Saturday, March 2, 2013

Zoom! Another One Zips By.



Well, birthday 2013 is in the books, and just like sequester, it was unstoppable. Of course, it was much more fun!



 Lots of salutations from friends near and far, wonderful gifts and a dinner out.  The kitchen sink was miraculously cleaned of it's contents and the horses and donkeys fed without me so much as lifting a strand of hay. I could get use to this! I'll share the b-day goodies in the next post or two.


Today's post is all about coat progress. The lining was completed last week so there was nothing stopping me from getting started on the coat proper. This is a long out of print pattern and I'll say, the directions are much better than most new ones being printed. So away we went. The first order of business was attaching the yokes front and back.




 I had decided to use baste in interlining/underlining for this project and went for a stiffer horsehair option. If you have knitted or spun cashmere, you know it's very soft, has good drape but can be limp to work with, having no body, crispness or spring like wool does. So too this fabric is quite heavy but with no real body of it's own. It needs good underpinnings to hold its shape. And the closures also for this coat will need that extra support.



It was pretty straightforward to attach the shoulders and then onto the sleeves.



 I decided I wanted another detail on them so added a decorative panel that runs the top of the sleeve to elbow joint.



Also beefed up is the decorative cuff tab. I liked the relief the cream plaid provided but it was too wimpy looking for this wide sleeve, so I added another layer using the same cashmere fabric. At this point my sewing machine is going through about 10 layers of fabric if you count the bits where seams are made and the sleeve seam itself. That size 16 needle certainly did it's job and did it well.



Then it was time to set in the sleeves. They were very nicely drafted and done flat, which was a godsend with the additional thickness over the top cap area. Add 45 minutes of top stitching time and it was onto seaming up the sides and finding out if the thing really fit or not! It does, like a glove.




 


 I'm thrilled. It's also upped the anty to do a first rate job on getting the collar in. I stopped yesterday after finally figuring out what it was they wanted me to do with the under collar.



 It took me about 15 minutes of reading and looking at the pieces and pictures before the light dawned in my now 55 year old brain.





I did the step and decided that collar wrestling is best done when one is fresh and eager. The sewing closet was picked up, the coat draped over Rhonda for safe keeping, the Pfaff 1171 got a pet and a mini clean out for doing such a nice job on those extremely thick layered areas. I then cracked my Kindle and spent the early afternoon reading between the comfy chair and the bench in sun outside. Mother Nature offered up her gift of a bright sunny 60 degree plus day and I certainly wasn't going to squander that!

Parting shot: Will you be my friend too?

14 comments:

LA said...

Happy Birthday, Theresa!!! I'm glad you had such a special day. Your coat is amazing...you'll enjoy wearing that!

Valerie said...

Happy Birthday!! Love Stella's card to you!

ladyoftheloom said...

Happy Birthday Theresa!

What is that skull under that bench??? Saber tooth tiger?

Michelle said...

Happy, happy! The only thing I wish is that YOU model all your fine tailoring. I am SO impressed by what you do in that arena!

heather said...

happy birthday!

Anna H said...

Glad to hear how wonderful your day was, and it was great to see you in person to give you a birthday hug. ...Anna

Anonymous said...

Stella is so creative! Happy Natal Day Theresa!

Maggie said...

Happy Birthday, Princess Theresa!
I love the detail on the tab on the coat

Laura said...

Hope you had a wonderful day!! I love the fabric - it looks like you just want to snuggle into it - just perfect for a coat!!

R. Delight said...

Happy Birthday! Enjoying the coat making process. For some reason the vision of you "cracking a Kindle" made me laugh. Ah me, times do change.

Mary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mary said...

Happy Birthday friend! Your coat is going to be very elegant and your additions of the tabs and underlining materials will make it super special. Nice work, as always. See you soon.

Theresa said...

Friends Thank you All ( imagine me holding a some roses and blowing kisses...okay, maybe not) for the birthday wishes. It was a prtty darn spectacular day and you all made the day after fun with your comments, as always!

TSAB, I bet that oreo was good too.How soon is soon?

Renee, They do change don't they. If it helps, it is an older model Kindle, almost one of the first models....

Laura, It IS soft and thankfully you can tell right side from wrong side because of the uber soft right side nap.

Martha, Ah yes, Stella and Photoshop, an interesting partnership! ;)

Anna, Your space looked wonderful, those collages...something quite special.And good to see you too!!!

Thank you Heather!

Michelle, Maybe one of these days,Mr. Runamuck is not known for taking flattering pictures and then of course, there is the danger of a strange photoshop version...;)

LOTL, I believe it is a cow skull, found up here on the mountain, could be a deer, but I think a cow.

Valerie, That Stella, she pops up in such interesting ways, Jack too.

LA, I'm getting back on that coat today. Let's hope all the fussy collar bits come out as amazing as it is so far.

Maggie, I too love the extra tab detail and I love that pattern suggestion you sent along in the previous post too. Thanks!

Coco said...

Happy Birthday! And i'm enjoying your coat project, it is so good looking. I agree that older patterns have better instructions!