The Coat

[unicornduke]

I finished it in March but didn't have the energy to take pictures but I got it out yesterday and got some nice photos. They could have been better but I was working with what I had, which was my phone on a box on the tailgate of my truck, held upright by the handle of a 300ft measuring tape. I really ought to get a phone mount for pictures, I had one but it disappeared in the move.





This fabric is handwoven, from eight cones of yarn I picked up for cheap from Cece's Wool in upstate NY. It is a wool/mohair blend, around worsted weight and was really fun to weave. I did a straight twill and after washing, it produced a beautiful fabric. Final finished fabric was approximately 25 inches wide and 5.5 yards long.







I started sewing the coat in January of last year, I made a mockup out of fuzzy dog blankets, it smelled terrible. I made some adjustments to the pattern, primarily around the shoulder area since it bunched up and then got to cutting. The pattern had interfacing for the front, side, yoke, cuff and collar pieces and I chose a thick canvas to give it some structure. I spent months padstitching them together. Any pieces that didn't get canvas backing, I bought 2 inch wide fusible interfacing and ironed it on to help hold the weave around the edges. I didn't felt the fabric because I liked how it looked after washing. I took basically no pictures of this process.



I used silk taffeta for the lining and did an abysmal job on the double welt pocket on the inside. I practiced, should have practiced more but augh what a pain. I still don't know how those work really. That's why I only did one. I had to handsew certain parts of the coat, my sewing machine could mostly handle the thickness of wool and canvas but it did give up in some places, especially around the collar and other areas. Lots of topstitching but that made it look really good.



i handsewed the buttonholes because there wasn't a chance the sewing machine could do it. I used Vincent Brigg's tutorial again and it worked great. I spent big money on real horn buttons and they look very nice.



Things I wasn't thrilled with: the vent in the back is wonky, I think because of the thickness of the fabric and way it has to be constructed. Vogue's pattern was fully useless on how to sew the vent, I had to find a video filmed on someone's camera where a woman walked through all the flipping and sewing that had to be done.


It is such a warm coat and I was sweating by the time I got all these photos taken yesterday. But coat! It's done!

Comments

[reeby10]

Wow, the coat looks excellent! And sounds like it was a ton of work, I'm super impressed.

[unicornduke]

Thank you! I'm super happy it is done haha, it took a long time

[reedrover]

This is amazing. I'm so impressed that you did a serious project all the way from skein to prime time.

[reedrover]

I totally missed the "cone to coat" alliteration.

[unicornduke]

Cone to coat is a great alliteration! It was a big project but two hours at a time during crafting got me there!

[graydon]

Oh, hey, notable success!

That looks very English Gentleman.

[unicornduke]

That was kind of my aim! It is pretty cool

[graydon]

You hit it bang on.

[house_wren]

As someone who knows how to weave and to sew I am very impressed by your coat. As I am about everything you do.

I am always cheering you on.

[unicornduke]

Thank you! I'm so happy with how it turned out, nothing quite like a project hitting exactly what I was aiming for!

[which_chick]

I love the twill, it's gorgeous. The buttons are amazing and suit the coat very well. The topstitching around the collar lapels looks great, too. I have not branched out into sewing clothing items (but I do have a sewing machine and know how to service and use it for basic stuff -- it's a cabinet Singer 401A slant-o-matic with all the attachments) but I'm... thinking about it for in the future maybe. We'll see.

[unicornduke]

The twill is sooo nice and thick. Sewing clothing has been an absolute adventure, definitely been easier with crafting friends who can give advice. But I can make exactly what I want, with exactly the materials I want. It's really nice.

[annofowlshire]

Awesome!

[unicornduke]

Thanks!

[kareina]

Nice! Beautiful fabric!

I really need to either replace the lining in my winter coat, or just make a new one--it is getting to be very tattered inside (though I still get compliments on it, most of the wear doesn't show outside). I just need to figure out what fabric to use this time. Alas, I haven't the time to learn to weave my own, nor the budget to pay for someone else to hand-weave, but it is a lovely fantasy. Thank you for demonstrating that it *can* be done.

[unicornduke]

Lining is definitely one that might be better bought for ease of sliding on, which is why I got silk taffeta. But lining is meant to be replaced, so lots of things should work decently!