I have conquered Stalingrad!

Yes, it's done at long last; I wore it for a test stroll yesterday and to work this morning despite the fact that it's still missing one front button (the local store should re-stock by week's end). Yesterday's photos clearly show the uneven, temporarily pinned up hem with lining peeking out - but all's finished now. I posted a Siege of Stalingrad review for it on Pattern Review. The whole pictorial story can be viewed on my flickr site under the Vogue 1266 set.

This is my 3rd GCSA coat. It was certainly the most complex and time consuming one of the lot. I've learned a tremendous amount during the entire 6-month exercise. Thank you, co-sewers for all your ideas, tips, and process descriptions! And, thank you very much Marji (HUGE BOW), for starting this blog. There's no way in a million years I'd have thought of making a coat without it. Now I see that making a coat doesn't have to be any more intimidating than making a well tailored jacket. Isn't that the best lesson for all future sewing?!

How did I do in comparison with my wishful thinking of last July? Well, I did make the McCall's 5247, but only in a lightweight tartan twill, not the cashmere, which I decided to save for a more interesting pattern. I did make this Vogue coat; I didn't even begin the Burberry-wannabe trenchcoat, but spring is still far ahead; and, to my great surprise, I found a raglan-sleeve Burda pattern for a fun little impromptu short coat that was easy to make and is super comfortable to wear.

OK, who else is still working on their coat? De-lurk and let us rah-rah-rah you onwards!

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!!!!!

Digs' Vogue 1266 "Siege of Stalingrad" coat

This pattern (Vogue 1266, view B, the double-breasted blue) is wonderful. I love everything about it - the length, the perfect waistline placement, the ease all over the body, the length, the swishiness of the skirt. It'll be a fabulous coat.

It has two issues with respect to my own quirks & needs:

1. That straight back thing. My neck is pushing the coat backwards - and this is apparent from the far-back position of the shoulder seams. My inclination is NOT to do the straight back adjustment, because it would shorten the back but leave the side seams where they are, and I'd then have to move them forward, probably as much as 1" (also in the lining pieces). MY inclination is to deepen the back neck and cut the collar piece a little longer to compensate for the extra neck seam length. Not such a bad idea since this coat's going to have jackets & winter scarves under it. This would automatically allow the coat to shift forward & get the shoulder seams where they should be. Could someone please weigh in on the overriding wisdom of one over the other????? :-)))))

2. For a presumptive winter coat, the sleeves are ridiculously narrow. Gorgeous, but wayyyy too narrow. I checked the widest part of the sleeve in my existing winter coat: 24"! This coat: 18.5"!!!! Yes, the sleeve slips over my largest jacket, but JUST. When I make it in the coating flannel plus underlining plus windblock plus lining, it won't. I'm not saying I want 24" wide sleeves, but the armscye and the sleeve need to be enlarged. Question is, where do I enlarge them? Can I widen the sleeve at the top? the undersleeve at the bottom? The back sleeve, under the princess seam or above it? I want the sleeve cap to remain well balanced, and the back sleeve seam to match the back princess seam..... and I want the whole armscye bigger, for all that's going to be squished into it (bulky sweaters, jackets, and more) Advice, please!!!!

The last, but very minor thing I'm noticing is that the back seems a bit too wide for me. However, I figure that if I cut a larger sleeve it'll automatically sit a bit further into the back, and that'll cure this. The bust, waist, and hip fit are great. I could shrink the waist a bit, but I think I'll leave it as is: my professional-fashion-designer mom always said, a little too big is ALWAYS better than even a hair too small. And a winter coat needs room for all that's going to sit under it!

Optional pattern alteration: I intend to turn the back vent into a wide box pleat. In fact, because the fabric is a vertical pinstripe, I think I'll do the box pleat horizontally, as a humorous touch. Canadian winters, brrrrr! You have to experience that mid-February westerly blasting ice crystals at you when it's 28C below zero to know why I don't want that air sneaking up from below. This baby's going to keep me warm if it's the last thing I do!

Edited to show first muslin photos. I added some width (maybe a bit too much) to the left sleeve and lowered the armscye by 3/4". The added sleeve portion is hatched in red. The photos do sugggest that the coat's a bit wide in the upper back. I'd be happier if those vertical folds could be made to disappear. I'm wearing a suit jacket under the muslin. It seems fine elsewhere, and I like the feel of the widened sleeve.

Muslin first version front, right, left, back.