entire cuff using this method.

This calls for a plan B.

So, I have a fully striped cuff in the form of my blue shirt, and I have already scanned and found the pattern repeat of the shirt body, so all I need to do is the same for the cuff. Spoonflower will do the rest (bar the sewing!)

It’s not quite possible to flatten the entire cuff out to scan it, but I can get most of it in there (see right).
Despite what you might think, scanning fabric never gives an accurate colour result, plus the weave shows through the image, so this will need to be retouched out. The process of doing this will change the colour further, so I am not even trying to retain the colour that is there – at this stage I am just after the design and shapes that make the pattern.

What I am aiming for is a mono artwork, which I can then colour match to the burgundy and the blue as needed (see above).

One annoying quirk of the Paul Smith design is that for some reason the squiggles between the stripes on the straps and cuffs are actually a much darker colour, almost black, so I need to mask these off and colour them separately.
It’s a bit time consuming, but worth the effort.

Next I need to pattern trace the blue cuff so I have a template for the artwork. This way I can make sure I have enough length of stripes to cover the cuff.

Finally I can colourize the mono artwork to the burgundy and blue (see left).

The cuff’s buttonholes complicate things somewhat, so the plan is to not bother even trying to retain the existing cuffs – I will instead create and entirely new replacement cuff which I will swap for the existing one.

My artwork done, it’s now just remains to order the Spoonflower fabric (see below) and wait for it to arrive.

Check back soon to see how my new cuffs look once the fabric arrives.

If you have one of the standard Paul Smith shirts and would like to have your cuffs replaced with more screen-accurate ones, please get in touch with me for a details.

Email me at tennantcoat@me.com.

Paul Smith modifications - a review

As the proud owner of one of Steve Ricks’ famous Tennant Coats, it was only a matter of time and money before I commissioned him again. This time though, it was the Matt Smith look I was working on.

A bit of background: when those pictures were published of that Southerndown beach shoot in July last year, a lot was made of the tweed and bow tie. However, for me, the two most striking elements of the costume were the boots (oh those elusive All Saints...) and the shirt; such a strange but stylish pattern, when combined with the bow tie and tweed gives a strangely modern but retro look at the same time. In fact, when I first snapped eyes on the shirt I thought ‘old-man’s shirt’ - kind of knackered, charity shop style. It wasn't until you venture up close and see that design that you realise there is more than meets the eye.

My good friends on Gallifrey Base went into costume over drive and we soon worked out the various brands: All Saints boots, Topman trousers, Harris Tweed jacket and... a Paul Smith shirt. Yes PS by Paul Smith to be precise, but I was surprised.

I checked out the John Anthony website and they were selling the burgundy shirt, but only had S, M and XXL. Now if I knew what I know now about the sizing, I would've snapped up the XXL there and then, however I decided that at £55, I wanted a good fit. So I noticed an alternate colour, navy blue and grabbed an XL and was disappointed to find it was very very snug. Now I don’t consider myself a particularly large chap, but I was making this thing bulge out in a not too attractive manner! So, in the wardrobe it went for a while.

When subsequent filming shots of Matt Smith were released from Croatia (I think), he was sporting that navy shirt (he had been in burgundy up until then). I was immediately fired up to get this shirt of mine wearable. Enter Steven Ricks.

So impressed was I by his customer service and top quality work, I asked him whether he could mod my blue shirt in the MS style - the factory shirts come with little blue sleeve straps to tie the rolled sleeves back. These are removed and stitched onto the edge of the cuff to create a distinctive finish. Also, the buttons are covered by fabric on the PS shirt but not on the Doctor’s.

Steve told me to send the shirt to him so he could examine the pattern so he could prepare a reproduction and while it was in his possession, he would perform the mods. Not only that, but he said that he could also provide me with more breathing space by letting it out at the back.

When the shirt returned to me a few weeks later, it was as you will see it on screen. Finished beautifully, the cuffs are brilliant now and the buttons are visible (on a button stand I believe - am not particularly well versed in tailoring parlance). But this is the clincher - it fits like an XL now. God knows what kind of sizing Paul Smith were using for the factory shirts - I nearly went for a Large, which is what I am in a Marks & Spencer type shirt. All this for a very reasonable price.

Steve Ricks: The man is versatile, thoughtful, very amiable and communicative and above all, his final product is so worth investing in. I can now wear this shirt day to day and not worry about breathing in the whole time. Money well spent.

All I need to do now is find those damn boots...

PostScript to PS Shirt

A little while ago I had a tip-off from one of my readers.
He sent me a link to a website called tobi.com selling designer clothing, including a range of Paul Smith garments.

What he had spotted was the Paul Smith PS shirt as worn by Matt Smith – but not a version that had been seen so far (see below).

The only colourway available was the blue, with no sign of a burgundy option. When I looked at the site there was a S and a L option available with a drop down to chose how many, though only 1 was given.

I choose the L and made a purchase. When I returned to the page, the L option had gone, so I guess I grabbed the last one!
Within 24 hours I received an email saying it had been dispatched, and within the week it arrived by UPS courier (with an import duty charge, darn!)

This new look Paul Smith PS shirt has some design points to differentiate it from the previous version.

• There is no breast pocket
• The sleeves do not have straps
• The buttonstand is constructed differently, with large wide fold-backs half lining the fronts
• The cuffs are entirely made form the striped sleeve strap fabric
• The hem of the shirt is tailed rather than straight
• There is a small embroidered PS logo on one of the cuff plackets

For me though, the major difference to this shirt is the fitting.

When I ordered my existing shirt I have, sourced from John-Anthony.com, I chose a Large. They called me to let me know it was out of stock, so I settled on an XL instead. To my surprise it was too small for me, and I later had to acquired an XXL from eBay, which is a passable fit. Since letting out the back, it is much more comfortable.
This new shirt, by comparison, is straight off a good fit, and is just a Large. The whole cut is better.

This new shirt, however, despite being just a Large, is a very good fit, with a decent amount of room in it. This bares up the Fits true to size comment on the website listing.

Lastly, I was most amused to notice the footnote in the listing that states the model, Matt, is wearing a size large.

I wonder if they mean Matt Smith?

11 shirt - Paul Smith modifications pt2

After spending some time removing the breast pocket and the sleeve straps, I am now ready to start doing some sewing and sort out the cuffs.

Luckily the first image of Matt in costume (see left) was of very high resolution and it’s possible to see a lot of detail around the cuff (see below).

The fabric I have harvested from deconstructing the sleeve straps, although fairly substantial (see below, left), is not in a single piece long enough to run the circumference of the cuff, falling short by some four inches. I will therefore need to splice the fabric down the centre (see below, centre) and create a longer strip (see below, right).

Because of the depth of the strip, I firstly need to remove one of the cuff buttons as I need to sew real close to where it sits. I will put it back later.

I then attach the strip to the inside of the cuff, with the strip face up (see right). I only sew along the long edge of the cuff, as close to the edge as I can.

The strip then gets flapped around to the outside, binding the edge.

I then fold and press the ends to line up with the ends of the cuff (see left) and similarly fold and press what will form the bottom edge of the stripes.



It is then a fairly simple task to top-stitch the stripes down onto the outside of the cuff (see right).
This picture also shows the remaining button on the cuff, the temporally removed button belongs on the bottom edge of the stripes.



My only problem was avoiding the buttonhole on the other end of the cuff (see left). I don’t want to cover it over, as setting a new one over the top would not be a good idea. I suspect the BBC Costume Department also avoided this in a similar way.

And that is my cuffs sorted (see below).

Next will be the dreaded button-stand . . . .

11 shirt - Paul Smith modifications pt1

Today I start work doing the modifications needed to make my Paul Smith PS shirt (see right) as screen accurate as possible.

I manages to get hold of one that fits – which is a bonus!


There are three modifications to make to get the shirt looking right:

Breast pocket – The Paul Smith shirt has a breast pocket, which is not present on the Matt Smith shirt.

Cuffs – The Matt Smith shirt has a couple of bold burgundy stripes around the cuffs, which are not on the Paul Smith shirt.

Button stand – The Paul Smith shirt has a flap, concealing the buttons from view when it is worn, but on the Matt Smith shirt they are clearly visible.

I am working on the basis that no-one has a Paul Smith PS shirt for themselves, so I intend to go through these three modifications in as much detail as space permits, which may make them a little patronising. Sorry for this in advance, but I thought it worth covering it all.

The first modification I need to make is real simple: the Paul Smith PS shirt has a breast pocket, which is not present on the version Matt Smith wears.

I need to very carefully unpick the stitching around the pocket (see above) and remove it in one piece (see left).

This gives me a nice fabric swatch sample to use. I have also retained the cotton I removed, as I will need to get a colour reference for sewing later.

While I am in an unpicking mode, I now prepare for the next modification, which is on the cuffs.

In the first publicity still which emerged of Matt Smith in costume (see right), it is possible to see the cuffs of his shirt.
Curiously these are different from the Paul Smith PS shirt, in that they have two rings of burgundy stripes around them (see right, insert).
In fact, if you look very closely you may also be able to see that the wiggly line between the stripes does not seem to be as red as the rest of the shirt, instead looking quite dark, almost black.

Once I got my Paul Smith PS shirt, the mystery of the cuffs was solved.

The sleeves have a button on the outside of the upper arm (see left, left), and attached inside is a strap. This strap buttons around the sleeve, keeping them up like a short-sleeved shirt.

The straps have burgundy stripes with dark blue wiggly lines between them – a perfect match to the cuffs! (see left, right)

So what I need to do now is very carefully remove the straps from insdie the sleeves (see below, top left & right); I then equally carefully unpick the straps themselves to find that they are folded twice over before being stitched (see below, bottom left), making for quite a wide piece of fabric (see below, bottom right)

Now that I have extracted the straps and opened them out flat, I can see the dark wiggly lines (as opposed to the burgundy colour of the rest of the shirt) and the stripes themselves (see below).

I need to press the fabric nice and flat and plan how I am going to attach them to the cuffs. Presenting the fabric to the cuffs I can immediately see some issues that need to be sorted out.
Firstly the fabric is not as long as the cuff, falling short by a good four inches. Luckily the fabric is wide enough to cut in half and join into a longer length.
Then, when it is attached, I need to be aware of the buttonholes on the cuffs and need to avoid covering them.

Once I have planned it out, I’ll be back to sew them in place.
Check back soon to follow how I get on.