Capaldi waistcoat - pattern cutting

After seeing photos from the London filming for series eight, I was looking at making the wool waistcoat The Doctor now sports, but I didn’t specific plans as to when I’d do it.

A request from a client has progressed the project to completion quicker than anticipated!

It’s a fairly standard shape, with some key points that distinguish it from a off-the-peg garment.

The fabric used is a wool Melton in black - I have a hunch where that came from; it buttons relatively low, with a curved line to the shoulders; the buttons are quite large, for a waistcoat, and match those on his Crombie coat; it has two steeply angled pockets with a line of topstitch around there edges; the edge of the waistcoat also has topstitch.

Most of these are cosmetic points or purely style-line changes, so I am going to start from my Regeneration Waistcoat pattern which I know is a good fit.

This should make it a relatively simple exercise in style-line adaption to achieve a markedly different look.

First I traced off the structural lines to the pattern - those that define the fit. I’ve highlighted them on both patterns in red.

It needs to be a tad longer at the back, so the slope to the points at the front isn’t too acutely.

Looking at photos, the uppermost button is below the level of the scye (the lowest point of the underarm), so this gives me the a guide to where I need to be. From there it’s a gentle curve up to the shoulder.

Once I had established the lower button position, I could space out the five buttonholes using my handy guide tool!

Now the buttonholes are established I can work out the placement of the pockets. Their angle converge roughly with the fourth button down, so I can work out from this point to give me their angle.

The next job is to make a quick calico mock-up so I can check that the fit and the style-line changes have worked.

The fit on me was fine, but it is only once you put it up on a mannequin and take a photo or two you notice things that need a tweak or two.

The pockets are in the right place, but their angle could be improved.

They should run parallel to the bottom edge of the front, and since they don’t look right, it has highlight a change needed to the angle of the bottom edge, which needs to be a little flatter.

I think the curve from the top of the buttons to the shoulder could be a little flatter too.

With this fed back into the pattern, I can move forward with tracing off the pieces for cutting.

The fronts and backs are simple - just the full extent of the pattern with suitable seam allowances added on all sides. The back is lined with a matching shape, but the fronts need a little more work.

Check back very soon to see how things progress.

Budd Shirtmakers - back in the USA

My American readers who missed the chance to meet Budd Shirtmakers when they visited the USA earlier this year, have another chance next month - with TWICE as many cities included in their tour.

Mr James MacAuslan (the talented young cutter who designed the distinctive Capaldi collar) and Mr Darren Tiernan shall be meeting with customers for orders and fittings.

Budd Shirtmakers - overseas visits

Their last visit included New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The time they are adding Huston, Washington and Boston.

Here are the planned dates and venues where you can meet Budd Shirtmakers:

San Francisco

Monday 29th September: 9am - 1pm, 2pm - 6pm

Tuesday 30th September: 9am - 11am

Intercontinental Mark Hopkins

999 California St, San Francisco
CA 94108, United States

Telephone: +1 415-392-3434

Los Angeles

Wednesday 1st October: 9am - 1pm, 2pm - 6pm
Thursday 2nd October: 8am - 10am

Chateau Marmont8221 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood
CA 90046, United States

Telephone: +1 323-656-1010

Houston

Friday 3rd October: 9am - 1pm, 2pm - 6pm
Saturday 4th October: 9am - 11am

The St. Regis Hotel1919 Briar Oaks Ln, Houston
TX 77027, United States

Telephone: +1 713-840-7600

Washington

Monday 6th October: 9am - 1pm, 2pm - 6pm
Tuesday 7th October: 9am - 11am

Intercontinenetal, The Willard Washington DC
1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington
DC 20004, United States

Telephone: +1 202-628-9100

Boston

Wednesday 8th October: 9am - 1pm, 2pm - 6pm
Thursday 9th October: 9am - 11am

The Eliot Hotel
370 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
MA 02215, United States

Telephone: +1 617-267-1607

New York

Friday 10th October: 9am - 1pm, 2pm - 6pm
Saturday 11th October: 9am - 12am

The Benjamin125 E 50th St, New York
NY 10022, United States

Telephone: +1 212-715-2500

If you would like to make an appointment during their visit, please contact Budd to arrange a convenient time and date. They may be reached by either telephone +44 (0)20 7493 0139 or email usa@buddshirts.co.uk

BBC promo pictures - Into The Dalek

The BBC have issued the latest promo pictures, this time for Into The Dalek.

I must say these are pretty dire photoshop jobs, with the perspective of the background (which is also used for some other portrait images) clashing badly with the Dalek in the foreground.

And, like the Deep Breath images last week, the costume shown does not match the version seen in the episode.

Again it depicts the 5-button melton waistcoat, where The Doctor wears the John Smedley cardigan on screen.

There are also a couple of other images, taken on-set.

Deep Breath - Leicester Square screening

After all the anticipation of the day, and having seen the episode already in Cardiff, now it is finally time to watch it in a simultaneous broadcast on tv and at cinemas up and down the UK.

The excitement and buzz in the cinema was amazing. Everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for the show to start.

On the big screen of the Leicester Square Odeon, where so many blockbuster films have had their premiers, there was a slideshow reminder of the world tour Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and Steven Moffat have just completed.

I was at the Cardiff screening on the 7th of August, which formed the first stop on their seven cities over twelve day global tour.

From Cardiff they had rushed down to the BFI for the London leg, before flying to Seoul in South Korea for their screening two days later on the 9th of August.

They then took in Sydney on the 12th of August for the Australian stop-off, prior to heading to the United States and New York for the 14th August.

They then took in South America with Mexico City on the 17th August, followed the next day by the final stop in Rio De Janerio.

It must have been a gruelling trip but an incredible commitment on the part of the BBC to back the launch of the Twelfth Doctor to this extent.

From the look of the photos in the slideshow they had a great time and enjoyed every minute of it.

It wasn’t long before the lights went down and the episode started to the rapturous appreciation of the audience.

I had specially booked to come to THIS screening, as it was due to be followed by a question and answer session with Peter, Jenna and Steven. This would be broadcast live to the other cinemas around the UK showing the episode - but here is would be LIVE!

There was a bit of a gap between the episode and the Q&A, during which some Cybermen marched up and down the aisles, scaring the children.

I had managed to nab some seats within the first five or six rows of the stalls, which meant our view for the Q&A was second to none.

Peter, Jenna and Steven made their entrance in dramatic style. The Odeon Leicester Square is one of the few London cinemas which still has its Wurlitza organ at the front of the screen. This rises up on a platform through a trap door - and it was on this that the trio rose ethereally to the applause of everyone in the cinema.

The Q&A was hosted by Zoe Ball, who almost precisely a year ago hosted Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, when Peter Capaldi was revealed to the waiting fans at BBC Elstree, barely a mile from where I live.
She had also hosted the disastrous Doctor Who After Show Party at the BFI where things didn’t entirely go to plan.

Luckily this was more organised and we enjoyed a good half hour of conversation with the stars with questions submitted by members of the audience from across the UK.

All in all its been an awesome month to launch the latest Doctor, and by the looks of things the role is in safe hands.
I look forward to seeing what the rest of his first season has to bring us.

Deep Breath - Leicester Square cosplayers

Today is the big day for Peter Capaldi! After a month of previews around the globe it is crunch time - when the bulk of the viewing audience will finally see what he has done with the role.

To unofficially round off their World Tour, the BBC are screening the opening episode live at cinemas up and down the UK, as well as selected countries around the world.


I wasn’t planning on going to see it (again) so soon after the Cardiff premiere, but the screening at London’s Odeon Leicester Square is a little unique in that it is followed by a live Q&A session with Peter, Jenna and Steven. This I gather is being beamed to the other UK cinemas in a live link-up.

In the mad scramble for tickets I had managed to grab a couple of choice seat - stalls, dead centre, only six rows from the front! So today I went up to town - in costume of course - to join the fun and share the buzz.

For those that don’t know, Leicester Square in London’s West End is the heart of the cinema district, and the Odeon is one of the largest cinemas there. It has played host to countless prestigious premieres down the years.

So, to my disappointment, there was no big poster promoting Deep Breath on the front of the building. Instead there was a TARDIS and a single Dalek on a grassed area of the park close by.


I had my photo taken with the display in the background, and then went cosplay spotting!

I found a cardboard TARDIS - who ended up to the the mum to young Eleven cosplayer!




I came across a couple of young lads as Eleven and Twelve.



Close to the entrance to the cinema I spotted a really cool Osgood.

I also found some great costumes for the Fifth Doctor; a First Doctor and femme Dalek who had come over from Paris specially for THIS screening; as well as a femme Eleven.

I was struck by how many young cosplayers were dressed as classic series Doctors, and cleverly using the costume t-shirts to block in their outfits underneath the coats they were wearing.

I then got corralled into a group shot of the Doctors. We had great fun posing for everyone.

We even made the Doctor Who Facebook page! How cool!

Facebook - official Doctor Who page

Within a few hours we had well over 10,000 likes! My mate James is so jealous.

Deep Breath - Parliament Square photocall

With just over 24 hours to go until the Peter Capaldi era officially kicks off, the BBC have pulled of an early morning publicity stunt - in the middle of Westminster’s Parliament Square!


Overnight they have set up a display of the TARDIS atop a grassy crack with a T-Rex skeleton underneath!





Peter and Jenna were on hand in full costume!

They took some great portraits of Peter looking suitably Doctory, with the smoke machine going into action in the background!




Joined by Jenna, you can really see Peter getting into his Doctor persona.

There truly is something in how he is getting into these poses that evokes the Pertwee era - something he has freely admitted influences his approach to the role.

Matt was good at this stuff - but even before we have seen him on screen, Peter is hitting his stride and RUNNING WITH IT!

Press coverage - Radio Times 23rd August 2014

Doctor Who is back on our tv screens this coming weekend, so it goes without saying that Peter Capaldi is on the cover of the Radio Times, out today.

The Radio Times has a long tradition of commissioning its own special photoshoots when The Doctor graces its cover, and this is no exception.

The publication has recently launched a digital edition for tablets and mobile phones, so this week’s edition is a perfect hook to get subscribers to go for the digital edition over the newsstand one as it has some brilliant bonus features. More on some of that later.

The newsstand edition has a pretty pedestrian cover portrait of Peter (see above) but the digital one is animated, pulling in the cog motif from the new-look opening titles.

Image © Radio Times

They have done a series of photoshoots, the main one accompanying the article depicts Peter in full costume inside a blue box - get it?

The three images here appear in the newsstand edition.

The digital editions of the Radio Times are priced at £1.99 each, but as a special offer the Doctor Who issue is just 99p!

Images © Radio Times

The digital edition has an additional eight shots in a picture gallery, including the undoctored version of the cover image (see below).

Images © Radio Times

The digital edition can be downloaded from the iTunes store for the BARGAIN price of just 99p for a limited time only. Grab it while you can!

Radio Times Magazine – on iTunes

Images © Radio Times

It also has some nice portrait shots, showing off a lot of details on Peter’s costume (see below).

Images © Radio Times

Image © Radio Times

Finally there is one more bonus gallery of images showing Peter reading the famous 1973 Radio Times Anniversary Special, which he personally praised in a letter to the Radio Times that year. His letter is reprinted to prove it!

Tagged onto the end of this gallery is the ENTIRE 1973 special - the first time I can recall it being officially available digitally.

This makes the introductory offer of 99p for the issue incredible valve for money!!!!

Images © Radio Times

BBC promo pictures - Deep Breath

With a week to go until the broadcast of Deep Breath, The BBC have issued some official publicity stills to promote the episode.

As with the generic Series 8 promo pics a few weeks ago, The Doctor is seen wearing his Crombie-style coat, Budd shirt, Paul Smith trousers and the black melton 5-button waistcoat.

This actually contradicts what he wears in the episode.

The brief scenes towards the end of Deep Breath (which were shot the same week the first publicity shot of Peter in costume was issued) use the John Smedley cardigan.

The Capaldi look - a Doctor in civvies!

Series eight of Doctor Who official wrapped this week and the very next day the Doctor Who World Tour kicked off.

I was lucky enough to be at the first leg in Cardiff, and saw WORLD premiere of Deep Breath.

The next stop was the later the same day in London at one of my favourite film venues, the BFI.

The BBC issued some nice portrait shots of Peter Capaldi and Jenna Colman, taken just before the screening.

Peter is sporting a rather natty shirt with a star constellation design.
It reminded me very much of the many fabric designs available through Spoonflower!

I wondered where it came from and did a bit of research.

It didn’t take me long to track it down to - of all places - Paul Smith!

Paul smith seems to be the choice of the recent Doctors, with David Tennant’s tuxedo from Voyage Of The Damned; Matt Smith’s Burgundy and Blue Scroll shirts in series Five; and now it’s the favourite of the latest Doctor, Peter Capaldi.

You may remember that in October last year I reported that Peter had visited Paul Smith’s workshop for a cup of tea with the man himself, so seeing him wear a shirt outside of the show isn’t entirely surprising.



Great choice for a Time Lord though!

The shirts are available to buy online and are in stock in all sizes (while I write).

Paul Smith Men’s Shirts
Navy Cosmos Print Shirt