I asked about who does the embroidery because i am interested in the whole process of manufacturing. So yes, it does matter to me. I would think since this site is about garment manufacture that it might be useful info for others–sort of the rule i have about questions in my classes–is it just personal or will others benefit from the info?
Obviously, or maybe not, i know how things happen in a commercial costume shop, but for garment manufacturing–in best practices, lean kind of way–i am sort of clueless. So . . . call me stupid. But i don’t think my question was.

Also re: China (but kinda OT), I find it really really fascinating that the Chinese invented mass-production long before Britain. Chinese potters have been using mass production techniques like division of labor for millennia. One interesting innovation was the design of cups that could be stacked more easily in a kiln, so they could get more pottery out of their investment in the fuel & time required to fire them. This almost seems lean…:)

I also ask because the embroidery looks like tambour work, which has to be done on a frame.

On the other hand, though it’s nothing I would ever buy, I clearly see the value added in the hand-stitched Chinese jacket.

There’s something here that I think people frequently have a difficult time understanding. On the one hand, you have people who always believe that cost is everything and you should always buy the cheapest product. On the other, you have people that believe that quality is everything and you should always buy the best product. If everyone were in the former camp, the VW air-cooled Beetle would only have the Yugo as competition, and if everyone were in the latter camp, the few people who could afford them would drive Mercedes and Ferraris. Clearly, something else is in play. People tend to buy the best value, by which I mean the ratio between features and price.

There is a tension: customers want the most features within their budget but producers want to keep their costs low but their selling price high which means they have a tension between reducing or adding features. They can’t add features willy-nilly because what one person regards as a valuable feature, another regards as valueless. They have to add features that people are willing to pay for. To me, the hand stitching in the 2nd photo is valueless, and I would guess 99% of all men who buy these coats would agree. The hand-stitching in the beautiful coat is clearly an added value, and for people who recognize and desire it, they gladly pay more for it. Since few can do that kind of work, the person doing it makes more. That’s win-win-win. But it’s also win-win-win when you make a good quality product with superior, low-cost processes.

As I usually summarize it, “cheap” and “low cost” do not have identical meanings.

Regarding deerskin’s comments, I concede that she has a potential point, but I suspect that the data will not prove it out.

This is a wonderful coat–loved to see what the outside looks like.

Also, just for the record, i have never thought that you/Kathleen don’t/doesn’t like hand stitching. For me, your/her position about hand-vs-machine appropriateness has always been clear.

So like i mentioned before, i will do a sample of a heavier fabric with Kathleen’s technique and report back. With photos. I promise by the weekend–unless i get sick.

And i don’t even want to get into the handsewing vs machine sewing appropriateness for construction as in if you can do it by machine, why do it by hand? That might get ugly. If anyone needs more info, since you have a hint above, you can read my comments on earlier parts of this tutorial–i think they are still there. Or here it is in a nutshell.
Hand sewing-like
Machine sewing-like
Bulky bumps-no like . . . i.e. construction that results in bulky bumps, whether by hand sewing, machine sewing, barge cement, staples etc.