• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Poor Quality Stitching -- is it an issue?

Striker

New Member
If I purchased a very high priced A-2 repro, and noticed that the stitches per inch vary on certain areas of the jacket, is that a major issue? Or should an expensive A-2 repro have perfect, uniform stitching with consistent stitches per inch?

Thanks,

Striker
 

Willy McCoy

Member
Military spec for jackets was between 8 & 10 stitches per inch I read on the old VLJ. A hand made garment pre-computer era it was not at all unusual for there to be an off count. Part of the charm of a hand built jacket.
 

fishmeok

Well-Known Member
No jacket is completely 100% uniform in the stitching unless it was somehow made by robots. The originals varied because they were fed and sewn by hand on single needle belt-driven industrial machines. I have found inconsistent stitching on all the repro's I have examined, including Eastman, just depends on how hard you want to look.

Personally I like it, shows that the jackets were made by hand and not a robot. The fact that I am making my own jackets these days and know how damn hard it is to make everything absolutely perfect when making them from scratch, and with a period machine to boot, has nothing to do with it :)
Cheers
Mark
 

zoomer

Well-Known Member
Perfect hell - from reading your updates we know it's hard to make one that's even good!

I wouldn't want a super-machine-made looking jacket any more than I'd want one with a flawless hi-gloss finish.
 

rich

New Member
Here's some stitching from my wartime Irvin - not all that precise. I don't suppose they could have imagined an afternoon's work would be getting checked over again 65 years later! I think it adds character, but that's just my own view. :)

s1.jpg


s2.jpg
 

fishmeok

Well-Known Member
Happens to every maker sooner or later- this is a close up of John's Eastman A-1 (which is an excellent jacket, BTW) from another post.
Cheers
Mark
IMGP1917.jpg
 
Top