Double-Breasted Tailcoat with Notched Lapels
A men's double-breasted tailcoat with a waist seam: the front is cut straight across at the waist and the skirt runs into long tails at the sides and back. Six front buttons, a chest welt pocket, a buttoned back band and a full bagged lining.
When To Wear
- For historical and Regency costume, theatre and dance performances.
- For weddings and formal evening events, over a waistcoat and a shirt with a high collar.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted body with a dart in each front, side panels and curved back side panels; a seam at the natural waist all round.
Length: Front ends at the waist; the tails reach about knee level.
Collar: Lapels with a narrow notch below the collar ends. The collar and collar stand are cut separately.
Sleeves: Two-piece set-in sleeves, cap eased into the armhole.
Front: Double-breasted, six buttons in three pairs, buttonholes on the left front, an inside button holding the underlap; separate front facings.
Pockets: Single-welt chest pocket on the left front.
Back: Centre back seam and curved back side panels in the bodice. The back skirt panels each have a folded pleat, and the centre back seam is stitched down to the pleat marking. A back band with a button at each end sits across the back on the waist seam.
Finishing: Fusible interfacing on the front tops, facings, upper collar, collar stand, back band and pocket welt.
Lining: Full lining cut as the outer pieces, including the tails and sleeves, with the same pleat in the back skirt; bagged and turned through an opening in a side panel seam.
Level Of Difficulty
Advanced. A waist seam joining bodice and tails, a collar with a separate stand, a welt pocket, pleated back skirt panels, two-piece set-in sleeves and a bagged lining that follows the cutaway front edges.
Fabric Recommendations
Wool suiting, worsted, barathea or a light coating for the tailcoat; lining fabric for the inside.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric
- Fusible interfacing
- 6 front buttons, 1 inside button
- 2 buttons for the back band
- Sleeve heads and shoulder pads (optional)
Cutter’s Must
From Main Fabric:
- Front Top – 2 pieces
- Front Bottom Panel – 2 pieces
- Side Panel – 2 pieces
- Back Top Panel – 2 pieces
- Back Side Panel – 2 pieces
- Back Bottom Panel – 2 pieces
- Back Band – 2 pieces
- Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Collar – 2 pieces
- Collar Stand – 2 pieces
- Front Sleeve Panel – 2 pieces
- Back Sleeve Panel – 2 pieces
- Chest Pocket Welt – 1 piece
- Under Chest Pocket Bag – 1 piece
From Lining Fabric:
- Front Top Lining – 2 pieces
- Front Bottom Panel Lining – 2 pieces
- Side Panel Lining – 2 pieces
- Back Top Panel Lining – 2 pieces
- Back Side Panel Lining – 2 pieces
- Back Bottom Panel Lining – 2 pieces
- Front Sleeve Panel Lining – 2 pieces
- Back Sleeve Panel Lining – 2 pieces
- Top Chest Pocket bag – 1 piece
From Fusible Interfacing (use the corresponding main pattern pieces):
- Front Top – 2 pieces
- Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Collar – 1 piece (upper collar)
- Collar Stand – 1 piece
- Back Band – 1 piece
- Chest Pocket Welt – 1 piece
Important Information
Before cutting your fabric:
- Print and lay out pattern pieces to determine yardage.
- Check mirrored pieces, notches, drill holes and grainlines.
- For striped or patterned fabrics, match carefully across the waist seam and along the tails.
Seam allowances of 1 cm (3/8") are included on all edges, including hems. Press every seam as you sew.
Assembly Instructions
1. Preparation – Fuse Interfacing
From the wrong side, apply fusible interfacing to the Front Tops, Front Facings, upper Collar, Collar Stand, Back Band and Chest Pocket Welt. Press with a hot iron and press cloth until fully bonded. Transfer all markings: dart, pocket position, button positions, pleat lines and the lapel roll line.
2. Front Top – Dart
Stitch the dart on each Front Top as marked, tapering to nothing at the point. Cut the dart open where wide enough and press open; press narrow ends flat.
3. Welt Chest Pocket (left front)
- Fold the Chest Pocket Welt right sides together along its fold line, stitch the ends, trim, turn and press.
- Place the welt on the right side of the left Front Top along the pocket marking, raw edges towards the lower line; stitch along the marking.
- Place the Under Chest Pocket Bag (main fabric) on the welt seam and the Top Chest Pocket Bag (lining) on the upper marking line, right sides down; stitch both lines, keeping the upper line 2–3 mm shorter at each end.
- Cut between the lines and diagonally into the corners. Turn the bags to the inside, press the welt upwards and slipstitch or edgestitch its ends to the front.
- Stitch the two pocket bags together around the edges and overlock.
4. Back
- Join the two Back Top Panels at centre back. Press open.
- On each Back Bottom Panel, fold the pleat along the marked lines, bringing the fold line to the placement line; press and baste across the top at the waist edge.
- Join the Back Bottom Panels at centre back down to the pleat marking. Press.
- Stitch the Back Bottom Panels to the Back Top Panels at the waist seam, matching the centre back seams and notches. Press the allowances upwards.
- Stitch the Back Side Panels to the back, matching notches. Press open.
5. Front
- Stitch each Front Bottom Panel to the lower edge of the Front Top at the waist seam, matching notches. Press the allowances upwards.
- Stitch the Side Panels to the fronts. Press open.
- Join the front and back at the side seams (Side Panel to Back Side Panel). Press open.
- Stitch the shoulder seams, easing the back shoulder into the front. Press open.
6. Back Band
- Place the two Back Band pieces right sides together; stitch around, leaving a short opening on the long edge. Trim, turn, press and topstitch.
- Position the band across the back at the waist seam by the markings. Make buttonholes at each end (or secure the ends in place) and attach with the two back buttons.
7. Collar
- Join the Collar and Collar Stand: stitch the upper Collar to the upper Collar Stand and the under Collar to the under Collar Stand, matching centre backs. Press open and topstitch close to the seam if desired.
- Stitch the under collar unit to the neckline of the jacket, from the collar notch to centre back to the other notch. Clip the neckline curve and press open.
8. Facings and Lining
- Stitch the Front Facings to the Front Top Linings and Front Bottom Panel Linings; join all lining pieces in the same order as the outer jacket (back, side panels, side and shoulder seams, waist seams). In the Back Bottom Panel Linings form the pleat as on the main fabric.
- Stitch the upper collar unit to the neckline of the facing and lining, from notch to notch.
- Place the lining with facings on the jacket, right sides together. Stitch the collar edges, then from the collar notch down the lapels, along the front edges and along the cutaway edges of the Front Bottom Panels to the hem, matching the gorge seams exactly at the notches.
- Trim, clip the corners and turn right side out. Press the lapels so that the seam rolls to the underside below the top button and to the inside above it.
9. Sleeves
- Join the Front Sleeve Panel and Back Sleeve Panel along both seams. Press open.
- Run two rows of ease stitching over the sleeve head between the notches, draw up to fit the armhole and set the sleeve, matching notches and the shoulder point. Insert sleeve heads and shoulder pads if used.
- Make the sleeve linings in the same way. Stitch each sleeve lining to its sleeve along the hem, right sides together, 1 cm from the edge; the lining is attached to the body lining around the armhole in step 10.
10. Hems and Lining (bagged)
- Stitch the lining to the jacket along the lower edges of the tails and side panels, right sides together, 1 cm from the edge, leaving an opening of about 20 cm in one side panel lining seam.
- Turn the jacket through the opening. Press the lower edges so that the lining sits 2–3 mm inside the edge, and understitch or topstitch if desired.
- Pull the sleeve linings through and stitch them to the armholes of the body lining. Close the opening by hand or by machine.
11. Finishing
- Make the buttonholes on the left front (overlapping side) at the outer row of drill holes and sew the six front buttons at the drill holes. Add an inside button on the right front edge to hold the underlap.
- Sew on the back band buttons.
- Give the tailcoat a final press, shaping the lapels over a tailor’s ham.
