Men's Tuxedo (Dinner Jacket)

Two-Button Tuxedo Jacket with Shawl Collar, Flap Pockets with Welts & Center Back Vent

A men's single-breasted dinner jacket with a shawl collar cut in one with the fronts, a two-button front, a chest welt pocket and flapped hip pockets. Centre back vent, vented two-piece sleeves and a full lining.

When To Wear

• With tuxedo trousers, a dress shirt and a bow tie for evening events and black-tie occasions.
• With dark trousers for weddings, receptions and concerts.

Key Design Features

Silhouette: Shaped by front darts and side panels between front and back; padded shoulders.

Length: Hip length, with rounded front edges at the hem.

Collar: Shawl collar cut in one with the fronts, joined at the centre back; the facings form the upper side of the collar and are joined at the centre back in the same way.

Sleeves: Two-piece set-in sleeves with eased caps and sleeve heads; vents with mitred corners, hem and vent allowances catch-stitched by hand.

Front: Single-breasted, two buttons, buttonholes on the left front; separate front facings.

Pockets: Single-welt chest pocket on the left front; hip pockets with a flap and a 1 cm welt below it on both fronts.

Back: Centre back seam with a vent lapped to the left.

Finishing: Fusible interfacing on the fronts, facings, flaps, half the chest welt and the hem allowances; darts slashed and pressed open; facings tacked at the shoulder seams; shoulder pads.

Lining: Full lining with a 2 cm ease pleat at the centre back, 2 cm shorter than the jacket, sewn around the vents; the jacket is turned through an opening in a sleeve lining seam.

Level Of Difficulty

Advanced. A cut-on shawl collar with a centre back seam, a flapped welt pocket and a chest welt pocket, a lined back vent, mitred sleeve vents and a bagged lining.

Fabric Recommendations

Wool suiting with a smooth surface, such as barathea or fine worsted, in black or midnight blue. The facings, which form the visible side of the shawl collar, can be cut from silk satin.

Additional Supplies

• Lining fabric
• Fusible interfacing
• 2 buttons
• Sleeve heads
• Shoulder pads

Cutter’s Must

From Main Fabric:

1. Front (with integrated shawl collar) – 2 pieces
2. Back – 2 pieces
3. Side – 2 pieces
4. Upper Sleeve – 2 pieces
5. Lower Sleeve – 2 pieces
6. Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
7. Flap – 2 pieces
8. Pocket Facing - 2 pieces
9. Chest Pocket Welt (marked on pattern as “Off-Set Welt”) – 1 piece
10. Pocket Underlay – rectangle 14 × 6 cm – 1 piece (chest pocket; trim to the width of the pocket bag)

From Lining Fabric:

For drafting the lining patterns, use the following patterns with the following modifications:

1. Back lining: use Back pattern adding a 2 cm ease pleat at center back and excluding vent extensions, cut 2.
2. Front lining: use Front pattern excluding center front facing area, cut 2.
3. Side lining: use Side pattern without changes, cut 2.
4. Upper Sleeve - use Upper Sleeve pattern excluding vent extension, cut 2.
5. Lower Sleeve - use Lower Sleeve pattern excluding vent extension, cut 2.
6. Flap - use Flap pattern, cut 2.
7. Lower Pocket Bag - use Lower Pocket Bag pattern, cut 4.
8. Upper Pocket Bag - use Upper Pocket Bag pattern, cut 2.
9. Shorten the lining length by 2 cm at the hem.

From Fusible Interfacing:

For drafting fusible interfacing patterns, use the following patterns:

1. Front – cut 2.
2. Center Front Facing – cut 2.
3. Flap – cut 2.
4. Hem allowances of Fronts, Back, and Sleeves (copy their length and width and cut according to it).

Important Information

Before cutting your fabric:

• Print and lay out pattern pieces to determine yardage.
• Check mirrored pieces, notches, and grainlines.
• For patterned fabrics, align carefully for symmetry.

Assembly Instructions

Preparation

1. Fuse Interfacing

From the wrong side, apply fusible interfacing to the Fronts, Center Front Facings, half the height of the Chest Welt, and the hem and sleeve hems.

2. Mark all notches, dart points, and vent lines clearly.

Chest Pocket

3. Slash the lower pocket opening, stitch and press open the dart; baste the pocket opening.

4. Single-Welt Breast Pocket (Left Front)

• Fold the Chest Welt lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch the short ends. Turn right side out and press.
• Pin the welt face down along the placement line on the left Front.
• Place the pocket underlay wrong side down on the right side of one lining pocket bag, aligning the upper raw edges; turn under its lower edge and edgestitch; baste the remaining edges.
• Place one lining pocket bag on top of the welt; pin the second lining pocket bag (with the pocket underlay) face up on top and stitch 5 mm on each side of the marking.
• Cut the opening along the center between the stitch lines, clipping diagonally into the corners.
• Turn pocket bags to the inside. Serge-stitch the free edge of the welt to the pocket bag.
• Align pocket bags and stitch around the perimeter.
• From the right side, secure the welt ends to the coat with small diagonal tack stitches.

Hip Pockets

5. Pocket Flaps

• Stitch each flap to its lining, turn right side out, and press.

6. Welt Hip Pocket with Flap

• Press the pocket facing lengthwise, wrong sides together.
• Pin pocket facing to the Front along the placement line, facing downward.
• Pin Flap to the Front along the placement line, facing upward.
• Place one lining pocket bag on the pocket facing; place the second lining pocket bag on the Flap.
• Stitch 5 mm on each side of the markings.
• Cut the pocket opening through the center between stitching lines, clipping diagonally into the corners.
• Turn pocket bags to the inside and fold pocket facing to form 1 cm frame.
• Serge-stitch the free edges of the pocket facing and flap to the pocket bags.
• Align pocket bags and stitch around the perimeter.
• From the wrong side, stitch the ends of the pocket facing and flap to the triangular seam allowances.

7. Repeat the process for the right-side pocket.

Back Vent

8. Join center back seam to the top of the vent.

9. Turn the left vent facing to the right side along the hem allowance; stitch along the hem foldline and turn right side out.

10. Turn the hem allowance of the right back to the right side along the vent facing edge; stitch and turn.

11. Lay the vent to the left side and secure at the upper edge with a diagonal reinforcement stitch.

Main Body Assembly

12. Join sides to fronts; press allowances open.

13. Join back side seams; press allowances open.

14. Stitch shoulder seams.

Shawl Collar & Front Edges

15. Join center back shawl collar seams of fronts and center front facings.

16. Attach back neckline of front shawl collar to back neckline.

16. With right sides together, join Center Front Facings to jacket fronts along lapel and collar edges.

17. Clip curves, grade seams, and understitch where possible (especially along front edges).

18. Turn center front facings to inside, push edges out neatly, and press along the roll line to form the shawl collar curve.

Sleeves

19. Two-Piece Sleeve with Vent

• Stitch Upper and Lower sleeve together to the vent notch, easing the upper sleeve as required; press allowances open.
• Turn sleeve right side out.
• Turn the vent seam allowances and sleeve hem to the right side, stitch the vent corner diagonally, trim excess within 1 cm of the seam, and press allowances open.
• Turn hem and vent allowances to the inside, hand-stitch with a cross-stitch, and form the vent overlap.

20. Sleeve Cap

• Ease-stitch between sleeve cap notches and pull threads to fit the armhole. Steam-shrink the fullness at the cap.
• Join the sleeve seam and press open.
• Set sleeves into the armholes, stitching from the sleeve side.

21. Hand-stitch sleeve-head wadding along the sleeve caps.

22. Sew in shoulder pads.

Lining

23. Assemble lining body in the same sequence as outer jacket: join center back, sides, and shoulders.

24. Stitch sleeves lining, leaving a small opening at one sleeve seam for turning. Set lining sleeves in.

25. Attach lining fronts to front facings and back lining to back neckline of shawl collar.

26. Attach lining to hem, sleeve hems, and vents.

27. Turn jacket right side out through the sleeve opening.

28. Close lining opening with machine or hand slipstitch.

Finishing

29. Work two front buttonholes on the left front; sew two buttons on the right front.

30. Tack facings at shoulder seams and under pocket ends to prevent rolling.

31. Final press: shape the shawl collar on a tailor’s ham with steam and a pressing cloth; allow to cool before handling.