The Coat - For real. Plus, John's wardrobe

[jessamygriffith]

In which I cut the wool. And then I decided it wasn't long enough, and cut more. Which meant I had to do the interlining by hand AGAIN, but the Coat is not the Coat if it, A. Isn't Long Enough, or B. Doesn't swirl.


Also, decided the black satiny stuff I originally intended for lining was too flimsy, too soft, too sleazy and slutty, like a nylon nightgown or something nasty. Sherlock may be a slut for all we know, but his coat is All Class.

I switched to a stiffer dark grey stuff, more like a soft taffeta. Much better.


If anyone ever wants to know more about what I am doing on the inside of the coat, check out Tailoring - a guide to sewing the perfect jacket. It's all about support and keeping the wool from stretching out.

Also, was at Uniqlo today. Did you know John's jeans for the show came from Uniqlo? Apparently Martin recommended them, said they were a good fit on him. I assume that means he's a short-arse with dachshund legs then, as so many Japanese guys are.

Anyway, I think the BBC should just get all of his clothes there if they don't already. They had the comfy cardigan and checked shirts, look!

Comments

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

You are quite the tailor!

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Oh, not really, not TAILORING. I decided I was going to teach myself more about tailoring, though. I've made coats before that are much less involved, and they look great. I want to test and see if all this extra work will be worth the trouble.

I have a terrible feeling it will be, and I'll be ruined for simple sewing forever.

I am a helluva seamstress though.

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

As a very mediocre seamstress I look at the amount of piecing in that coat and OMG I hate linings and think you are amazing. hehe

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

I was actually pleased with how few pieces there are, structurally. Linings are tedious but necessary. In the case of the coat, the relative simplicity is offset by the absolute clean lines and quality of construction. I can't make a mistake, it'll show!

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

The pleating over the back I suppose is what made it look complicated. Still more garment than I could handle. Did you draft your own pattern?

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

The pleating wasn't so bad, even for the top back. I did make a toile, which I ended up finishing as a test coat and gave it to a friend.

The test coat let me gauge the hang of the pleats, pocket placement etc. I blogged it as well, the test coat.

I HAD planned on adapting a pattern, only to find out I'd lost everything except the pattern instructions, the collar and sleeves bits. Sigh.

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

Losing bits of a pattern is so annoying.

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Granted, hadn't looked at the pattern in ages, but how in god's name did I manage to lose such BIG pattern pieces! It was a calf-length coat pattern!

Grumble. Being able to draft it up from the instructions doesn't help my temper. It was a Burda pattern too. I like theirs.

Prefer Vogue's though. Excellent instructions for tricky sewing. You pay more becaue they are worth the avoiding the heartbreak of Butterick and Simplicity.

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

I rarely clothes, just occasional costumes, so haven't used a lot of commercial patterns. I think I have some vogue patterns from the 80s in the bottom of my sewing box. LOL

One of the reasons tackling a coat impresses me is because I actually am not terribly good at sewing and resort mostly only out of necessity. The patterns I have are almost all from a company called Mediaeval Miscellanea's Period Pattern lines. They actually aren't that great, but the lines are closer to period than modern fashion pattern companies'costume lines tend to be.

I lose bits of them all the time. But I am a careless flighty girl.

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Medieval Miscellanea/Period Patterns are a bit hellish on some instructions. I have their Tudor ones and the German women's.

But yeah. These days for my own I'll just whack up a test garment for costumes etc. For stuff I sell, I'll use a commercial pattern (shirts or whatev) so I can have approximate sizing.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lutz_/]

So what are you doing on the inside of the coat?

Yes, I ask because I am putting it together as well. Just starting in on my test piece now.

A friend pointed me to your posts on the subject because I was about to start doing exactly what you already did for pattering. Thank god for you. Seriously. :)

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

I had started with a soft black satin but decided thye fabric was too sleazy and swapped to a dark grey taffeta. There's a reason I didn't take pics of the inside - it's not that pretty. I found a guy who has a Belstaff and he posted some pics of the inside -
http://www.thereplicapropforum.com/f24/sherlock-coat-opinions-info-136738/index3.html

Scroll down and you'll see it.

For mine, I didn't have the interior pocket. And the bottom edge of the hem I stitched to the coat, instead of having it hanging free - probably a mistake.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lutz_/]

Thanks so much for pointing that out! The interior pictures will be hugely helpful. I see it's got the inner pocket too, I'll have to practice those as I've never done welt pockets before. I'm sure I'll have just as much fun as you did learning them. ;)

I was wondering on the above picture of the back of the coat, did you interface the top of the back as well? There's that white piece covering the top back and it appears to be stitched in.

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Oh no, the pic above is... er. *Pulls out the Tailoring Book*

A back stay. To stabilize the shoulder area of a jacket, prevent strain and stretching of the fabric across the shoulder blades and support the fabric to create a smooth line.

I put it in to keep the wool from stretching too much in mu case, and for a little extra warmth on the back and shoulders.

"The back stay is cut from firmly woven muslin, cotton broadcloth of interfacing." The bottom edge is loose, and the rest of it is, as seen, sewn like the wool into the shoulders, side seams and armhole when the sleeve gets put in.

You are going to fucking hate welt pockets. Probably. It's hard to do them without puckers showing up.

[libby kun cosplay (from livejournal.com)]

Thank you thank you thank you for this . I'm planning my Sherlock coat now- going to modify an existing pattern to suit me and have all the flair of our dear consulting detective. (The best of both worlds, really) and while reading through Tailoring, I couldn't decide if I need to plan my interfacing for the whole front length or just through the body portion of the coat- I've never worn a long coat, so I don't have anything to reference to. (So these photos are lifesavers- considering my $14/yard wool)
This makes me confident that I'll be able to manage my coat with aplomb.

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Yes, the fear of cutting the expensive wool! I know that.

I actually had the whole front interfaced at one point but realized that is was making the side skirts too stiff and bulky, and it wasn't necessary! So, snip snip. The interfacing is great for supporting pockets, though so there's that.

Good luck!