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by Lea Blackerby
My husband and I attend several Renaissance Faires, Highland Games, and Celtic festivals every year, so the idea came into my head to create a garment that bridged the gap between costume and a more everyday wearable style. Though I do love dressing up in historical garb, I have not wanted to make the significant investment in time and materials for a costume I can use only for these occasions.
Jackets of varying styles offer the most options to find the look I wanted: a piece that is great for festivals and Faires and can be used as an everyday-wear item. Several Folkwear patterns came to mind when thinking about this "Time Twisting" of clothes - historic clothes made and worn in modern ways (but still giving a nod to the history) with interesting fabrics and combinations.
Jackets can be altered in simple ways - changing the cuff depth, collar width/length, etc., plus using fabric variations. Folkwear’s 508 Travelling Suit jacket pattern was the perfect choice for me – a tailored style that hints at a historical garment. And, the 263 Countryside Frock Coat appealed to me as well. Here’s how I approached these projects.
Fabric Selection
Fabric, of course, is the critical decision. To take on the historic flavor, I felt woven wool was the best choice. I dug into my fabric stash looking for a nice piece of wool, but nothing was quite enough. Then I found a remnant of a stretch suede that coordinated well with a woven wool I had. The big plus for the stretch suede is that it allows a certain bit of extra “give” in the wearing, especially across the back and shoulders. I’ve used this concept to make use of the larger remnants hiding at the bottom of my fabric stash for all three of my Traveling Suit jackets I’ve made so far. You may have to purchase the coordinating fabric (like the purple suede on jacket #3), but the quantity needed is small. I will go through my modifications and tips for using stretch fabric for this pattern below.
Some Tips, Hacks, and Modifications
Making the same pattern multiple times allows small changes to be done confidently.
Just to be sure I like the fabric combinations I am planning, I often enlarge the sketch of the garment on the flat lay in the pattern and use color pencils to help me visualize the colors, fabric placements, and other details.
The use of a fabric with stretch in the side panels and undersleeve requires changes to the lining. To accommodate the stretch in the side panels and under sleeves, I add a small movement pleat in the center back of the lining and cut the undersleeve lining just a bit larger (+1/4” or so). Or, better yet, use a lining with crosswise stretch. The use of a stretch woven lining fabric adds to wearing comfort and ease of movement, especially through the shoulders and arms.
The version I made below uses a wool tweed with stretchy faux leather as contrast. One additional detail I added is a center back belt, a small design inspiration.
A friend of mine requested a purple and blue version of this same coat, which I made using a beautiful woven striped wool and a non-stretch woven faux suede accent. To achieve some “give” that I like, I cut the side panels and under sleeves on the bias, then bonded them to a stretch fusible interfacing cut on the straight grain. The stretch fusible adds the “recovery” to the stretch of a bias-cut fabric.
Below are a few photos of this version (#3)!
Another essential change I made to the Travelling Suit jacket was the addition of pockets to the inside front. We all need pockets! They hang below the waist seam just a few inches from center front. This third (purple) version also has an added snap tab to keep the pocket closed and prevent any sag when loaded. I’d also suggest adding an additional piece of fusible interfacing to the pocket fabric and across the opening.
The two versions above were also made with a full button front (rather than a top and bottom button on the original). This change also creates a focal point on the buttons, making a great place to use beautiful buttons. The side back, sleeve, and collar buttons are style-making details, so this is a place for your best buttons! I used solid cast pewter buttons from Three Feathers Pewter, which makes pewter buttons for historic reenactment (and modern wear). I like their buttons.
Another Project, Same Principles
I used the same fabric combo principles with the 263 Countryside Frock Coat. Again, I had a short piece of wool, the plaid, which was left over from making Folkwear’s 152 Scottish Kilt for men. Next began a lengthy search for the coordinating solid. Before we start a project, don’t we all have a certain mental image of what the end result should look like? The yellow I ended up using was not the color I had imagined I would find! But I liked it. Again, using an enlarged sketch from the pattern and coloring as I see it, helps in visualization.
The bright contrast is highlighted by turning the hem, front and sleeve facings to the outside rather than the inside.
To bring out the beautiful princess seaming on the back panel, I used a scrap of faux leather that I had in the remnants box to make the piping. I also used this faux leather for the upper collar to avoid the scratchiness of the wool against the neck.
Using heavier-weight wool necessitated a lining. Since the Frock Coat pattern does not include a lining, this was another pattern hack. A few adjustments to the outer pattern pieces will easily allow you to draft the lining pieces, such as accommodating for facings and adding a center back pleat for movement. I suggest you use a pattern tracing paper (S101 Pattern Tracing Fabric, available through Folkwear) to create the lining pieces from the pattern pieces, if you choose to line your coat.
The embroidery on the back and buttonholes on this jacket were done on my machine with a pattern downloaded from Urban Threads.
In my opinion, the 231 Big Sky Riding Skirt is another Folkwear pattern that can also fit my theme of “Time Twisted Clothing”. The Folkwear site is full of patterns that are “Time Twistable”.
I encourage you to dig through your remnant stash and find fabrics that work together. From this start, you can create something truly different from your leftover fabric pieces. I hope that this post inspires you to try more Folkwear patterns and to give the fabrics in your stash a new life!
Kimmer
September 05, 2025
Absolutely lovely interpretations of these timeless jackets!!! Your attention to detail inspires me! I especially love the embroidery around the buttonholes on the frock coat.
Keep on Sewing, Sista!