Supply lists

Supplies

• Needles - for tailoring you want short fine needles, labeled on the package as Betweens
• silk thread OR rayon embroidery thread for marking and basting -do NOT sweat this one. if you don't have easy access to silk thread, just go buy a spool of Sulky machine embroidery thread - or Madeira - Rayon embroidery, not poly embroidery.
• all-purpose thread to match your fashion fabric, and separate thread if you need it for your lining, if your lining is contrast.
• topstitching thread. I'll discuss this at length in a separate post.
  
• Beeswax - easiest to use from a dispenser like this - available Everywhere!
• pencil
• tailors chalk
• tailors ham for pressing and
  
• a press cloth - (I use a square of silk organza)

nice, but not necessary:

• Cotton basting thread this stuff is not for sewing with, but is great for basting, and rips apart when you want to remove it.
• Tracing wheel and tracing paper - I use the old fashioned waxed stuff in large sheets from Greenberg and Hammer - comes in 4 colors
• all the other fun pressing tools like point pressers and sleeve boards and sleeve rolls - they all make pressing easier, but you can make-do without all of them. They represent a huge investment.

Notions:

• Wiggan for hemming
• stay tape - fusible or sew in - straight and bias
• sleeve heads *see below
  
• buttons - you'll need these early on if you're planning on bound buttonholes. If you want to make buttonholes by hand then you can wait awhile on finding these.
• shoulder pads - you can make these, but I will not be going over making shoulder pads, so if you do, you're on your own. You will want uncovered pads, and they come in different shapes for raglan and set-in sleeves, and in different sizes based upon what type of garment they're for and how much pad you want. I have a wholesale source locally (well, sort of local, they're way downtown) that I might be able to use. The avail sources I'm finding on the net are woefully inadequate.

Note, for those few of you making men's coats - someone NEEDS to get a mens tailoring reference. And, check out the Kit available at B.Black&Sons for menswear tailoring. You'll find straight sleeve heads, linen collar interfacing, undercollar felt, and shoulder pads in it.
SewTrue has the chest pads and blade pads that are found in menswear that are not found in women's tailored coats. For menswear I've seen them all over the place - but you can buy "Coat Fronts" by the size, precut and padded. These are at SewTrue, but I believe they also have them at B.Black, Greenberg and Hammer, Atlanta Thread, and maybe at the Sewing Place.

I have a question for everyone in the continental US - Canada:
If I were to put together a package containing a pair of sleeve heads, and an adequate amount of staytape and wiggan, would you be interested in buying it and having me send it to you? Would you be interested in having me include shoulder pads? I would need to cover my costs. I'm thinking that with shipping it wouldn't be more than $10.

The next question is:
If I were to put together a sample set containing 4"x6" samples of a variety of interfacings, including hair canvas, hymo, fusible acro, a fusible weft insertion interfacing, possibly a form-flex - would you be interested in that? That would allow you to sample without having to order yardage. Again, I'd have to cover my costs and shipping- but I could get a lot of samples out of a half a yard of each, so the cost to each would be minimal.

Els (of the Sewing Divas) has contacted me and offered to sell coat sleeve heads (jacket sleeve heads are smaller) to participants here - I'm just going to quote from her email:

I have sleeve heads for coats ( 35 pair in white and 35 pair in black ) which I can sell, although I am not a retailer. Just happen to have a large stash.

These sleeve heads have a longer length and are used for coats.

The sleeve heads for a jacket are shorter in length and also a bit steeper in shape.

The price is € 0,95 ( 95 euro cents) US $1.55 per pair but I can sell them for a special price US $1.20 per pair for this occasion, as part of my contribution.

The sleeve head that I was planning on using from Atlanta Thread are straight and have a foldline delineated into the header. I'm pleased to be able to try these.
What Els will do is send me a batch (saving out some for any of you already in European locations) and I'll repackage and ship from here along with the rest of the notions.
If you want a set of these, you MUST leave a comment here in the comments. I'm not going to be responsible for trying to sort comments and emails and determine who got dibs first. There are 70 sets - coat, NOT jacket size, so I'm going to limit the quantity to one per person, unless we have extras. If you're making more than one coat, you can request materials for as many coats as you need, and I'll add the other type sleeve head for the additional coats.
(if you live in Europe, Els has indicated that she will send a set to you - sign up for one here and we'll take care of the logistics of paying Els directly and getting addresses, later)

in your comment please specify notion kit with shoulder pad OR notion kit without shoulder pad.