Jim: Everyday Jerkin/Doublet Part 2

Following on from this part, I am now at the stage of adding the arms (and altering that annoying doublet tab which hangs slightly too low).

I wanted to have very slim fitting lower arms, with a slightly puffier look at the top. To achieve this I sewed together strips of sleeve material, and a 'feature' material to fill the gaps. I'm using the back of this, as it's a slightly creamy fabric, with white fleur de lys.










I French seamed them and then sewed the seams onto the main sleeve strips, to keep it flat inside, but also to enhance the look of the 'feature' fabric being behind the sleeve fabric. At the top I created a facing and sewed it in place, along with the other half of the ribbon ties to attach it to the doublet.

I then needed a lower arm piece, which I decided to make out of one piece of material. As it needed to be quite tight fitting I started with a shape that was 12" circumference and tapered down to the wrist at 10". I added ribbon decoration here to tie it in with the main doublet body.



Because the upper arm tube wouldn't naturally fit in the lower arm tube, I pleated the 'feature' fabric so it was behind the sleeve fabric until it was the right circumference. This went between the two folded layers of the lower arm and was sewn inside to keep everything neat.
















Altering the doublet tab was quick and easy, and only involved unpicking half the waist to get right. I'm much happier with the levels now though. I also added the leftover ribbon to the back to create a pulled in pleat in order to fit it more tightly to Jim's body, as the waistcoat was originally quite loose.



And there we have it. One finished doublet, modded from a waistcoat. Minimal amount of money spent, but quite a lot of time. Jim's currently wearing it with one of my blouses (see through for extra League sexiness), plus some plain black work trousers and knee high boots.