God? Devil? in the details

I forget which.  I've completed the inside chest pocket.  Once again I deferred to Edna Bishop who provided very clear instructions on how to finesse this tricky bit with just 3 pieces.  My Japanese version featured 4 pieces that in no way resembled what I ended up using.  The area was first reinforced with a strip of lightweight fusible interfacing.  Then the whole contraption was pinned and hand basted into place.  The fabric eventually ends up getting slashed which I find completely terrifying.  Amazingly, once everything is twisted and flipped through the hole...Voila you have a pocket.  I won't confess how long all this took.  I'm just glad that all the pockets are finished.  

Saying NO to Japanese pockets

Against all your wise advice, I've cut out the coat and started construction.  BTW here's a photo of the design.  Black flannel... Yawn.  Maybe now you can see why a contrasting collar might bring this severe design a little life.  One of the photos shows the wool glen plaid fabric that I'll be using for the upper collar.  It's shot through with rust and purple, so it coordinates nicely.  The first step in construction is the welt/flap pockets.  Thank goodness I did a dry run on the muslin.  These have to be the most over complicated pockets in the world, and I immediately went running to my Bishop Method book for advice and a more reasonable alternative.  According to Edna only 3 pieces are required, an upper and lower pocket and the welt.  The Japanese nightmare consists of 5 pieces, one of which is a piece of the fashion fabric sewn inside the pocket that will never be seen.  Sorry, that step is out.  I did keep an interfaced piece of my fabric placed above the pocket and held in place with top stitching.  Because this is a Fall coat, and I love warm hands, I used flannel for the lower pocket and a piece of lining material for the upper pocket.  I'm glad this step is over.  The next challenge will be an inside chest pocket, but I will need to cut out part of the lining before attempting it.  

The agony of grain perfection defeat

Getting this project off the ground has been a challenge.  It should have been cut out and half sewn by now.  Hmmm.  wasn't this supposed to be my Fall coat?  The sticking point has been that, try as I might, I can't align the grain of this fabric.  Nothing so far has been easy.  The weft fibers on this brushed twill are very fine and fragile, so I was unable to pull a thread across the width of the cloth.  Instead I had to tear the fabric.  But what I assumed would be a little 1/2" strip turned into a whopping triangular hunk about 8" wide.  With the ends basted together a la Edna Bishop the fabric skews off on an impossible angle.  Hopefully the pictures give you the idea.  I immediately ran to the Pattern Review message board and received a variety of responses on how to remedy this problem.  The most common suggestion was to dampen the whole mess and try to stretch / coax it back into shape.  Using the London Shrink method I rewet the cloth and struggled with it for over an hour.  All the pulling, smoothing and swearing was to no avail.  Then I attempted to subdue the beast with the iron.  I surrender!  There is just no way to turn this giant twill parallelogram into a neat perfectly aligned rectangle.  Sorry Edna!  I've folded the cloth down the center, aligned the selvedges and will cut out the imperfect coat.  

I'm just here to draw your blood

I've finished the muslin for coat #2.  It has all the charms of a phlebotomist's lab coat.  I hope you're not squeamish at the thought of blood!  I was actually able to incorporate the adjustments that I made to the duffle coat "on the fly" so to speak.  I added 1/2" to the shoulder width, and an additional 4" around.  The fit may be a bit snug with a sweater and flannel shirt, but the raglan sleeves have me totally intimidated, and I have that "quit while you're ahead" feeling.  The sleeves ended up about 1" too long, an easy fix.  Even though this seems like a lot of work, I've really come to see the value in making a fitting muslin.  In the case of this coat, it's helped me figure out the whole placket front.  (How do the buttons get hidden???) I also know that the collar is going to be major challenge.  Speaking of the collar, I'm going to be shopping for a contrasting fabric for the upper collar.  Corduroy or maybe wool in a contrasting color.  Plaid? This coat is screaming for a little "zing".  

The hottest day of the Summer, so why not model the finished coat!

OK readers.  TA DA! Here's the finished duffle coat.  Of course it had to be one of the hottest days of the year.  I think it was 86 degrees heading up to about 93 so it was a very short photo shoot.  I DID NOT wear a flannel shirt and sweater under it, but I've tried it and it fits like a glove.  Brian was my fashion photographer, encouraging me to get into the spirit of Mary Tyler Moore.  Are you getting that?? Oy! 

While on vacation in Asbury Park I picked up the Sept issue of GQ.  Toggle coats EVERYWHERE!  From Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo to Hilfiger.  Plus there was a spread from Saks featuring, you guessed it, purple outerwear.  This middle aged man in Maine has his finger on the pulse point of men's style!  

I've completed the patterns for the new purple overcoat, and once I have a new camera I'll update you on my progress.  Oh, I should add that I've decided that I will continue this blog until I've made all the coats in the book.  Still to come will be both a long and short trench coat and a double breasted pea coat.  

F&%* I've lost my camera!

I know I promised to post pictures of the finished coat, but after a fantastic 3 day hike in the Maine wilderness I've lost my camera.  I'm secretly hoping that my California daughter will magically discover it in her backpack now that she's back home.  Keep your fingers crossed.  

After the hike I had the good fortune to meet up with Peter of Male Pattern Boldness fame.  Most of you have found my pathetic blog through his amazingly entertaining sewing adventures.  In case you don't know of him, please follow the link and you will be hopelessly addicted, as I am.  We (partner Brian and my two young adult children) met him in NYC outside of the FIT museum (closed on Mondays) and he graciously  took us to some of his so called "fabric dives".   This man knows more about sewing and fabrics than I ever will.  I was on the hunt for lining fabric and buttons for my next coat project.  I know, not very exciting stuff.  There was a shocking chartreuse satin at store #1, but sadly not enough of it.  Too many stores later I eventually decided on an iridescent poly acetate, sort of a copper/blue at  a whopping $2 / yd.  I love the color combination with the eggplant but I'm already thinking it's going to be a bitch to sew.  I found buttons at C&C Button.  They looked better in the store than they do to me now, so I wouldn't be surprised if I decide not to use them.  But who am I kidding!  I'm months away from sewing on any buttons.  

I've started working on the patterns for coat #2.  Since this coat will also be worn over a sweater I'm going to attempt to add the same alterations that were used on the duffle coat while I trace the patterns.  This is sure to be a mind bender.  Wish me luck.  

Just for comparison

No pic for this post.  The coat is finally finished and I'm waiting for huzbear Brian to come back from vacation to take some pictures of me modeling it.  So while I wait, I thought it would be interesting to pull out my receipts and see how much the project has cost.  Adding a generous $20 for thread and considering that I have enough hair canvas and flannel lining for another coat, the total is $165.  Just for the heck of it I suggest you check out the Ralph Lauren flannel toggle coat currently available at Bergdorf Goodman's website.  It will ship to you in October for a mere $1895.  The picture is quite murky but it appears to have ( Gasp!) wooden toggles.  Can we say cheap?  And does the model have a huge wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek?  You decide.  

I'm feeling slightly adrift now that this project is over, so I'm planning to start a fall coat.  I know I previously said I'd start a trench coat, but I'd much rather have something that I can wear in the upcoming season.  My next project will be a deep eggplant brushed cotton twill balmacaan.  Totally yummy.