The Coat - Pleats

[jessamygriffith]

Got the easy bits of the outer shell done. The vent in the centre back could be a bit higher, but am NOT going to muck up the wool and tear out the stay-stitch triangle at the top just for the extra inch.

On the other hand, the tailor-book method of steaming and hammering the wool for crisp edges worked amazingly well on the back belt. God, it was great, sewed the edge top stitch like a dream. I have learned, it is good.

And how about those pleats in the back-skirt? Not ironed yet, but hey. I hung the coat on the dummy for a day so the bias stretch in the side seams would drop, to avoid puckers and stretching when sewing. (I knew that from before, not the tailor book.)


You will also note that the horrid wrinkles I got in the back from the darts when I made the  test coat of cotton velvet do NOT happen with wool. Wool is lovely. It forgives, it stretches.
If the fiber didn't grow on a plant, get pulled from an animal, or get shat out the backside of a worm, just say no.

Comments

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous! :D

My coats are raincoats made from Gortex or other fancy modern chemistry-lab invented stuff to be breathable and waterproof.

Also my undergarments are all new-fangled microfibre whatever. But very comfy and wash up easy :-)

Other than that, I agree with you on natural fibres. My socks are all long-staple wool - lovely!

A wool coat for me would take A LOT of wool, and once it soaked up the constant rain we have, would weigh at least a hundred pounds... um, don't think so, sorry! *g*

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Fair enough though I will say this for my wool coats - that even when they got soak with sleet or cold rain, they still provided some warmth. Sheep are stupid, so the gods needed to protect them somehow! Plus, they have all that lanolin to waterproof them. Natural Gore-tex.

I was being a fiber snob. One learns when one does historical costuming that yes, period correct fibers hang correctly, drape correctly - they look right. I've tried using other fabrics, or cheaper fabrics. In the end, to get the most accurate look, and most comfort - in order for a piece to go from being 'costume' to 'clothing' even if it's Gothis cotehardie, just bloody use the right fabrics.

*wishes she had the moeny for this fancy arse bonded waterproof Irish twill wool that the Sherlock coat is made from, if only because the wool I am using is a touch heavy...*

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

That is really looking amazing. :-)

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

Oh, keep tossing comments my way as I post the pics. Got a deadline, and I want the coat ready! Good motivation.

I am absurdly pleased with the pleats. The easiest part compared to the chest welt pockets.

HATE the welt pockets... Snarl

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

Pockets in general are a bitch, but we've already covered I actually don't enjoy sewing. LOL

The pleats looks glorious. :-)

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

nonoNOnoNO

Pockets are as a sweet dream compared to zippers. Particularly when one's honey is prone to breaking them, but I learned quickly to say, in a charmingly direct way, "Fuck off. I ain't doing them, not worth my time and if you don't want to take them to a tailor and get them fixed, cheapskate, buy a new pair of pants or treat your things nicer."

If I can get the pockets positioned JUST RIGHT I will be so on the way.

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

I've installed exactly one zipper and said never again! Thankfully the sewing I am constrained to do does not require them. Worse than zippers, IMO, buttonholes. I loathe buttonholes. But my sewing machine is not very good and mucks them up so I usually end up doing them by hand and so now I do everything I can to avoid those too. LOL

No avoiding them on your lovely coat. :-)

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

The buttonhole stitch on machines - including EVERY high end machine I've bought - was birthed in Satan's colon. Or thereabouts.

Three words for the best 5,000¥ I ever spent.
Buttonhole machine attachment.

Extra piece, I screw it in, select the cam, drop the foot, take my hands away and press go.

[mildly-neurotic.livejournal.com]

LOL Birthed in Satan's colon... sound about right.

If I ever decide to make another cotehardie or the like I'll look into the attachment. :-)

[jessamygriffin.livejournal.com]

I've got three sewing machines and an overlock machine, and the button hole stitch on the machine is shit on all of them, even the Viking. And that machine is a clever one.

Cotes are only one of the reasons I got the attachment. If only I could find a cam for eyelets... That, and the attachment doesn't have a cam for extra big buttons. Le shrug.