The weather in Michigan can be stupid sometimes. There is just no other way to put it. The high two weeks ago Wednesday was 85 degrees. The high on Thursday (the very next day) was 50 degrees. Yikes! After looking through my coat closet for something lightweight and casual to wear since short sleeves are still not an option, I realized that I had nothing of the sort. I have two wool coats, two goose-down coats (which, given the weather, are obviously still fair play) a trench coat, and a dressier light-weight coat - but nothing casual. So I decided to make one.
Fabric & Notions:
- about 2 1/4 yards of stretch cotton denim
- 2 yards of cotton voile for lining
- fusible interfacing
- topstitching thread
- regular thread
- 90/14 and 100/16 universal needles
Fitting & Alterations:
I first attempted this pattern a couple of years ago. I started with a straight size Z according to my full bust measurement and added a 1/2" vertical wedge to the front panel piece. I added the same amount to the front yoke, tapering to nothing at the seam line. I also removed 1" of length in the upper back area. I know I am proportionately short, but these sleeves must be sized for yetis. I shortened the sleeve pattern and that still wasn't enough by the time I sewed the jacket; I took of an additional three more inches.
Lining:
In 2009, I took a class on PR taught by the late Shannon Gifford. The class centered on her method of lining and underlining a jacket using her Stitch-and-Flip (S-F) method. You can find an article she wrote on her method on pages 50 - 51 in Threads #111. The basic idea is to make a garment-lining sandwich, sew all layers at the same time, and topstitch in place. This method works best with vertical seams. Horizontal seams like yokes and peplums are also okay as well as welt pockets and darts. Gifford recommends eliminating inseam pockets because there is a point in the construction where horizontal and vertical line sewing intersect and it's difficult to S-F that tiny area.
Process
1. Cut out the same lining pieces as normal.
2. Starting at the center back, stack the coat pieces right sides together, then stack the lining pieces right sides together.
3. Place the coat pieces on top of the lining pieces, matching notches and seams. Stitch the center back seam through all layers.
Here is a view from the lining side.
4. When you open out the lining and coat fabric, the lining's wrong side will face the coat's wrong side as intended. Press the seam to one side and topstitch on the outside.
5. Continue to S-F from back to front. Stack the lining right sides together and the coat right sides together at the side-back seam. Stitch through all layers, open out, press, and topstitch. I attached the front and back yokes in the same manner, but after completing all of the vertical seams first.
Here's how the garment will look after completely stitching and flipping the entire front and back:
You can stitch-and-flip completely from center back to center front, including the side seams. I didn't S-F the side seams so that I could take in the jacket if needed. Additionally, the sleeves can be stitched-and-flipped as well. You may want to judge your fabric and lining carefully before deciding to S-F the sleeves. The weight of denim along with the cotton voile and topstitching make my sleeves feel heavy and stiff.
At first I serged the raw edges of the side seams, stitched, and pressed them open. But the sleeves on this jacket were designed to be sewn in flat. I found this hard to do with the shoulder seam open, so I did it the other way. After stabilizing the shoulder seams with a strips of muslin selvage, I stitched the shoulder seams, set the sleeves in flat, and sewed from the sleeve hem all the way down to the jacket hem.
Once the lining is in, facings, collars, and hems can be added and completed like usual. This is all I have so far. I have to redo the facing because I sewed the back piece upside down. I don't even know how that happened.
The fit is so-so. I made a muslin of this coat a couple of years ago when I first attempted it. I tried the muslin on again and thought it looked pretty good. The coat is roomy in the front yoke area and baggy in the back. The downside to the S-F method is that you can't do any alterations to the front and back once it's sewn. Well, you can, but you'd have to unpick all of the stitches. I'll probably take in the sides some more, but I don't think there's much more tweaking I can do at this point.
I intend to finish this in the next couple of days. I'm feeling the need to sew some knit dresses and I don't want this project lagging on much longer!
Until next time, peace!
L
It is as bad as it looks. I didn't need the extra width in the front and I could loose some width across the back. Sure I could fix it, but that would require undoing all of the topstitching and taking in each seam. I'd rather start over from scratch. So it's off to Wadderville for this coat. Maybe someone can use it as a duster or something.
