A Sherlock Coat. . . from hell.

Yes, I said it.  A coat from hell.  Fucking hell.

Let's see . . . two months ago I did a muslin.  Upon said muslin, that I will not show you as it was a tatty old sheet and flower placements enhanced my rear, chest, and well . . . for a mulsin it was even ugly.  Kind of looked like Rainbow Bright procreated with Barney. Back to the coat story, shall we.  Two months ago a muslin was made.  Two months later I dove in, after sketching and planning, testing some squares, and . . . I cut into the houndstooth.

That's purple silk charmeuse to line it.  China silk to underline it.  Weft fusible interfacing and horsehair rounds it out.

Begin to see a pattern here? This, this, is one of those coats you plot and plan as it's gonna be nothing short of whole paycheck.  Though, in theory it is a whole paycheck to, well, last until the day you die.

Some pretty stuff . . . eh? The pearl cotton thread is there, but it wasn't used . . . I was, at one point, going to embroider a tag, but . . . you'll see.

Oh, from when I crowd sourced what pattern.  I had always planned on the Butterick pattern, and then I thought hey . . . then, more numbers came for Butterick B5685 anyway, and  . . . I should have done that damned McCalls.  On that same note, there's a reason I run from the big four.  I have a blouse pattern, one shirt dress, and some trousers left to try.  I'm contemplating not trying those new patterns I have, since, well . . .

So mid length version it was. 

Me and plaid matching go way back, and just so ya know . . . seven hours later I had the coat, silk underlying, silk lining, and weft interfacing cut (and pressed).

That plaid, from Mood, is mid range on price . . . I liked the drape, soft hand, and the print drew me.  Though, you would have to be living under a rock to not see the Sherlock Holmes invocation here . . . yea, the Victorian Sherlock, the modern Sherlock . . . I'm a fan.  Lucy Liu's NYC one . . . I'm more on the fence than not, but the BBC's Sherlock is pure joy.  And just when you thought I wasn't that cool. . . 

There's no photos of ironing the weft to the wool, but really no one wants to see that.  I do recommend blaring questionable music while doing so.  Really detracts from the borderline drudgery of it.  Sing pretty loud too.  Even better.  

And then . . . I machine basted all those china silk pieces to the pattern pieces, then used my applique scissors to trim the seam (i.e. removing bulk), then basted said seams, checked for plaid matching, then sewed for real, then pressed each one (using my tailor's press to set each one . . . as in it took three to ten minutes (depending on length) to set each seam.  Ah . . . but after I had the first piece done, I got to catch stitch while ironed hot seams were cooling under the press.  Bees wax saved the day and I stitched miles and miles before I slept.  

Horsehair, for the collar.  Those purple lines . . . to give me markers to sew along.  FYI, that's a purple permanent marker that I gently pressed (so that I wouldn't mark up the wool).  And after all that pad stitching I taped the damned collar.  Yes, yes I did.  At this point, I posted a pic of it since a friend teaches construction and her students complain so loudly and whole heartedly about pad stitching . . . So more than has my permission to shame them.  

Tea in the cup, though in retrospect I wish it had been whiskey. I did have fun doing this though . . . horror shit show aside.  

Taped the shoulders, so ya know they'll stay for life.  Taped the neck too.  

Horse hair front and back stays.  Pad stitched on the front.  Yes, yes.  You read that right.  

So much care. 

Okay, so the pattern had a one piece sleeve.  I'm sorry Butterick, but a tailored coat and a one piece sleeve . . .that's just an oxymoron in my book.  So . . . I swapped out the sleeve for the Anise sleeve as it A) fits me like a well oiled machine and B) fit my coat like kismet.  The princess seams and the sleeve seams met up like the were separated at birth.  

I used some fleece to make the sleeve head, and then the pink and purple flannel is left over from my Dad's pants at Christmas.  Yes, I have scraps of my Dad's PJs on my biceps.  Irony, as I said on IG, is the hot pink invokes Women's Lib in a feminist like me (or, ahem, one who is failing at finishing the final chapter revisions on a book).  Freud would have a field day with my Dad's pants in my coat, but . . . yea, buddy who wears the pants now? 

You can't look away or stop laughing, can you? 

Shoulder pads: the key . . . hand stitch them in, half an inch into the seam allowance.  

The top.  

Bound fucking button holes.  Bound fucking button holes.  Say it again.

Use Colette's tutorial though.  Gemy, creamy, and sweat.  Like a Black Cherry soda sans the calories or belching.

 This is where we should take note . . . I tried this bitch on.  The looseness of it A) was chalked up to not having the skirt and B) buttons were needed.  Little did I know.

Sewing the top to the bottom . . . oh my, oh my.  That wasn't bad.  It's just weighty.  Be prepared for your upper arm strength to improve.  I ran that day, but if I hadn't this certainly would have counted for cardio.

Before . . . A round of hallelujahs? Oh no, just wait . . .   

This.  Fucking this.  

I wanted to fucking cry. 

Dude, in two months I've lost an inch or so.  Yes.  This is also affirmed as I ordered bra makings two months ago, and my wires are too big . . . as I double checked my new numbers with the old post it.  Why the loss? Some life changes, and mostly the plaq if FINALLY leveling out again.  Meaning my body almost has her mojo back of sorts.  

So, there's one for body image.  Of course, I promptly went and tried on a pair of jeans . . . they fit, so I then wore them for the next three days.   Subtle reminders . . . Of course, there's a two size smaller pair that, well, every women has something like that.  The skinny of skinny jeans.  If I stop eating now I would fit in them by Memorial Day?

So, yea . . . sometimes you don't really notice the difference . . . like here.  Though, of course, I've been making bras as I now realize all of mine are too loose, and . . . I'm like dude I should try clothes on again.  Went through the entire closet.  Two skirts I haven't shimmied into in a couple of months look pretty damned good.  Man, moments like this I love plaquenil.  And, if you are wondering . . . it's a no to low side effect week.  Even better.  

Back to that atrocity up there.  Holy hell on a clam shell.

So, for a week she hung on a hanger . . . As I didn't want to deal with it, but I knew if I took this coat out of eye sight I would conveniently forget about her horror.  And . . . friends I offered to gift it to were adamant that work on tweaking . . . And that is the wrong word.  More like overhaul a '57 Chevy to a '65 Mustang.  Great fuck.

That is an inch and a half of "ease."  Ease my ass.  So, when I made the muslin It was snug as a hooker's thong.  So, what did I do? So I upped from a 18 to a 20.  Opted out the sleeves, went for the Anise (which is partly because a single piece sleeves does not say tailored coat in my elitist book of the day AND . . . damned things were shit on me), and then when I tested pieces of scrap with the weft plus silk it made sense to up the size and the two layers added just enough to need extra ease.  Point, the sleeve change (to ones that fit) also contributed to the entire bodice laying differently on my torso.  Stupid lesson of the day, when the sleeves are the shitty and you swap them out re-test the muslin.

Great fuck.  The muslin in its psychadilic glory was what is was.  This? Well, when I added the skirt the bodice fell, crumpled, and then I stood there looking like a four year playing in Grandma's closet. I am willing to bet the muslin would near fit now with sleeves changed an a smaller body.  How fucked is that? Well, also, I think this coat is better for a lighter fabric, as in also why I'm not sold on the finale.

Huge moral of this story: don't wait two months to sew the real McCoy after you made a muslin.  

So . . . 1.5 inches on the princess bust seams, ANOTHER 1.75 inches on EACH side, and some beer .  .. Yea, I busted out a beer and said fuck it.  Turned her inside out, and started ripping out the catch stitching on the chest et al.   That was fun.  The two princess seams, and down the front, the side seam, taken in to the pocket top, and then the lining.  Spilled some beer, a good Belgium brew, on the lining.  Rinsed it out, but there's a small beer stain.  Oh well.  It's on the lining, dead of my ass.  C'est la vie.

Honestly, I blared a lot of questionable music while doing the overhaul, didn't leave the sewing table for like four f-ing hours, and when it was done it was done. The one princess seam is slightly warped (as in, the architectural lines of the coat might have gotten jacked with the industrial overhaul), but the collar hides it.  Also, another blow over with steam will probably fix it.

Such a difference.  Dude.  And look at that matching. 

I hand set in the sleeves, the waist of the lining was to be hand set in, via the pattern, but I said screw that and wanted a high stress area to have a machine set in, and I completely ignored the hemming and lining instruction and followed the hand set method I do for tailored coats.  The buttons are mix matches leather and faux ones from the stash, magically all matching.  The inside buttons are faux, as there's a snap instead of two standard button holes on the inside flap.  I seriously said fuck it at that point.

And:

And in living color:

Fits much better . . . fits really well, to be precise.  Driving and walking in it are every a coat should be, so there is serious win there.  The style though, on me, is not the best.  Honestly, like I said, in a twill or denim I think this would be ideal on me.  The wool makes it too dense so to speak.  Though, I got more than a few compliments . . . C'est la vie.  We are always our own harshest critics. 

Yes, you can see a chest shape now.  Serious reductions here.   

With that in mind, Grainline just released her much anticipated Cascade Coat.  I've got some cashmere wool coating that I've been hoarding for it.  In two weeks, or so, that beauty  . . . then I will have my own duffle since I've made them for everyone but me. And, then, I swear I will be done with coats for a spell.  Okay, maybe . . . It's like a damned addiction all that tailoring.  Works kind of like running for me, lets my mind truly escape for a few and work out the kinks on publication projects in the mix.  

It does work well open . . .

This coat? Who knows.  It was fun to make, but I am not a fan of the outcome.  Though, I did wear it today .  ..