Floral Trench Coat (part 3a): new pockets

After giving it a lot of thought, I did it. I deconstructed the entire front, removed the shifty green pockets, and replaced them with an iridescent orange and blue dragon lining fabric. I got the fabric from Mood when they had their last sale (non-affiliate link).

I like this SO much better. The bright orange is a fun and unexpected burst of color and although it doesn't quite match, it kind of goes with outer fabric. And did I mention it has dragons??

This lining behaves much better than the last, although it's not without its faults. It shreds frays like crazy so I have to handle it delicately.

 

I'm now working on the collar / facing situation and am a bit stumped. Burda's instructions say to sew the collar and facings to the shell before adding the lining. I don't remember doing this the first time and am not sure how to proceed. Usually when I make coats or jackets, I construct the lining and facing and treat this as one unit. I need to think about what to do.

 

L 

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Prior posts:

 

Floral Trench Coat (part 1):  gathering supplies

Floral Trench Coat (part 2):  pattern, sizing, & interfacing

Floral Trench Coat (part 3):  constructing the front & back - a comedy of errors

 

 

Floral Trench Coat (part 3): constructing the front & back - a comedy of errors

I've been sewing for 21 years and have made many coats and jackets. Whilst I did not think this project would be quick and easy, I didn't expect to make this many mistakes. I don't quit easily, so the project will go on. But this short coat should not take six (6!!!) yards of fabric. Alas, here we are. 🙈

 

Alright, let's get into it. 

 

Back and Back Stay

Assembling the back and side back pieces posed no problems. I sewed the center back and side back seams, serged together, and topstitched. Easy peasy.

 

To make the back stay, I followed the instructions from Gertie's Lady Grey sew-along (Tailoring Your Coat Back) posted in 2010. There are some good tailoring tips in this series that I find very helpful. When I made my version of Colette's Lady Grey coat, I followed the sew-along carefully and since then, I refer back to the techniques when needed.

 

 

using the assembled back to trace the stay

traced back stay

 

used pinking shears along the lower curve

completed stay ready to attach

Front Inseam Pockets

This was the first sign of trouble and the beginning of a series of errors. First, the lining I chose was frustratingly shifty and unwieldy. (I've since abandoned this lining for reasons you'll see later.) Second, I seemed to completely forget how to install inseam pockets. I sewed the side front and center front seams first, then tried to attach the pockets with the tiniest seam allowance. I stood there wondering what in the entire hell went wrong. 

 

Then...it hit me. SIGH. Attach the pocket pair to the front and side front before sewing the seam. Reader, I *know* this. I swear I do. I...just forgot? I unpicked miles upon miles (okay not miles but you get it) of serging, topstitching, and seaming to do this the right way.

 

  

very wrong

much better

Those pocket pieces were actually cut the same size. Deep sigh. 

 

Front Yoke

Having finally wrangled the pockets into submission and properly sewed the front & center front seams, it was time to move on to the front yoke. Dear reader, how many front yokes do you think I cut? Two? Three?

Seven. Sept. Siete. Sieben. As in more than six, but less than eight. SEVEN. That extra yard of fabric I bought for potential future facing issues is no more - and I haven't even sewed the facings.

 

Mistake 1:  This wasn't a huge mistake, but it was the first domino to fall. The instructions call for two of the shell pieces to be cut, sewn right sides together, turned out and topstitched. I actually didn't realize this the first time I made the coat 10 years ago and cut one of the pieces out of lining. 

 

Originally I was going to go with an off white rayon Bemberg, but I changed my mind and opted for the awful green rayon shape-shifter. When I placed the second yoke on the right front, something seemed off.

 

left:  first yoke with off-white lining

right:  second yoke with green lining

 

The second yoke had less flowers near the front edge and was very noticeable when placed on top of the right front. There was this weird void that I could not unsee.

 

second front yoke with green lining

 

No problem, right? I had extra fabric to cut a new pair of yokes (this time following the instructions) and still have enough for the facings just in case. Yoke count:  2.

 

Mistake 2:  I was so focused on making sure that there were enough flowers covering the entire yoke, that I neglected to cut mirror images [insert all the swears here]. Yoke count:  4

 

Mistake 3:   Determined to get it right this time, I slowed down and paid careful attention to what I was doing. I cut a single yoke, mirrored to one of the two from before, sewed them together, and topstitched. Yoke count is now at 5. 

 

Next was the buttonhole.

 

I don't know what happened, but the measurement was way off and the buttonhole ended up far too close to the front edge. Because this is a double-breasted coat, the button on the yoke lines up with the other buttons on the right front. So this placement was not going to work.

 

Oy vey. I cut ANOTHER pair of yokes (6 and 7) and finally got it right. Here is a picture of the front now:

 

I like the weight of the self-lined yoke and don't know why I never noticed this before.

 

Collar

The mistakes didn't end with the yoke. I assembled the front and back and sewed the shoulder and side seams. As I am constructing the collar, I think to myself:  'huh, this collar looks really small. Nah, it's probably alright.'

 

It was not alright.

 

top:  new collar with seam allowances
bottom:  old collar without seam allowances

 

 

 

I checked the pattern piece and saw that I'd written "includes SA (seam allowances)." It most certainly did not include seam allowances.

 

I have no idea why I wrote this when it wasn't true. Maybe it was a note for me to include seam allowances? I don't know. Anyway, I used the last bit of that extra yard to cut two new collars.

 

Lining

For the lining, I chose this really nice green medium-weight rayon fabric that matched reasonably well with the fabric. The weight was heavy enough to give the coat some body and still maintain fluidity.

 

It was an absolute nightmare to handle. It was soooooooooo shifty. The slightest movement would distort the fabric in way that made it difficult to recover.

 

 

These are pictures of the left and right front lining pieces. In the picture on the left, I had to really work to get the one piece to match the paper pattern. The picture on the right shows the amount of distortion in the other piece. I've worked with slippery fabrics plenty of times, this was next level madness. Suffice it to say, I am not using this lining because I don't feel like fighting with each piece.  Unruly fabric is the quickest way to end a project and I am not giving up on my vision.

***

So where are things now? The front, back, and yoke are completely assembled. I've not attached the collar because I am actually considering...(deep breath)...redoing the front.

 

Okay, hear me out. The front pockets are in, but are green and the fabric I intend to use is orange - bright orange with dragons on it. No one will ever see the pockets, so it shouldn't matter. But but but, I will know and I'm not sure it won't bug me.

 

 

I bought two more yards of the floral fabric and will think about what to do over the next few days.

 

That's all for now. In the meantime, I've pulled another slip from the Garment Grab Bag (Burda 5853) and will trace a shirtdress (9-2006-017) from a Burda magazine. More updates soon! As always, thanks for reading.

 

L 

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Prior posts:

 

Floral Trench Coat (part 1):  gathering supplies

Floral Trench Coat (part 2):  pattern, sizing, & interfacing

 

 

 

 

 

Mid-year Check In

I am way overdue for an update. I've been sewing quite a bit and have things to say about some of the garments/patterns I made, however time and energy seem to be in short supply. I'll summarize what I've made so far this year and save specific details for some of the garments in separate posts.

A bunch of shirts

I love making shirts. Now that I have a collar stand technique that works for me and a pattern whose fit I like, making shirts is my new favorite (bye bye jeans...for now). To date, I've made four button-front shirts, one tunic, and one knit pullover. 

 

 top row:  Burda 9-2023-125, Burda 8-2009-104

bottom row:  Vogue 9299, Burda 8-2009-104, Simplicity 9385

not pictured:  third version of Burda 8-2009-104

 

My tried & true button-front shirt is Burda 8-2009-104 and I'll share more about it in an upcoming post.

Burda 9-2023-125 has potential to be added to the "favorites" list, however I need to make a few minor changes. I need to shorten the upper back and make a slightly larger FBA. The shirt buttons okay, but it strains a wee bit.

I have nothing new to add about Vogue 9299 and Simplicity 9385. I simply adore both of these patterns and have no intention to stop making them.

Two handbags

I finished the Maggy55 Ciara cross-body bag a few weeks ago. Prior to that, I made a fourth Blue Calla Boronia Bowler for another friend.

 

I used vinyl and linen from the stash for the exterior and quilting cotton for the lining. Despite making this pattern three times already, I still made mistakes with construction. They're not too noticeable, but some things can be better.

 

 
Two Dresses

I made a second version (navy) of New Look 6683 in a heavy-weight cable knit from JoJos. I like and wear my first version (grey) a lot. The second one, however, just isn't doing it for me. In theory it looks okay, but on me it looks kinda blah. Even though I interfaced the pockets on the navy version, they still droop - likely due to the fabric weight. I'll give it a few more months and try to wear it again this fall. If I still don't like it, it's outta here.

 

The second dress I made is view B of Simplicity 8014. SIGH. I really just need to give up on this pattern. 

 

I tried on three separate occasions to make view D and it didn't work. So I thought I'd give B a try since it's a different style. Sometimes, you just gotta let go and I think I've reached my limit of attempts trying to make this pattern work. I'll save more comments on this for a future post. In the meantime, here's a picture of the finished garment:

I love the fabric and the dress design, but this specific pattern just isn't for me. I've searched my Burda archives and found some similar alternatives. I'll likely try one of those soon.

Four Bottoms

Rounding out the last few garments made so far (clockwise from top left):  Jalie Éléonore pull-on pants, McCall's 8367 cargo pants, McCall's 6654 knit skirt, and McCall's 6360 leggings.

McCall's 8367 (cargo pants) is the only new pattern out of the lot. It wasn't a difficult pattern to sew but I definitely have some things to say.

 

The white cropped leggings were made quickly to go with the orange and green Vogue 9299 mentioned above. The pants and skirt were mini mojo-boosters when I felt a slump coming on.

 

That's it for the update. I've got three projects going on at once:  two more dresses and a shirt from my MakeNine plan. One dress just needs buttonholes and buttons. The second dress might be heading for Area 51 as I'm beginning to lose interest in it. The fabric is stiff and not what I want for the pattern. I might finish it enough to try it on and abandon for better fabric.

L