Introduction

I am a gay man living on the coast of Maine. I can honestly say that I have a fabulous and rich life. Maine is a beautiful place, but the winters here are damp, cold and worst of all...... LONG. Next winter I hope to be staying warm in a well fitting, well made coat that I've crafted myself.

This whole project developed quite unexpectedly. I have an adult daughter in CA who is a textile design graduate of the California College of the Arts. Her enthusiasm for all things fabric is truly inspirational. There is nothing I love more than prowling the garment district in NYC looking for amazing things that she cannot find in the Bay Area. But NYC is a good 6-7 hours drive from here, and I don't get there all that often. Because I could not get to NYC before Valentine's day this year, I turned to Ebay. I was thinking some vintage sewing patterns would be right up her alley. It was there that I stumbled upon a pattern book of Japanese fashions. "Cute Clothes without Hemming" Brilliant for my artist daughter. But what else did this seller have? "Sewing Men's Coats" Gorgeous pictures of a classic trench coat, a peacoat and a camelhair duffle coat. I ordered both books and they arrived from Japan in about 2 weeks.

I'm not sure if my daughter has attempted anything from her book, but I'm ready to dive into the deep end of the pool. I invite you to follow along on this sartorial adventure. Oh, and if you have one of these pattern books but have lacked the courage to start...... Let's do it together.