Funnel-Neck Coat: The First Trail
Completed February 24, 2003
***CAUTION***
The photos in this section are NOT of my best
work!!!
(Really; I usually sew much better than this!)
Oh boy, is this coat turning into more of a trial than I had bargained for!
My best friend Linda needed a new winter coat, and I volunteered to make one for her. Now, I haven't made a coat before. But I figured, I have PatternMaster Boutique; I can do anything!
Hoo boy.
Well, last night she got the trial version. It's made of some wool from my stash (the final version will be made from a lovely piece of purple wool melton purchased just for this project). The lining is also from my stash. In fact, the only thing I had to buy for it were the buttons.
The design for this coat came from a snoop shopping trip to Nordstroms, where she tried on a coat with a lovely high funnel neck, and an un-lovely $850 price tag. I made a few notes and tried to copy it in PatternMaster. After three muslins and some false starts I thought I had the collar figured out well enough to make a proper trial garment out of wool -- nothing too exact, but good enough to wear.
One thing this coat has pointed out to me is that I have a LOT to learn about working with wool, doing linings, and making coats.
I'm almost embarrassed to post these pictures but I am doing it in the interest of educating others: maybe you can learn from my mistakes. And maybe I will make the final version much, much better (at least, I sure HOPE so!).
Okay, the pictures:
Here is the front view of the coat.
It was drafted as a swing coat, double breasted, with a raised collar. LOTS of modifications were made, mostly to the collar.
Here's the first big confession (and please don't faint -- remember, this was just supposed to be a trial) is that I didn't interface the coat at all. *GASP!* Boy, do I know now how big a mistake that was. Everything "grew" -- the collar doesn't fit snugly against the neck like it's supposed to, and the coat has no "body". Okay, I have learned my lesson on THAT one.
The sleeves are also too short and this I blame on a really dumb move -- I had marked a fold line when she tried it on and when I got it home to work on it my addled brain said "cut here" and so I did. Hence, shorter sleeves than intended.
The collar is designed to be worn open or closed. Here's the open view:
The facing is a different fabric because I ran out of the wool I used for the rest of the coat. Luckily it looks pretty nice. What I do NOT like is the button that sticks out from the collar; I had hoped that would be covered up by the collar points. Back to the drawing board.
There is also WAAAAAY too much ease in the bust. I need to take at least 4 inches and possibly as much as six inches out of the bust ease.
I will, however, take pride in one feature: the buttonholes. I tried corded buttonholes for the first time and really liked how they came out. I used Perle Crown Cotton as the cord.
Here's the back view:
The hemline looks awful, I know... I could not get rid of the stitch line marks. Again, I blame it all on lack of interfacing.
I just purchased the Taunton book on sewing coats and jackets, so I will be studying that very carefully prior to attempting the construction of the final version. I'm also awaiting a "review" from my friend as to how she likes the general "feel" of the design.
So, stay tuned for the next installment -- if I dare to attempt it!