Jack Aubrey Costume

Jack Aubrey costume with jacket

Jack Aubrey costume without jacket

Here's the details on the Jack Aubrey costume that I wore to our Halloween party. I made this costume based on the everyday uniform worn by Russell Crowe in the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. I made everything but the boots from scratch. Below, I'll cover each part of the costume individually.

Update 5/22/08: If you're interested in more costumes from the Master and Commander movie then please check out my photos and drawings of several outfits on display at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Update 9/18/12: Check out some photos of a no-sew Jack Aubrey costume here.

Jacket

Project Name: Jack Aubrey costume - jacket
Time Taken to Finish: 2 weeks
Pattern: Modified from McCall's 4626, size Men's Small *(See update at bottom of page)Materials Used: Blue polar fleece, cream heavy weight cotton knit (for lining, same fabric used for vest and pants), 3/4 inch buttons, gold fabric, gold fringe, fusible interfacing, blue and gold thread
Special Tools Used: Singer 221K sewing machine
What I Did: So that it would resemble Jack's jacket, I modified the McCall's pattern by adding the fold-over lapels (where the buttons are) and removing part of the jacket below the lapels. I made the epaulettes (shoulder decoration) separately and sewed them on at the end. The buttons were cheap white ones that I spray painted gold (the same with all the other buttons in the costume).
What I Liked About the Project: Of all the costume pieces, the jacket took the longest to make but I think it turned out great. It was surprisingly comfortable.
What I Didn't Like About the Project: The weight of the lapels often caused them to roll back and show the lining of the jacket. The epaulettes could have been a little bigger. I wanted to use real brass anchor buttons but it would've cost me around $40 to get them. The spray painted buttons look fine, but those on the sleeves are already starting to get scratched.

Vest

Project Name: Jack Aubrey costume - vest
Time Taken to Finish: 1 week
Pattern: Modified from McCall's 4626, and McCall's 4864 size Men's Small *(See update at bottom of page)
Materials Used: Cream heavy weight cotton knit, 5/8 inch buttons, fusible interfacing, cream thread
Special Tools Used: Singer 221K sewing machine
What I Did: I started with the pirate vest (McCall's 4626) and modified the pattern by giving it a high neckline. I did that by adding the neckline from the McCall's 4864 colonial jacket pattern to the pirate vest pattern. I also made the vest significantly shorter. Since I don't have a buttonhole maker, I originally considered using sew-in snaps hidden under the buttons. But the snaps could not be hidden well, so I broke down and made real buttonholes by hand.
What I Liked About the Project: Considering that I had never sewn a buttonhole of any kind before, I think they looked very good.
What I Didn't Like About the Project: I wish that I had used sew-in interfacing instead of fusible interfacing. The fusible interfacing under the buttons caused the fabric to ripple. Since the vest was lined in the same fabric as the outside, I was able to turn it so that the ripples were on the inside.

Pants

Project Name:
Jack Aubrey costume - pants
Time Taken to Finish: 2 days
Pattern: McCall's 4864 size Men's Medium *(See update at bottom of page)
Materials Used: Cream heavy weight cotton knit, 5/8 inch buttons, fusible interfacing, cream thread
Special Tools Used: Singer 221K sewing machine
What I Did: I sewed the pants according to the pattern. The only change I made was in the number of buttons on the legs of the pants.
What I Liked About the Project: It was fast! The pants were the easiest part of the costume to make.
What I Didn't Like About the Project: I should've made the small size instead of the medium, because I had to pin the pants to keep them sitting at my natural waist. Since the pants were white-colored and unlined, they were practically see-through so I had to wear white tights underneath them. Even then you could still see the tucked-in shirt tail clearly through the pants.

Shirt

Project Name: Jack Aubrey costume - shirt
Time Taken to Finish: 3 days
Pattern: McCall's 4864

size Men's Small *(See update at bottom of page)
Materials Used: White light weight polyester, 5/8 inch buttons, sew-in interfacing, white thread
Special Tools Used: Singer 221K sewing machine
What I Did: I also sewed the shirt according to the pattern. Again, I hand-sewed the buttonholes on the neck and wrist.
What I Liked About the Project: The fabric is light and comfortable.
What I Didn't Like About the Project: The shirt was the last thing I sewed and I did not have time to figure out how to add ruffles to the neck (as Jack's shirt has). Also, the shirt tail needs to be made shorter because there is too much to tuck in.

Captain Aubrey in action!

* Update 8/22/08: I just found out that McCall has discontinued both of the patterns I used in my costume (4626 and 4864). They're still available in the "Out of Print" area of their website but I'm sure they won't be around much longer. However, I recently ran across Butterick pattern B3072 which is really a better match for all the pieces in the costume than the McCall patterns. The Butterick pattern has the jacket, vest, shirt and pants all in one package. If you're looking to make your own Jack Aubrey costume I would definitely suggest starting there!

Update 10/4/08: I've uploaded several high resolution close-up photos of the jacket. You can see them here:

Jacket
Jacket lapel
Jacket lapel close-up
Jacket epaulette
Jacket sleeve cuff
Jacket back