my 3rd self made french Cyclist Jacket. Winter edition.

[Johnnie Espresso]

Good morning, fellow weirdos!
I thought that maybe you'd like to participate in the joy i feel of just having completed my third and, so far, best Hartie.
it is lined with at least two teddy bears worth of fake purple fur and has wider arms to accomodate a thicker sweater underneath.
It's -5°C outside at the moment, so this comes in very handy....

 

[Brylcreemer]

Fantastic! You've shamed/inspired me into getting sewing again, though this is on another level!

 

[Johnnie Espresso]

just go for it! I taught it to myself as well. All you need to do is practise, and it's a very rewarding hobby. Thank you for your comment!

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Impressive work!

Sieht authentisch aus.

 

[Enigma1938]

Nicei impressive work, I just wish you would use more authentic zips. There are still some Eclairs available on etsy for example...

 

[Kermit3D]

I'm very impressed.
This is what a cyclist jacket should look like, the overall cut is really good, it's actually better than most current reproductions.
It's really a VERY nice jacket.
What kind of leather did you use ?
I agree with Enigma. It's a shame such a beautiful jacket doesn't have better zippers.
Zippers from the 30s and 40s are becoming hard to find. But maybe you could check out what Waldes has to offer
For exemple :

 

[B-Man2]

Well done … very nice…. May I suggest that now that you have the skills to make the jacket … you might consider zeroing in on the smaller areas and make them more accurate to the original. For example your pocket flaps are cut like those of an A2 jacket. Where a Hartman has pocket flaps that are very distinctive to the Cyclist jacket .
I’m not being critical just suggesting some ideas to help refine your new craft.

 

[Kermit3D]

Actually, there are many variations of pocket flaps. Cyclist jackets were made by many different manufacturers, and each one did things a little differently. The same applies to all jacket details : shape of pocket flaps, collar shape, shape (and direction) of side straps, brand of zippers, orientation of chest zippers, etc.
Let's say there were global trends, but details varied a lot.
But I'd agree that the pocket flaps look a bit big.
I'll post some photos to illustrate my point when I'm back home.

 

[B-Man2]

Kermit is correct in that there are several different pocket flaps associated with the FC jacket. However I think that the ones pictured below are the styles that are more closely associated with the actual jacket that Hartman wore and that you see in most of his photographs .

 

[Johnnie Espresso]

thanks for your kind words, guys. you're absolutely correct with your remarks considering the fine tuning of the details. i gave the pocket flaps double of the usual seam allowance by accident,
and when i realized i was way too far in the process to start over. I remember planning the cut for my first one and decided to make the plaps a bit bigger, so they optically accomodate to the fact that i made the overall cut slightly
longer than a "ususal" FC. Guillaume, thank you very very much for the zipper link! if i knew about this before, i'd definetely had gotten something more vintage looking. Shopping original eclairs on etsy is not really for me,though. those cost more than what i paid for the leather (cow skin, btw.). Besides, every single dodgy online shopping experience i ever had happened on etsy.

 

[Enigma1938]

I really think you have the skills to do some pretty nice cyclist jacket replicas, as you say just a little fine tuning here and there, a better hardware and voila!
We would gladly help you through your progress here. I would love to see a competitor to Brice's jackets (nichts für ungut Brice ).
There was a guy here at the forum who wanted to build a cyclist jacket too one or two years ago. He was perfectly prepared, collected correct materials like leather, lining fabric, zippers, buckles etc., made a pattern and started a bit work (all documented with photos) but unfortunately he dropped that project all of a sudden for unknown reason

 

[Johnnie Espresso]

I really think you have the skills to do some pretty nice cyclist jacket replicas, as you say just a little fine tuning here and there, a better hardware and voila!
We would gladly help you through your progress here. I would love to see a competitor to Brice's jackets (nichts für ungut Brice ).
There was a guy here at the forum who wanted to build a cyclist jacket too one or two years ago. He was perfectly prepared, collected correct materials like leather, lining fabric, zippers, buckles etc., made a pattern and started a bit work (all documented with photos) but unfortunately he dropped that project all of a sudden for unknown reason

thank you, Enigma... and yes, i think i saw this thread, too. Pity he obviously never got around to follow his plans. it is one thing to gather the material and study an item, but i think you need a good portion of obsession to follow through with something like that. This is how it works for me at least. Every now and then , i get obsessed with certain piece of clothing to a point where i just have to try and make the item myself. I never learned to be a tailor, and sometimes i sit there sewing along to a youtube video that tells me how to do it. The closer you look at my stuff, the clearer it gets that i would't want nor be able to compete with Brice, i am a fan of his work but by no means competition.

 

[Enigma1938]

thank you, Enigma... and yes, i think i saw this thread, too. Pity he obviously never got around to follow his plans. it is one thing to gather the material and study an item, but i think you need a good portion of obsession to follow through with something like that. This is how it works for me at least. Every now and then , i get obsessed with certain piece of clothing to a point where i just have to try and make the item myself. I never learned to be a tailor, and sometimes i sit there sewing along to a youtube video that tells me how to do it. The closer you look at my stuff, the clearer it gets that i would't want nor be able to compete with Brice, i am a fan of his work but by no means competition.

I think I get your point. In any case guys like you are wizards in my eyes; I'm a darn good mechanic, I can fix almost everything, I'm a good hobby watchmaker, I build all kind of models etc..... but everything around a sewing machine is beyond my talents and drives me crazy.

 

[Johnnie Espresso]

I think I get your point. In any case guys like you are wizards in my eyes; I'm a darn good mechanic, I can fix almost everything, I'm a good hobby watchmaker, I build all kind of models etc..... but everything around a sewing machine is beyond my talents and drives me crazy.

the world would be pretty boring if everyone had the same talents like everybody else. For me, it's exactly the other way around. If my cell phone or computer has a problem, i need to ask my girlfriend to fix it. And tbh, i think she knows more about cars than i do, too. Runs in the family, her dad's hobby is to restore old tractors and stuff like that.....

 

[CBI]

Congrats on the great work! In some ways, only people like you should be allowed to comment on any leather jackets on this forum because you actually know how to and CAN make them!

 

[B-Man2]

John
I would disagree with that. If only people who made jackets could comment on them think about how people like JC, Gary Eastman, Sean from 5 Star or any of the other makers would advance their crafts and skills. Most people here dont have to make an A2 or a Luftwaffe jacket to know if something doesn’t look or fit right. Over the years this forum and the non jacket makers thru their suggestions have provided a great deal of help and support to new and old jacket makers.

 

[Johnnie Espresso]

Congrats on the great work! In some ways, only people like you should be allowed to comment on any leather jackets on this forum because you actually know how to and CAN make them! hey

hey there, CBI, thank you for the compliment, but I also cannot agree with that suggestion. I'm a one trick pony with a little bit of talent. I can tell apart a Hartmann Jacket from a Ramones-Style Biker Jacket, and there my knowledge on the topic as a whole stops. Just look at this thread so far: There were some comments from people that (probably) never handled a sewing machine, but know a great deal more about the details of a jacket like that than i do....

 

[CBI]

well of course no contributing member is going to agree with me, there would be no forum otherwise!!!!! and with my comment, I would disqualify me from posting as well. I think the people who actually DO are on a different level than observers. Doesn't mean armchair experts can't chime in and contribute. Just glad to see someone who can actually walk the walk sometimes! This is a good thing.

 

[dbtk44]

You have some serious skills, and talent! Beautiful job!

Having made a few (textile) jackets many years ago, and a few pair of leather pants, I definitely appreciate both the final product, and knowing the work you put into this...

 

[bseal]

Good morning, fellow weirdos!
I thought that maybe you'd like to participate in the joy i feel of just having completed my third and, so far, best Hartie.
it is lined with at least two teddy bears worth of fake purple fur and has wider arms to accomodate a thicker sweater underneath.
It's -5°C outside at the moment, so this comes in very handy....View attachment 134063View attachment 134065View attachment 134067View attachment 134069View attachment 134071

Beautiful. And finally someone correctly got our collective name just right. Bravo and kudos!