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My homemade Tennant's coat Replica

Started by doctor007, Sep 30, 2009, 10:10 pm

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doctor007

Sep 30, 2009, 10:10 pm Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:43 pm by Scarfwearer
Last night I took some screen caps of David Tennant's Dr. Who trench coat to a photo processing lab and had the develop them onto Kodak paper.   I took those 4x6 pictures to my local fabric store and came up with a REALLY close match, color-wise.  I am using a combination of 2 patterns a Vogue  (V7988 jacket style B(OUT OF PRINT)) pattern for the front of the coat (because it is double breasted and has the long swooping lapels)... and a Simplicity pattern (2581) for the back of the coat because it has a vented pleat that is easily modified to match the one in Tennant's coat.      

Here is a pic of the material the coat will be made from:

WhoCoatMaterial.jpg

cardborduser

Awsome

Nice to see people making their own props insted of buying. Thats what fandom is all about
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pod

Oct 01, 2009, 10:34 am #2 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:34 pm by scarfwearer
Excellent! I love it when fans make their own replicasof costumes, it's a particular interest of mine. I believe the original fabric for Tennant's coat was Alacantara, but it's no longer made and was uber expensive anyway. I'll be following your progress with great interest Doctor007!

doctor007

Oct 02, 2009, 12:45 am #3 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:34 pm by scarfwearer
     Thank you for getting back to me Pod!  I really am happy to see someone taking an interest in my family's creation.   In starting this, I had the extreme good fortune to talk to an acquaintance that worked for the BBC at one point and had actually worn the coat briefly.   He assured me that it wasn't made from Alacantara and that had been a tad of an urban legend.   It was made from a discontinued line of faux-suede (like) lightweight upholstery material similar to the one I found myself.  He also pointed out several really intimate details of the coat (some of which will probably be impossible to replicate). Currently I am waiting on a Vogue pattern to come in the mail.  Shortly after it comes, the construction of the coat can begin.  Please do keep checking back.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

                                                         Scott Wright
     

pod

Oct 02, 2009, 08:02 am #4 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:35 pm by scarfwearer
I certainly will be Scott! Have you checked out tennantcoat.blogspot.com ? I bought a tennant coat from this guy and it was awesome, although I'd miscalculated the length and it was too short, so I sold that and he's currently making me another. He's done a lot of research into this coat and has documented the making of it, you may find it helpful, although it sounds like you know what you're doing!
Cheers
Ian :)

ThisJustinOnline

Oct 03, 2009, 03:47 pm #5 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:35 pm by scarfwearer
oh that was your review pod! Great read, sorry about your misfortune. I also got a coat from him :)

pod

Oct 03, 2009, 05:54 pm #6 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:35 pm by scarfwearer
Sure was Primrodo, glad you enjoyed the review. I read yours too, before I commissioned him, but I wasn't as smart as you when it came to deciding the length. It wasn't so much misfortune as stupidity!  Still, I have another in the works as we speak ...

Sorry Scott, I appear to be hijacking your thread a bit. How is the coat coming along, any progress?

doctor007

Oct 04, 2009, 06:13 am #7 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:35 pm by scarfwearer
Thank you for asking about my progress, Ian.
     I spent Saturday with tracing paper, tape, and my favorite Cross pen tracing the pattern pieces I will be using to make the coat with.  One of the two patterns I intend to use is "out of print" so I am being very careful not to damage the original pattern!  Tomorrow I hope to be able to cut the pieces and perhaps get a running start on assembling the coat.   
      I do have a question for either you or Justin... or both... I was watching the episode "Fear Her" from series 2.  In that episode there were lots of shots of the Doctor from above.  I noticed that it looked like his coat had shoulder pads to fill the shoulders out a bit at the edge of the coat.  Would you recommend me incorporating them into my coat to help achieve the desired fit?  Thanks again for your help and I hope to post some update pics soon!

                                                     Scott

pod

Oct 04, 2009, 01:30 pm #8 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:36 pm by scarfwearer
I believe there may be shoulder pads of some sort in it, but again I'd recommend you checking out tennantcoat.blogspot.com, as he explains with photos and descriptions every step of how he makes his. I'm still awaiting the arrival of my new one, so i can't check for you firsthand!
I'm really looking forward to seeing your coat come together.

ThisJustinOnline

Oct 05, 2009, 03:42 am #9 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:36 pm by scarfwearer
He for sure has shoulder pads, just not super thick ones., and be careful with how they sit, as you could look like Frankenstein!

doctor007

Oct 05, 2009, 05:58 am #10 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:36 pm by scarfwearer
Thank you!  I will definitely take that into account when I pick the shoulder pads.   

Today I spent the day getting the material laid out and all the jacket pattern pieces arranged, pinned, and cut out.   I now have the real beginnings of the coat.   All the pieces for the coat are laying on my couch in the front room... Later today, I will be trying to start getting her sewn up.  I imagine I will have to take it a little at a time but there will be pics shortly, I hope.

doctor007

Oct 13, 2009, 02:39 pm #11 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:37 pm by scarfwearer
Thank you for staying tuned...  So far we have the outer shell of the coat done, the lower pockets, back pleat, and the slit for the tails done.  Just yesterday we got the liner finished (with exception of the inside pocket).  I think we should be finished with it in a couple of days or so.   
   Basically all we have left to do is the inside pocket, the back collar, installing the lining, some touch-up detail stitching, and buttons and so-forth.   I am including some pics to show our current progress.

** Please keep in mind that our house is very dark which does not play well to digital photography.  The jacket, in these pictures, will appear to be too dark or maybe the wrong color.. that is strictly lighting and I will be taking outdoor daylight photos when the coat is finished.   As always, please let me know what you think !

Front
WhoCoatProof1.jpg


WhoCoatProof2.jpg

*** I took some artistic license with the color of the lining.  I picked Royal Blue in cotton instead of Navy Blue satin.  It was strictly a personal preference and hope it isn't too distracting.   

WhoCoatProof3.jpg

metrosonus

Oct 13, 2009, 03:43 pm #12 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:37 pm by scarfwearer
Looking good! I love costuming myself, so I know how exciting it is :) I was just going to say that looks very suede like.. good find!

pod

Oct 16, 2009, 04:29 am #13 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:37 pm by scarfwearer
Can't wait to see this finished!! :)

doctor007

Oct 20, 2009, 09:35 pm #14 Last Edit: Aug 26, 2010, 05:37 pm by scarfwearer
Let see.. a bit of an update... The coat is coming along well.. the lining is in the coat and the inside pocket is finished... We had MASSIVE issues with the collar due to the combining of the 2 patterns... as a result, the collar is NOT screen accurate at all ..   I have tried to compensate by making other parts more so.  However, it does look nice (and recognizable), and that is good enough for me !   
     Tonight last min touch-ups... the tails go in.. the sleeves and the bottom of the coat hems go in... Buttons go on...   strings get cut...    After tonight it SHOULD be a coat.   
Last night I was actually wearing it and even made a video.  Pictures of the finished coat will follow shortly.   
Here is the link: http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa210/swright007/?action=view&current=WhoCoat.flv