Making of "Project Wo" 1870s brown duck pants (6)

Before we sewed the final version of our reproduction of the brown duck Wo patent pants owned by Ricci (denim_seeker on IG), we first made two prototypes in denim.
The first prototype on the left was made using my regular pattern to study the details and sewing methods. The second prototype in the middle was then made with improved details using the pattern created for this project. The brown duck pair on the right is the final version with some further refinements and some tweaks to the pattern.

#cheangquanwo #1870s #wopatent #brownduck #denim #prototype #denimseeker #eurekajeans #eureka #handcraftedjeans #justahobby #notforsale

Making of "Project Wo" 1870s brown duck pants (5)

As the left front pocket is intact on the Wo patent pants owned by Ricci (denim_seeker on IG), we were able to reconstruct the sewing of the front pocket and pocket bag quite easily.
As the right front pocket on Ricci's piece is missing, however, we weren't sure whether or not the pants originally had a watch pocket. Ricci consulted Mike Harris @denimbrotherhood who advised that early Wo patent pants usually didn't have watch pockets, and so we decided to make these without.
Another problem was what fabric to use for the pocket bags. After trying a few cotton fabrics and four different kinds of linen, we decided on a 100% linen fabric that looks and feels very similar to the original.
As everything on these pants, the construction is extremely simple. For example, there is no topstitching on the bottom seam of the pocket bag, and just a single line of stitches at the entrance of the pocket.

#cheangquanwo #1870s #wopatent #brownduck #linen #pocketbag #denimseeker #eurekajeans #eureka #handcraftedjeans #justahobby #notforsale

Making of "Project Wo" 1870s brown duck pants (4)

A unique feature on some pants of this era is the "crotch gusset." In this collaboration with Ricci @denim_seeker to reproduce the original piece owned by him, it took us some time to figure out how this gusset was constructed, as only part of it was intact on the original piece. In the end I think we managed to reproduce this quite faithfully to the original.

#cheangquanwo #1870s #wopatent #brownduck #crotchgusset #denimseeker #eurekajeans #eureka #handcraftedjeans #justahobby #notforsale

Making of "Project Wo" 1870s brown duck pants (3)

The construction of the cinch is interesting in that the strap holding the buckle is fully attached to the pants, all the way up to the buckle. The construction of the adjuster strap is quite common. The cinch on the original piece owned by Ricci (denim_seeker on IG) is fully intact, so we were able to reproduce this quite accurately.
The buckle is a new-old-stock vintage steel buckle, quite similar to the one on Ricci's original piece.

#cheangquanwo #1870s #wopatent #brownduck #cinch #buckleback #denimseeker #eurekajeans #eureka #handcraftedjeans #justahobby #notforsale

Making of "Project Wo" 1870s brown duck pants (2)

The distinguishing feature on these pants is the pocket reinforcement with triangular leather patches, which Wo had patented.
Ricci @denim_seeker meticulously studied the original piece he owns to figure out the exact manner in which the patches were sewn on, and determined that they were done in a single operation with the pocket itself.
As the pocket itself was missing on Ricci's original piece, we studied photos of other surviving Wo pants, of which there are very few, and made an educated guess that the fabric selvedge in all likelihood was used on the inside of the pocket entrance, thus showing the duck's "blue line" on the outside.

#cheangquanwo #1870s #wopatent #brownduck #denimseeker #eurekajeans #eureka #handcraftedjeans #justahobby #notforsale