Winter Coats: A Removable (Warm) Lining

Winter seems endless.  While awaiting the long overdue thaw, my fixation with winter coats has accelerated.  However, I haven't found a pattern or a fabric that makes me happy (yet).  


This is the one I covet.  Yes, I know it's a man's coat, but my stylist daughter and I have decided it that it would look fine on a girl, or at least easily adaptable to my form.  The recent Sherlock episodes have definitely fed my obsession with coats.  And tweed.

Back to real life.  To prevent my daughter from swiping my old pea coat, I found a newer doppelganger on eBay for her.  It was advertised as "excellent" condition, and lo and behold, it really does look completely new (but the shoulders are straight out of the late 80's/early 90's).  This one is red, which suits her even better than the navy. 

Unfortunately,  it did not have the extra warm lining that mine did, only thin acetate.  My assumption that it was lined to warm in even frigid conditions -- since I was purchasing it from an Alaskan -- was clearly wrong.  No worries, I sewed a removable quilted lining.

It's a pretty simple design. I made a rub-off, by copying the princess seams of the coat, and decreasing the height of the neckline.  The hemline is about an inch higher than the jacket's hemline.  I suppose I could have done a zip out lining, but that would have involved deconstructing the jacket and lining, and I really didn't see a need for that.  I used buttons on the side facings, and big snaps around the neckline to attach it to the jacket.    

Buttons secure the lining to the facing.

The lining is a quilted padded lining from New York Fashion Center fabrics.  It comes in several colors, but their red clashed with our red, so we went with navy.  I think it looks quite classic, and almost as if it is original.  It was a bit pricey, but I only needed 1 yard to make this.  The back was unfinished, which would be fine if you were sewing this into a jacket.  Since I assumed that this would be removed fairly often, I enclosed the entire lining, by sewing a flannel shell to the back.

Funny, I just realized that I spent more on the lining than I did on the coat!

No idea how this snow appeared in my picture.  I need to learn more about Picasa!

If she ever takes the coat off long enough for me to work on it, I will continue weatherproofing by adding wrist ribbing in the sleeves.  

It's not that I haven't been sewing...

...I've just had really b-o-r-i-n-g projects.  You know the type: mending, altering, etc.  Not interesting enough to blog about.  Most boring among the long list of forgettable projects: outdoor curtains.  My husband has wanted some for several years, and demanded hinted that I should put them on my docket for this summer.  Unfortunately, summer will probably be over before I finish them.  All white fabric and so many straight seams!  I've only completed one (I think the plan is for 6 or 8), but I need a break -- something fun!

Dresses are normally not my thing, but we have an event later this month for which I really should wear a dress.  So, I'm making one: Vogue 8766, view E. It is well reviewed on Pattern Review and billed as "easy".  This particular event has a color theme every year -- 2013 is the year of Tangerine -- so while awaiting the arrival of my tangerine dye from Dharma Trading, I started fitting a muslin.

My shoulders have recently become narrower in proportion to my waist.   My usual method for handling my disproportionately large waistline is to get a pattern that fits me in the waist, and reduce the shoulder width.  That hasn't always given me the best results, and I understand that I should do the opposite -- buy a size to fit my shoulders, and expand everything else.  It sounded so simple.

Threads #101 has an interesting article about grading patterns, which was helpful for me to figure out where to slash and spread the tissue.  It involved a little bit of math -- which always makes the project more fun, and gives me the peace of mind that I'm using a scientific process.

In a nutshell, you figure out the difference between the pattern measurement and the body measurement, which is the "overall grade." Divide that by 4 to get the "allocated grade" (AG, allocated between four pieces).  The allocated grade is then further allocated between three lines (hash marks, below) per body quadrant.  For the body measurement, I allowed for ease, by assuming the same ease built into the pattern (so if drawn for a 25" waist, and the finished waist measurement is 27", waist ease = 2", so I added 2" to my waist measurement).

The Threads methodology drawn on my pattern.

Changes to bodice patterns

In this particular project, I needed an extra SIX inches in the waist (hard to believe that I've lost a couple inches there in recent weeks), so that six inches in overall grade became 1.5 inches in AG, divided into 3/8" or 3/4" spreads at the waistline, detailed in the table above.

The bust (apex) and hip lines required only about 1/2" additional, which worked out fine for a wedge slashed into the pattern: wide at the waist and tapered toward the top and bottom edges.  After all the wedges were in place so that the tissue was flat, I re-drew the grain lines and blended any other lines.

Muslin #1 neglected to take into account the additional required for bodice length (duh), so it was a bit too short in the front (not as much in the back due to my sway back).  Unfortunately, I ignored this great tool from Threads and I only increased bodice length along lines #5 (front) and #10 (back) where the patterns had markings for "lengthen/shorten here."  It would have really been better to use line #4 also -- at least in the front -- because I ended up lowering the bust darts and armscye, anyway. By the way, the Threads table didn't seem to allocate enough in the vertical direction to meet the overall grade -- my table is adjusted to reflect the increase.

In the process of fitting, my husband learned how to pin out excess fabric for me!  He did well on his portion -- the back looks pretty smooth.  I'm still not all that happy with how the bodice fits me along the side seams, but I'm saving that for later, since it should be an easy fix that I can pin out myself.  The skirt seems perfect, though.

I'm still not sold on the new process -- I do feel like I'm making many more changes than I would have using my old method.  However, if it results in a better end product, it's worth the trouble.  After working on this over the weekend, I realized that Linda Maynard teaches a Craftsy class on fitting that uses this exact pattern.  Seems like that may have made it easier for me.

So, how do those of you experienced in the art of fitting usually buy your patterns and fit them?  Am I the only one who has been doing it wrong?!

Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

I may have lost my interest in sewing.  Actually, I am still quite interested in sewing, just not interested in doing it myself.  I can't bring myself to open up the tissue, trace a pattern, make fitting changes...the sewing is fine.  Just don't want to do the all-important pre-work.  I have done a few small projects -- but haven't opened a pattern envelope in quite some time.

A few weeks ago, I saw this Eileen Fisher piece and it looked so easy to make.  Nordstrom's website even gave me some measurements:

Very simple - cut-on sleeves, no darts.  The asymmetry is the biggest complication, and they gave me the measurement!  So I started draping my own version immediately.  Never mind that I am not built like a fashion model...my version needed shaping, so I put darts in the front and pleats in the back, and I ended up making my sleeves a little longer.  It's still pretty baggy, but not as tent-like as it may have been.

With my daughter and the biggest crape myrtle I've ever seen.

Not a great photo to show off the top.  It also doesn't show that I accidentally sewed the short side of the back to the long side of the front.  But in the spirit of "there are no mistakes" (and "I'm feeling too lazy to unpick this seam"), I left it.  So, it's doubly asymmetrical.  Which I don't mind at all.  It is really comfortable, and great for a (hot) weekend day.  I also wore it to a fancy garden party with some nicer pants and a silver belt, and didn't feel a bit out-of-place.  The fabric is a linen/cotten blend from Hancock -- optic white that I dyed "dragon fruit" with Dharma's procion.  This was my first time sewing with a linen and I really loved it.

The pants I'm wearing in the photo are about ten years old -- which is REALLY old for white pants -- I usually wear them out or stain them too much after one summer to wear them again.  After all the hot water washes to keep them white, they had shrunk in the length just enough that I wasn't comfortable wearing them any longer, so I sewed a small casing, and turned them into a comfy pair of summer cargo pants.

My daughter thought it was a really weird get-up.  And it probably is, but that's all I've got to show for my summer, so far.  And that may be all there is.  I'm reading about sewing, watching some sewing videos, and of course reading a lot of blogs, but I just can't get excited about doing much of it myself.   

Love my red jeans!

My red jeans were a ton of fun.  I initially thought that all that red would be too wild for pants, but after toying with the idea of sewing pedal pushers or shorts instead, I decided to sew them long anyway, if for nothing else but to experiment with the pattern.  I also comforted myself with the fact that I do live in Razorback Country, so red pants are probably always socially acceptable here.

As a reminder, I "cloned" a very comfortable pair of RTW pants.  The RTW aren't jeans, they're  Jones New York dress slacks in a slightly stretchy RPL that looks like wool. I love them so much, I'm afraid I will wear them out, so I want to make a few extra pairs for myself.  I was a little concerned about how denim would fare with this pattern -- even if it is stretch denim -- but it's been fine.

Draft of pants front pattern - pockets added.

My dress pants do not have pockets, which I find rather annoying, so I added them to my pattern.  Because pockets that pop out can also be annoying, I utilized the pocket stay method, where the pocket runs from the outside seam to the fly.  In order to help contain the stretch along the bias (thus utilizing my pocket stays as a built-in girdle), I stitched two semi-circles that roughly follow the bias of the inside pocket piece.  That's in addition to cutting them so the lengthwise grain runs crosswise, which reduces the capacity to stretch a bit more.  Next time I should probably just use power net!

Pocket with bias-controlling stitches (in red)

I picked up some really fun, multi-color paisley quilter's cotton in coordinating shades to use for pockets, waistband facing, bias tape and bias hem facing (since they weren't quite long enough for even a 1/2" hem).  The coordinating cotton is what has made this project so enjoyable.  I'm not normally a paisley fan, but it really works with this crazy denim.  The red center of the "amoeba" matches my red perfectly.  I found as many uses as possible for the paisley.

Pocket applique'

I finished them Saturday morning and wore them the rest of the day to run errands.  The only thing I would change is to reduce the ease a bit, since the denim has a tiny bit of stretch.  They are really comfy and I am surprisingly not self-conscious about gallivanting around in bright coral-red pants.  The pattern is a keeper, too.

The Chanel Jacket Post Mortem

Isn't she lovely?

Have I mentioned that my "Chanel" jacket is finished?  Even though I have worn it already, I put it back on the dress form, so that everyone I can admire it while sewing my pants.  Because so much thought/torment/learning went into this piece, I feel I must document the information somewhere.  This is the least likely place for me to lose said documentation.

What I would do differently next time:
(1) Buttonholes down the front.  For reasons I don't recall, I did not design the jacket to button down the front.  Maybe I wanted hooks.  Maybe I wanted it to just hang open.  At some point -- after the pieces were cut -- I did decide I needed buttons. Since I didn't have enough room for overlap, I made loops.  Although the loops came out very nice, and are very stable (sandwiched between two strips of muslin that run the length of the front), I am a little disappointed that I didn't have a more traditional placket.

button loops

(2) Boucle: I love the colors in this fabric, even though it's not my usual palette.  This fabric is tres boucle, though.  The chenille pieces stretch, break and pop out in several places, making it look as though I may have picked up the jacket in a second-hand shop [not that there's anything wrong with that].  I would choose a tighter weave next time around.  I also sneezed a lot while sewing this.  I hope I'm not allergic to it.

(3) Lining: The color of original fabric I ordered to use as a lining did just not look right to me, so I picked up some charmeuse locally.  Unfortunately, it's not silk.  For polyester, it's fairly high quality, but it's not silk.  Next time I will use silk.

(4) Pattern:  When I started this jacket, the latest Claire Shaeffer pattern had not been released and her previous pattern was OOP, and in high demand.  I could not justify paying $150 for a sewing pattern on ebay, so I decided to create my own.  I had an old Simplicity used for a quilted jacket 10 years ago that had princess shoulder seams, but a one-piece sleeve and  I had the Vogue pattern that had a two-piece sleeve, but was loose fitting and too boxy for me.  So I combined the two of them and drafted a three-piece sleeve and a bodice with shoulder princess seams and a side piece cut on the bias.  Since I had no experience doing this, it took me SEVERAL toiles before I had something that looked decent.  I know I must have learned an awful lot in the long drawn-out process.  However, I'm not sure I remember what I learned, since I did not document anything.  It's probably still rattling around inside my head helping me make fitting adjustments.  I did purchase the V8808 a couple of weeks ago when Vogue had a sale.  Next time I will probably use it.

(5) Trim:  I went through at least as many iterations of trim possibilities as I did muslins.  Self trim, ribbon, gimp, braid and several types of crocheted trims with several different colors of yarn, as well as combinations of most of the above together.  I finally settled on eyelash yarn (one strand of purple, one of brown), crocheted into a simple chain with a large hook.  I feel that it balances the large weave of the boucle.  I don't think it would have looked the same on a tighter weave. So I do feel it worked in this case, but will probably torment myself again next time.

(6) Sleeve vents:  As mentioned, the sleeves were self-drafted, and I've never drafted a sleeve or sewn a jacket with vents, so it was a crash course in vents.  They came out fine, but I spent an awful lot of time on them.  I could have easily skipped the buttonholes and just sewed the ends together -- which I considered many times -- but felt like I needed to have real buttonholes somewhere on the jacket.  They were a lot of fun to make and am looking forward to my next opportunity to do a hand-worked buttonhole.  Next time I would put a larger piece of organza into the end of the sleeve to help stabilize the buttonholes.  I don't remember why they were only 2" wide.  Next time I will cut the organza 4" wide.

(7) Pockets: I made 2 patch pockets, but considered doing three or four.  I just couldn't find a combination that I was happy with to extend the number of pockets.  The pocket is lined with lining fabric and interlined with organza to give it some stiffness. I think they came out nicely - I would revisit the 3 or 4 pocket options, though.

Inside of patch pocket

(8) Buttons: One area where I agonized excessively...finding the PERFECT button.  This part of my planning went on for weeks.  Really.  I finally settled on some simple gold buttons from Joann.  They are fine -- classic and simple.  As with the trim, future buttons will just depend on the fabric I use "next time."

All that being said, I don't really know if I will ever have the time to do a jacket like this again!  I did learn a lot of new techniques that I will no doubt use in other projects, though.

The Cupboard Under the Stairs

Every once in a while it gets a cleaning and dusting.  We pull out the vacuums (large and small), the coats and hats and mis-matched mittens, the boxes of light bulbs and old picture frames and the dozens of empty bags stuffed inside one another.  For a few months, we are able to see open floor space and step inside to find the coat or scarf we need, but before you know it, the ironing board is once again falling on us and there is not a matching glove to be found. 

Ours has never housed a wizard, though my daughter and I once spent a fairly comfortable over-night on the floor during a tornado warning.  That was early in our home's history, before we began accumulating "stuff" that needed to be hidden.  For the last year, the star resident has been my "Chanel" jacket, who is patiently waiting to have her sleeve vent buttonholes finished, patch pockets, trim and (finally) the chain hand-stitched in place.  I pretend not to see her, unless she has been accidentally knocked to the floor, in which case I gently place her back on the dress form and close the door.

On New Year's day, I found my way over to the Stitcher's Guild forum and learned about SWAP.  It seemed so simple -- finish the jacket and just sew ten other garments for myself between now and April.  Maybe because I'd been on vacation for almost two weeks it seemed so simple to complete.  TEN OTHER GARMENTS?!

For someone who rarely sews for herself, this is a very lofty goal, but I'm taking it on anyway.  At the very least, I will be thrilled to finish the collection by the end of 2013 and will be completely shocked if I finish by the April deadline.

In my state of hyper excitement I ordered three fabrics from Gorgeous Fabrics:
 1) purple silk crepe de chine (I've made myself a green blouse with it before and it is heaven to sew),
 2) rayon/acetate brown leafy print for a second blouse and
 3) brown RPL for slacks. 

Including the jacket, that's only four pieces, leaving me with another SEVEN to plan out, let alone sew!  Nonetheless, I have a more-than-vague plan and I'm going to start it.  I am going to start it as soon as I finish the fleece and flannel extravaganza that is lined up ahead of my wardrobe.