S.E.H Kelly

[sehkelly]

Not quite the same, no.

We've gone for a tweed that is a similar weave to the one from last year (which while made with Donegal yarn was woven in Northern Ireland at https://www.sehkelly.com/weaving-studio-mourne-mountains-ireland/, so wouldn't call itself Donegal tweed) -- but less heavily textured.

What you lose in texture you gain in flow and drape.

So the balmacaan this year will be slightly more smart, I guess -- but still with texture "out the wazoo".

There's this navy one, and a get one (which is a bit lighter),

It'll have the grown-on collar latch of the most recent cotton version (https://www.sehkelly.com/balmacaan-in-cotton-no-wax-in-rye-brown/).

Let me know if you'd like a nod when they're ready.

 

[10dence]

What's the best way to see a comparison between the new fabrics you are using?

 

[sehkelly]

What's the best way to see a comparison between the new fabrics you are using?

The most significant difference between the tweed for the balmacaan this year and last is how it feels. It was extraordinarily textured last year, with a distinctly raised surface, because a) there was some cotton mixed into the weave, and b) the woollen yarn had been twisted by hand prior to weaving to be extra bobbly.

You could see this but it didn't jump out at first glance because the colours were very subtle and dark, but it was staggeringly apparent to the touch.

This year, it is the same style of plain box-weave cloth, and the yarn is from the same spinner -- but there is no cotton woven into the cloth, and the cloth is pressed flatter on completion, so it is smoother and more sleek (relatively speaking, this is: it is still a beautifully textured material, just not as raised rug-like as last year). It isn't as dense, either, and so all in all has more flow to it.

I have some additional photographs of the new tweed, which I'll try to share shortly.

Paul

 

[10dence]

Looking forward to it. Some hard choices will have to be made soon..

 

[sehkelly]

Looking forward to it. Some hard choices will have to be made soon..

Here we go -- the cloth we're using this year for the balmacaan in grey.

It is more orderly than the one from last year, in terms of texture, but still with the same neps and burrs scattered throughout.

 

[sehkelly]

I appreciate this is at the more esoteric end of the spectrum, but one of the (uncharacteristically several) developments we've been working on recently that has me most excited is the engineer jacket.

I'm not fully clued up on the etymology and provenance of such jackets, but I know there is overlap with other workwear styles, especially rail-worker attire, and after a good chunk of research, there is enough difference and opportunity for unique points to keep it quite separate from our work jacket.

Why it has me excited is it our best evocation yet of the type of unusual simplicity that I'm trying to invest into each of our developments. It has a grown-on sleeve ("Magyar" to its friends) which is nigh-impossible to explain cogently, but which gives a vertical seam front and back on the body of the jacket. Across these seams we're running a deep, seam-to-seam pocket, rather like that of our work jacket or cardigan. And then bisecting this pocket, running up to a front yoke, will be a ticket po -- ... it just sounds ludicrous in type. Makes no clear sense. It is complicated. But simple -- that's the thing. The jacket will have five pockets at front, but all of them will be built in a way into body-critical seams, such that the jacket will have many fewer seams than a classic / vintage engineer jacket. It will also look "normal", at least from the front: all this unusual construction will be disguised, until one investigates further.

Another thing that has me happy is that this type of grown-on sleeve usually results in sloppy shape and sleeve-pitch. Or it can do. But the early prototype we have here pitches just as well and just as smartly as a classic set-in sleeve.

It's about six months off from seeing light of day, the engineer jacket.

This is the most exciting time, anyway, when it is all energy and potential.

 

[RozenKristal]

Here we go -- the cloth we're using this year for the balmacaan in grey.

View attachment 1228507 View attachment 1228508

It is more orderly than the one from last year, in terms of texture, but still with the same neps and burrs scattered throughout.

Can I alter the sleeves O,O hopefully? And it is grey + navy right?

 

[sehkelly]

Can I alter the sleeves O,O hopefully? And it is grey + navy right?

Correct on both accounts.

If you mean to shorten the sleeve, that is very easy. And if you mean to taper -- well, not so straightforward, but it is a two-piece sleeve so a good tailor would have lots of ways to taper cleanly.

There are two colours: one is navy (which grey mixed in) and one is grey.

 

[Dsulam46]

When are we going to be seeing winter knitwear roll out.
I'm watching closely for the rollnecks

 

[sehkelly]

When are we going to be seeing winter knitwear roll out.
I'm watching closely for the rollnecks

It ought to be finished within the next two weeks.

There's the gansey -- which is like a rollneck -- plus the good old heavy crewneck, the v-neck, the cardigan, and the polo shirt (long-sleeve).

That's our widest range by some measure. On this trend, we will have reached double-figure knitwear styles by 2032.

Some are in the usual geelong lambswool, and some in a cashmere-cotton blend. And tuck-stitch all the way, as we wouldn't have it any other ... way.

We've also redeveloped the watch cap and scarf (both still simple, but with one or two new ideas).

And, in a shock move, we have developed a balaclava. This has had me in various spurts of childlike glee on and off all year, and I hope to find a handful of likeminded potential balaclava-sporters in the autumn.

If any of the above might float anyone else's boat, please let me know, as we never make huge quantities of anything.

 

[NO MERCY]

Are we talking traditional wide-necked, drop-shouldered ganseys?
Count me in as very interested.

 

[Thomas_M]

It ought to be finished within the next two weeks.

There's the gansey -- which is like a rollneck -- plus the good old heavy crewneck, the v-neck, the cardigan, and the polo shirt (long-sleeve).

That's our widest range by some measure. On this trend, we will have reached double-figure knitwear styles by 2032.

Some are in the usual geelong lambswool, and some in a cashmere-cotton blend. And tuck-stitch all the way, as we wouldn't have it any other ... way.

We've also redeveloped the watch cap and scarf (both still simple, but with one or two new ideas).

And, in a shock move, we have developed a balaclava. This has had me in various spurts of childlike glee on and off all year, and I hope to find a handful of likeminded potential balaclava-sporters in the autumn.

If any of the above might float anyone else's boat, please let me know, as we never make huge quantities of anything.

I am very interested in the heavy crewneck, I missed it last year. What colour will you produce this time?
I might also be tempted by the gansey.
Nice move with the Balaclava. I might even be sad to already own one.

Cheers.

 

[sehkelly]

Are we talking traditional wide-necked, drop-shouldered ganseys?
Count me in as very interested.

It will have the dropped shoulder and the proportions of a gansey — being quite short in the body and sleeve relative to a "normal" sweater. But none of the ornamentation, such as the cable-knitting or mix of different decorative stitches.

It will look like one of our knitted articles, mixing tuck-stitch and plain-stitch in playful but straightforward ways. And geelong lambswool, too, as usual for our knitwear, so quite a different look and feel to a traditional gansey.

A gansey at root, then, but branching out in other ways.

 

[sehkelly]

I am very interested in the heavy crewneck, I missed it last year. What colour will you produce this time?
I might also be tempted by the gansey.
Nice move with the Balaclava. I might even be sad to already own one.

Cheers.

The crewneck will return in a blue that will be very similar to the "admiral blue" of last year — though slightly different, as we've switched to a new yarn supplier.

A mid-grey one, too.

And yes — I have recently rediscovered the balaclava after a perhaps 30-year hiatus. It will either be the second coming or an unmitigated disaster, but at least with our knitwear maker I am in safe hands.

 

[sehkelly]

We've had a few people enquiring about the duffle coat in the past few days.

It is coming -- but on account of my arm-break we are running a little behind schedule.

The duffle coat will be a little different this year. We redeveloped some aspects of it earlier in the year, which is the first time we've done so since it was introduced in 2013.

The patch pockets will now have a side entry, which to my mind makes them more than twice as useful. This came about by suggestion from a customer at the workshop, and about which I was initially sceptical as it breaks with duffle coat tradition, and potentially adds bulk to the front (the duffle cloth being unusually thick). Fortunately both matters were overcome in fairly short order, and the most recent prototype has been a pleasure to test-drive.

We've also played around with the hood. We removed the peak, and built in more structure around the hood and collar, so it stands up straighter. This follows on from the work we did on the hood of the parka minor last year (which is quite similar in some ways).

Eagle eyes will also see that we've pulled the over-shoulder yoke back away from the shoulder, about an inch, to better show-off the half-inset, half-raglan one-piece sleeve, which is still among the most simple but counterintuitive sleeves we have.

(Not representative of final version. And not the final cloth.)

The most exciting part of the upcoming duffle, to my mind, is the cloth. We have had developed a new version of the cloth which has a bold hopsack weave (previously it was a twill). This gives more texture, and is generally in keeping with the plain-weaves and hopsacks we use for most other things these days. The mill has done a sterling job and it looks great. It is very heavy, at about 35oz, but has surprisingly good drape and flow, and being worsted-spun has a very nice gloss, quite apart from a typical melton.

Oh, and the toggles -- "same old", I am overjoyed to report. Solid, hand-turned horn all the way.

Paul