Action Pleat modification.

[Harrison_Davies]

I don't know if you are like me...but I absolutely hate the way my action pleat opens showing a lot more material than i reckon it should...so i figured the only reason was because it needed an extra stiffener on the edge. The times I've asked soemone to poke the material back in....

I opened the left sleeve undoing the stiching and got some double sided sticky tape and ran this along the full length of the back panel, at the very edge where the back panel meets the internal action pleat material, (Inside of course) and fastened the inside pleat material to this. Now i have a 1.5 cm strengthening seam and no longer does the material poke out in an awful way.

If you didn't get this, then don't worry...here's a pic.





As you can see the internal material can not now extend beyond the stiffener, or wall of tape.

Also i hate the way the hand warmer pockets flare open, so I'm considering asking Peter on my next jacket to add some brown velcro to the inside of these...thoughts anyone?

Don't know why I posted this, but hey maybe somewhere someone hates it too.

[whiskyman]

I'm sure Indy did the same.

[Texas Raider]

Sheesh!

[Scandinavia Jones]

I don't know... anyone should feel free to do whatever mods they please on their jackets, but frankly, I couldn't be bothered with the pleats. When you move, they open, to accommodate for the movement. No biggie, and very screen-accurate, if that's a concern.
Someone quite into these jackets once said "they're action pleats - they're supposed to do that".

[agent5]

Looks like you got the same type of awkward opening on your action pleats like I did on a couple of my jackets. Kind of like wavy lips on the side.
On another note, when you take the tape off to replace it after it wears out, you'd better be VERY careful that you don't take the dye off with it. I'd have to say that tape, if left on there for long periods of time, may very well damage the dye. Just a thought.

[J_Weaver]

IAlso i hate the way the hand warmer pockets flare open, so I'm considering asking Peter on my next jacket to add some brown velcro to the inside of these...thoughts anyone?

I have no complaints with the action pleats on my jacket. However, I agree about the handwarmer pockets. If I every get another Wested I'm gonna ask for no handwarmer pockets. I velcroed the ones shut on my current jacket. I simply used the adhesive velcro you can get at Walmart. It works great! However, I don't recommend it if you use the pockets, as the velcro would eventually pull loose.

[Michaelson]

You know, in ALL the years and ALL the Indy jacket's I've owned, I NEVER think about those side pockets, as I have never used them myself, so it's been a non-issue for me. I had no idea they were such an problem for folks!

Regards! Michaelson

[Skippy]

Might be a Lamb thing I either don't notice with my Goat that the pockets are open, or they are OK. But then I try not to keep stuff in the main pockets so they lay flat anyway

That said, I do stuff things in the handwarmer pockets when I need to quickly free up my hands, like car keys.

Also, can any of the old experts state again with authority for us cheap seats at the back...

Did the original Raiders jacket even have handwarmer pockets?

[Michaelson]

Yes, they did, or at least we know for certain the stunt jackets did. That's what the Expedition was based on...a screen used, privately owned Raiders stunt jacket, and it did indeed have the side entry pockets, so we can probably make a safe assumption that the 'hero' jackets had them as well. Why change the pattern?

Regards! Michaelson

[J_Weaver]

Might be a Lamb thing I either don't notice with my Goat that the pockets are open, or they are OK. But then I try not to keep stuff in the main pockets so they lay flat anyway

That said, I do stuff things in the handwarmer pockets when I need to quickly free up my hands, like car keys.

Skippy, my jacket is a ToD goat. I think my problem is due to the extra length of the ToD jacket. I've never used my hand warmer pockets since day one. Its not a big deal, I just don't like them.

[zeus36]

You could put hidden press studs in the handwarmer pockets. I've had other leather jackets with those. You could even put the hidden studs in the action pleats!

[Kt Templar]

I like the handwarmers, they keep my hands warm, and I can keep my keys in them. Mine don't gape open.

Was looking at them the other day and realised a lot of time and effort goes into making them.

[Feraud]

Hmmm. I have not experienced these problems with my lambskin jacket. Then again, I do not look at my action pleat or hand warmer pockets.
Considering the distressing (natural or self applied) most of us want in our Indy jackets, I would not quibble over a 'too open' pocket flap or action pleat. I would just wear the jacket and not pay it much mind.
But that is just me.

[Michaelson]

Me too, Feraud....me too. Regards! Michaelson

[Baggers]

Me three.

I've had my authentic lamb since May, and have never had a concern over the way the action pleats or handwarmer pockets lay. My pleats gap open a bit. I figure they're supposed to, otherwise why have them? As for the handwarmers, if the original jackets had them, then Indy's pockets probably gapped a bit too. It's the nature of the beast.

I don't mean to criticise, but to me, all these "solutions" are for problems that don't really exist except in certain individuals' imaginations. It's going to hang differently on different people simply due to variations in body types. Don't over analyze the thing, folks, just enjoy it.

Cheers!

[J_Weaver]

I don't mean to criticise, but to me, all these "solutions" are for problems that don't really exist except in certain individuals' imaginations. It's going to hang differently on different people simply due to variations in body types. Don't over analyze the thing, folks, just enjoy it.

Cheers!

I didn't imagine that the handwarmer pockets on my Wested stayed open when I zipped my jacket. I bugged me, I fixed it and haven't given it another thought in months. I was just throwing my simple fix out there for someone who may have a similar problem.

Besides, if we can debate over the color of Indy's sock then surely we can discuss the pockets on our jackets.

[Baggers]

Besides, if we can debate over the color of Indy's sock then surely we can discuss the pockets on our jackets.

True. But I've got to admit that sometimes these discussions remind me of what it must have been like back in the Middle Ages when monks would get together and discuss how many angels could dance on the head of a pin!

Cheers!

[J_Weaver]

Yea, when the sock thing started, I realized that we had talked about, all there was to talk about.

[Bjones]

OMG did the sock discussion really happen?

Well, individual tastes are plentiful here, and it seems everyone has a picture of what the jacket is supposed to do and look like...if something really bothers you, go ahead and take action, but really, why not just enjoy the thing and avoid all the worry? Every jacket made is going to vary in some way or another when compared to any of its siblings, I call it character.

[Harrison_Davies]

Looks like you got the same type of awkward opening on your action pleats like I did on a couple of my jackets. Kind of like wavy lips on the side.
On another note, when you take the tape off to replace it after it wears out, you'd better be VERY careful that you don't take the dye off with it. I'd have to say that tape, if left on there for long periods of time, may very well damage the dye. Just a thought.

Hi,

I think you misunderstood, the tape is inside the jacket, there is no dye inside just plain leather and boy is it soft

Wavy lips hehe yes thats the problem.

regards,

[VP]

OMG did the sock discussion really happen?

Of course. Twice.

viewtopic.php?t=1508
viewtopic.php?t=12534

[Doug C]

So Harrison, now that you cleared up that the tape was added to the interior - I think it's a great mod (if you have the problem in the first place). Where exactly did you open up the lining, and how large of an opening did you make...was it professionally reclosed. Didn't get any pics did you?

Doug C

[Harrison_Davies]

I don't know if you've ever noticed, but look inside the left sleeve, that's where Wested close the final stiching, and that's what I opened. I can't show any pictures of the modification internally, because i'd have to turn the jacket completely inside out, that's not what I wanted to do. I did it by feel and a little patience.

But here is a pic of the liner opening, it runs almost the full length of the sleeve and is stiched as shown below, but I left it almost exactly as I found it. Since I don't have a sewing machine I hand stitched it back together with brown thread.






Don't get me wrong I love my jacket, but I think the softness of Lamb causes the thing I don't like, I don't think goat would do the same.

Regards,

[Doug C]

Very good, thanks for the pics too. I'll keep your technique in mind once I see how my new Lamb behaves.

Doug C