V8346 - The Finished Product

Having ultimately decided on the gold buttons, I finished up the final touches on my coat Monday night! 

 

I made two large changes to the pattern as drafted. Being in possession of a lovely vintage fur collar I disregarded the collar peice on the pattern and instead cut the collar to be the same size and shape as the fur.  I otherwise attached the collar as explained in the instructions and then handstiched the fur to the completed collar.  

The other major change was making the coat single, rather than double breasted.  I think that this helped make the coat more "vintage inspired glamour" and less "crochety boat captain headed to the arctic."

 

The hem and sleeves are finished by first basting the coating to the appropriate length and steaming smooth, then basting the lining to a slightly shorter length and attaching the two using a blind hem slipstich.  Word of warning for anyone who plans on making this garment... it is a LOT of hemming.  It took almost three hours which seems absurd until you realize how full the "skirt" portion of the coat really is.

 

The lining is a graphic black and white print that I pulled from my stash.  It's some sort of poly-rayon blend that Joanns tends to just label as "silky" and that I avoid other than for attractive linings.  This however is a heavier weight than the average "silky" which lends a bit of warmth and weight to the coat. 

 

 

And finally, here is the coat on my actual human body (rather than my foam double).  It's hard to see the shape because of the angle (I should totally photoshop out my right arm), but I love that the coat nips in at the waist and flares out into a nice easy fullness  I also like the princess seaming and that the sleeve is cut relatively close to the body.  This definitely a coat to go over dresses and form-filling sweaters and not to throw on over something bulky. 

 

Speaking of sleeves... one major perk of making my own winter coat is that for the first time since probably 1995 I have sleeves the appropriate length.  I no longer have to depend on slightly longer gloves to protect my poor, delicate wrists from the harsh, terrible cold!  Seriously, until I finally had sleeves the correct length, I didn't truely appreciate how annoying my slightly too-short sleeves had been all these many years!

 







 

And after two days of wear in the Cleveland winter I can attest that this combination of thick fur and cozy cashmere is indeed very warm, making this not only pretty, but also quite practical!