Here are some photographs of the coat worn by a chap dug up in the C20th at Gunnister in Shetland. He had probably been there since the late C17th, but his clothes were very worn and mended and are consistent with the middle and even early-middle of the C17th.
I've added a page of sketches - top ones made at the museum, lower three are my ideas of how it was constructed, based on what I could see and very much NOT to scale!
DAMN! It also persists in being upside-down. Curses. Okay, either stand on your head to read, or do something clever like right-click to save image and then rotate it... I did that but it seems only to want to upload the original which is upside-down...
These pictures show the jacket's skirts, after a discussion about where the triangular gores referred to in the Technical Report are inserted.
After much peering up his skirts and lying on the floor of the museum causing much bemusement to Japanese tour parties at whom I just smiled and waved, my conclusion is that the inserts are just BEHIND the side, and not where one might expect them in the front off-centre.
I could see all the seams clearly, including the joining seams making "pieced" pattern-pieces (ie one sleeve made from 2 bits, t'other made from 3), and the front of the left-hand side of the coat-skirt is closest to the viewer and I couldn't see any sign of stitching, joining or anything indicating an insert. There is a heavy fold but I think this is just the effect of the front leading-edge being flared in cutting.
It is hard to see behind his arm and I don't think it shows in the pics but as far as I could see, the area just behind his elbow has what looks like a box-pleat, possibly with a covered button at the top of it, and at the bottom of this was definitely some overcasting stitching. I will try and do a sketch later.
So it looks like the inserts are just behind the elbow, kind of left-left-back. If the breastbone is North then it would be West-south-west!
