Progress at last!

January 13th update: Progress has been slooooow. As soon as I completed the side seams, I deliberately started dragging my heels. Why, you ask? because the very large side seam pockets destroyed the line of the coat and added about 30 kg to my hips. It took a while to convince myself that remedial action was essential (in this case, NOT a visit to the gym). By now I've ripped out the side pockets and reconstructed the side seams. Much better!

The bound buttonholes are made, but their matching openings on the facing not yet. Neither are the single welt pockets on the coat fronts: last night I had to dye some silk jacquard & organza for new pocket linings and facing buttonhole lips. But once those two things are done, I can sew the shoulder seams, set in sleeves & collars, and sew everything together. The undercollar is nicely padstitched, and the facings, underlining, and lining all integrated into a silk-lined microfleece undercoat. Then, just the sleeve & bottom hemming, and buttons. My progress is incrementally tiny each day. The windchill will be -34C tonight, -36C during the day tomorrow, and actual temps are to drop to -31C by Friday: I want to wear this baby already, and start my California-bound wardrobe.

Original post Jan 1st: Finally. Oh yes. I have 3 - count'em - just three nearly to-be-uninterrupted days left before I return to work. I hope to have my Very Serious Siege of Stalingrad Coat all but done by then. My little family New Year's Eve skate yesterday (brrr!), and the temps hitting -20C overnight, said: it's Time! it's Now Or Never! During the holidays I also did a little psychoanalysis aka self reflection, and realized what was holding me back: construction of the lining is always SO anticlimactic for me (hugely booooring!). I couldn't face that, SO to avoid the anticlimax, I started with the innards of the coat instead. Hooorray!!! Today I cut & sewed the lining, cut out the windblock underlining, got at least partway to having it constructed (might even finish before the night is out), and pre-treated the string which is going to be the lining trim (inside a gold coloured satin ribbon).
Oh yea. Oh yes, yes yes. I'm going to have a new coat before the week's out. A nice, long, all the way down there to the ground, made in Canada for a truly spanking Canadian blizzard, Eskimo-survival coat. Yea. Arctic blast, you say? bring it on, baby!!!! I'm going to face 40 below and enjoy it!!!!!

Liana's Coat is Finished

I got photos of the coat on me, so I'm adding them at the top of this post.





Link to All Photos in this Post

I got the buttonholes finished today, and now I'm completely done. I'm very pleased with this project. I don't have any photos of me wearing it because I dropped the camera on a cement floor while I was taking these photos, and that was the end of that!

I don't think you can see the shaping very well on the form, but it has a very nice, subtly slimming line, and has a lovely shaping to the side seam area, even though it doesn't have side seams as such. Marfy drafting shows its excellence once again, at least in my opinion.

The lining is silk charmeuse, and I used the same corded-look whipstitch with DMC floss to attach the lining to the body of the coat as I used on the pocket linings. I also attached the monogram circle to the right front lining in the same way.


Here's a close-up of one of the buttonholes. I used the same DMC floss to make them as I used on the lining, etc.

The stitches are fairly large, and even at this scale they tend to disappear into the pile of the cashmere. I love the way the bead on the edge of the lips makes a perfect line, and I think the variegated floss adds just a little spark to it.

Here are the buttons buttoned through the buttonholes.


I want to thank Marji for spurring so many of us to start and finish a coat project. I know I would not have attempted such a complicated project with so many new techniques without her encouragement and knowledge.