Wednesday, January 20, 2010

More Coat Notes

Memory being what it isn't, I want to record the specifics of my coat-making so as to improve the speed of future efforts.

Jalie 2680 is designed as an unlined coat for stretch fabrics. Judging from the reviews on PatternReview, I am not the first to use it as a point of departure for a more tailored coat. My mostly-cashmere fabric is very soft, and preserving that lovely drape and hand is a goal. But I do want it to last for at least ten years (barring disaster), so some inner support also seems like a good idea.

I have interfaced the yoke front and back, the front facing and the back facing, and the inner (folded up) portion of the sleeve and body hems. I have also stayed the front and back neck edges with straight grain fusible tape. Following Sandra Betzina's recommendation, I used fusible interfacing on the pocket openings and facings (thanks, Sandra--I think I'll be glad you told me to do that).

The pattern specifies cutting the pocket pieces from the fashion fabric, but I think I'll recut those from cotton flannel to reduce bulk. I am thinking of applying a strip of some sort of bias fabric or interfacing to the sleeve cap as an aid in easing and as a form of a sleeve head. I have some very tiny shoulder pads to insert between the coat and lining.

Lining, yes, that's coming right up. Not cut out yet. Lucky, since I was planning to use some very standard poly lining from Fabric.com in a close color match. But then my latest Fabric.com order came in. The Retro Gold crepe that I meant for a blouse is wonderful with the coat fabric. Very shiny, slippery and luxurious. If my patience holds out, I will add a tiny piping of either a silk charmeuse print that I've had forever, or the olive green silk/cotton that also came in the latest Fabric.com order.

Working on this coat is a pleasure, but it does have many more steps than most of my recent projects. And I'm nearly out of thread!

Note to self: today is the day to decide whether we'll be going for bound buttonholes or not.

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