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A while back I arranged for Dave to repair my Original Fried Ostermann M422a which had a broken and rotted out collar hook area, before putting it up for sale. A little bit before we'd been discussing the F.O. and its unique details, we'd been talking about AN-J-3a's, and I said I was thinking of finding one without the mouton collar, an AN-J-3. Dave said he's always thought about doing one, so after a little discussion I said lets do it.
Fast forward quite a few months and the build began in earnest after sourcing various items required for the build. Dave has acquired, as he mentioned in another thread, quite a number of machines that allow him to build a jacket exactly how it would have been completed by Monarch itself. Two of special interest to me that he has told me about; is a button hole machine, and you can see by the detail of the button holes in the attached images that this machine is quite something; the other being a french seam machine, which will allow a complete jacket and all joins to be stitched in this way if required. I don't quite understand how each machine works but Dave has done his best to explain the details of what it does and whats involved, and it doesn't appear easy. Dave has had to setup each machine, mostly by himself, and understand how it works, and then configure it so its work is consistent to the task set by it.
In the process of discussion of my measurements, Dave has a collection of other Monarch Jackets, one being John Z. Colt's original AN-J-3a being a size 40 among his collection and tweaked the pattern for the overall fit that would suit the jacket to my dimensions. One does not understand how much thought and work goes into making a bespoke jacket, it is not just a trade but an art. Dave included in the discussion a lot about his reasoning and the history of the jackets and the people who flew in them. It really lends a sense of depth to the build.
IN the last two months my number in the queue has come up and he is ready to put all the elements together to make the jacket. Really looking forward to this, but in the mean time I thought I'd share some pics of the progress so far.
The hides are russet goat 1st pic and have been dyed seal brown 2nd pic. This will allow the lighter russet to patina and wear through, something I like.
images below are different elements of the pattern, notice the stitching and the button hole of the pocket. Stitching is very close to the same colour and size as originally used by Monarch.
Fast forward quite a few months and the build began in earnest after sourcing various items required for the build. Dave has acquired, as he mentioned in another thread, quite a number of machines that allow him to build a jacket exactly how it would have been completed by Monarch itself. Two of special interest to me that he has told me about; is a button hole machine, and you can see by the detail of the button holes in the attached images that this machine is quite something; the other being a french seam machine, which will allow a complete jacket and all joins to be stitched in this way if required. I don't quite understand how each machine works but Dave has done his best to explain the details of what it does and whats involved, and it doesn't appear easy. Dave has had to setup each machine, mostly by himself, and understand how it works, and then configure it so its work is consistent to the task set by it.
In the process of discussion of my measurements, Dave has a collection of other Monarch Jackets, one being John Z. Colt's original AN-J-3a being a size 40 among his collection and tweaked the pattern for the overall fit that would suit the jacket to my dimensions. One does not understand how much thought and work goes into making a bespoke jacket, it is not just a trade but an art. Dave included in the discussion a lot about his reasoning and the history of the jackets and the people who flew in them. It really lends a sense of depth to the build.
IN the last two months my number in the queue has come up and he is ready to put all the elements together to make the jacket. Really looking forward to this, but in the mean time I thought I'd share some pics of the progress so far.
The hides are russet goat 1st pic and have been dyed seal brown 2nd pic. This will allow the lighter russet to patina and wear through, something I like.
images below are different elements of the pattern, notice the stitching and the button hole of the pocket. Stitching is very close to the same colour and size as originally used by Monarch.
