The coat has actually been finished for awhile. I was hoping to have a photographer and some gritty Asbury Park, NJ backgrounds. But my photographer was only available before his work day begins, and we both totally forgot that it's pitch black these days before 7 am. C'est la vie. So here I am in [...]
Category: trench coat
Please don’t call the couture police!
Sewing a lining in by hand may be tres couture, but it's difficult to do and do well. You probably all know how much I hate working with polyester lining material, so the quicker I can be done with it the better. Here is the completed lining (minus its hair canvas front interfacing which was [...]
Tackling the details
The details of this coat have been both challenging and fun. All of the small parts are made first and then they get incorporated into the larger seams that actually turn it all into a coat. Here are the epaulettes and the right front storm flap. I've become a "baste-a-holic" after making the wedding jacket, [...]
TC = { (a2 + b2 +(cde)} in other words a trench coat is equal to the sum of its details?
For me a trench coat is all about the details. There's just so much stuff going on! Epaulettes, storm flaps, belt loops here and there. Maybe one of the reasons I've delayed making the coat is all of these details, which are usually topstitched to the Nth degree. In my opinion if they're not [...]
Ix-nay on the longer trench
Although I would have like a longer coat, in the end it just wasn't possible. In fact, I struggled for hours to get the coat as drafted out of my limited amount of fabric. Above you can see how close I had to place the major pattern pieces. Thank God the fabric was 60" wide. [...]
The trench coat muslin and a question
The muslin for the trench coat is complete, so here I am with the first fitting. Overall I'm pleased with the fit. Why the sleeves are so long I haven't a clue. I can safely shorten them by at least 2". The extra 3/4" across each shoulder will allow me to wear this over heavier [...]
Getting back to my roots
Ok. Getting back on track here. I've decided to make the cover trench coat from the Japanese coat book. It's been while, and I have to admit that it's been easy to drift into pre-printed patterns. It's been a treat to open up an envelope and, VOILA.... a pattern and instructions in English. But I [...]
