My last winter project for the year

Last week was wet and wintery, and Monday morning was a chilly 2 degrees (Celsius) – I really could have used a new black coat. But no, work and other commitments kept me from my sewing machine all week. But then, on Sunday, I got a chance to put together the lining and pop it in the coat and on Monday night after work I stayed up late to finish all the hand sewing. So (fanfare please…) here is the finished coat.

Front:

Back:

I am so happy with this coat. I couldn't wait to wear it so please forgive the slightly rumpled appearance due to a couple of bus rides in it.

There are a couple of very minor fit things that I’m not thrilled about but overall I think it’s great. I’d never find anything in the shops that fits this well.
I love the details. The military look pops up most winters, but this coat is not so military that it will look stupid if it isn’t a look of the season.

Collar and epaulettes:

The front waist with 'half belt' insert:

This is the lining, it's a silk cotton blend, isn't it cute?
I cut a 12 at the top and a 14 from the waist down. The fit is pretty good although a tiny FBA would not go astray, plus I think the shoulders are the teensiest bit wide.

The sleeves have drag lines at the front, which happens all the time in my bought jackets – I am trying to fix up my posture, so this might yet get remedied (although I may try and address it in my next jacket just to see how difficult it is to fix). Truth be told, the only reason I didn’t move the sleeve around is because I only noticed this problem after putting in the sleeve head and shoulder pads.

I also lifted the back waistline of the skirt by 1.5cm (by cutting 1.5cm off the top of the skirt at the centre back, tapering to nothing at the side seams). It’s strange, my nape to waist measurement is normal for my height, but I am long between the waist and hips – yet I always need to shorten my back waist. I must have a slightly sway back. The reason I don’t buy many clothes is because they all puddle in the small of my back. I should start dealing with this at pattern stage – I dare say everything will start to look better then.

I used Gutterman topstitching thread for the topstitching and recycled the buttons from my old black coat, which now resides in my cat box. My lucky girls get to sleep on Stella McCartney.

I did get to wear it on Tuesday morning which was quite chilly, but today was very warm. I hope to have at least a couple more cold mornings before I put this one away until next May!

Ah now, what next? I still have the usual pile of projects on the wish list, but not a definite next job. Finally, the freedom to sew what I WANT more than what I NEED! My rough plan is a couple of quick and easy tops, followed by a summery suit. It’s a public holiday on Monday, so I hope to get a lot done. However, it’s my fella’s birthday party on Sunday so I’ll probably get roped into cleaning that up instead.