Thursday 14 February 2013

Rainy Day Bridge

SWAP 13 , the bridging garment - a reversible raincoat.

This is what finishing an inside seam on a two piece sleeve looks like. 

I started to mess about with a fancy stitch along the edges of the reversible coat as a finishing technique and it looked pretty good, but after all that forcing through the machine for a clean seam finish the raw edge started to fray a little and it became messy and untidy.

I was lucky enough to have a 3" strip of the black jersey along one selvedge of the fabric without the twill attached, so I cut this off and being jersey it was malleable enough to stretch around curves and points. No need to bias it. This also does not fray but my straight stitching and stitch-in-the-ditch techniques are abysmal so I choose a feather stitch on the machine that was wide enough to catch all the edges in one pass.
Not perfect, but adequate and does finish the coat to a higher standard. Thanks to all of you who suggested the bias strip - it worked! The trim goes all the way around the entire coat; lapels, sleeves and hem. I think I just about made it and fretted that I would run out of the black jersey to complete the job. The gods were smiling on me that day and I had a measly 7" left over.
As for the collar - I attached it as usual on one side - making the assumption that this is the 'right' side. 

On the other side, I slipstitched the seam allowance under to hide the raw edges. Let's hope it holds. the collar is the only bit of this coat that has two layers. I didn't add interfacing as it sits well enough on its own. The twill is fairly stiff and required the use of a jeans needle in the machine to get through it.
All the seams are flat felled and nearly even!
Although I added an extra 20" to the pattern to get a full length coat, it was actually too long. I was aiming for about knee length. So I had to whack off another 4-5".

With the cut off hem I made a black belt for the days when I wear the coat inside out.

I also added a single button closure at the front for the times when I want the coat closed but not belted. My machine was not in good form for making buttonholes and the whole area was frayed and smashed beyond repair. I added a patch to cover the mess and I suppose it's better this way as it reinforces the buttonhole. From the button box came two different buttons to match either side. They are sewn back to back so some days I'll button to the left and other days I'll button to the right. 

And just in case  you thought I am wonder woman to get all this sewing done I'd like to point out that I'm off work on half-term and though I should be marking and prepping, I didn't think a little dedicated sewing time would hurt anyone. Now however, I'll be sitting up 'til 2am on Sunday morning to get ready for Monday!

42 comments:

  1. Truly impressive. It looks really great on you no matter which side you wear. And I love how you fixed the buttonhole issues.

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    1. I was in despair - you get to the very last thing to be sewn and it's so easy to make a mess of the whole garment. I hate buttonholes

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  2. You ARE wonder woman and you look fantastic in that reversible trench! So chic how the collar stands and those cuffs! I recently also tried to wrestle a sleeve seam through the machine to finish the edges. I thought I could do half of the seam from each end (armhole and wrist) but I couldn't get even a third of the way through. I ended up finishing the raw edges by hand... from your experience it sounds like this is universal, so I won't try again I think. Congrats again on a great trench!

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    1. Thanks Lucia. There must be an easier way for finishing sleeve seams - same for both seams in jeans.

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  3. That is gorgeous!! I love the reversible aspect of the coat and both sides are beautiful on you.

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    1. Thanks Shams, two coats for the price of one - that's what I like

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  4. Love the coat - the featherstitch on the edge looks very effective - as does your buttonhole solution !

    Janice.

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    1. Far from perfect finishing Janice but I'll keep practicing. Thanks

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  5. Wow. I'd never have the patience to sew that lovely garment! Looks wonderful.

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    1. Yes Linda, you would have the patience, I've seen what you sew - awesome

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  6. Stupendous, Ruth. Just outstanding. I like the bias finish. Do I now need to do a rain dance so you can test it out?!
    Coco

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    1. Believe me Coco, in Ireland the rain is never far away

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  7. what a fab coat, love the colours and it looks great on you. Well done

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  8. You must be the best dressed teacher in all of Ireland!! You have created and are creating the lovliest wardrobe.

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    1. Oh don't know about but I'm often asked in work if I have an 'interview'! - good to keep the bosses on their toes.

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  9. This is absolutely fantastic! Love every aspect of it especially how you saved the buttonholes and the pockets! Beautiful!

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    1. Carolyn, I stole the pocket idea from a vintage 1960s coat of my mum's. Thanks

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  10. Fab-u-lous! You look so good in it as well :)

    PS. My lovely skirt pattern arrived safe and well today. I am going to play around with it - and will then do a blog post. Thank-you so much for your generosity!

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    1. Glad to hear you will sewing up some Paco soon

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  11. What a gorgeous coat, Ruth, absolutely stunning!

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  12. A truly beautiful coat that looks terrific on you. I love the reversibility. You did a great job of stitching, as usual!

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    1. Oh Dixie, my stitching really needs a lot of work - straight lines and precision and me just don't go well together. But thanks.

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  13. Ruth, You're amazing. This jacket is stunning. I want one too.
    I am in awe of your talents.

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    1. Actually, I think the awe is the other way around

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  14. What a great looking coat! You did an excellent job with this. Truly stunning.

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  15. Love your reversible coat! And I want to say thanks for posting when things don't go quite as planned, and the way you meet those challenges. Creative fixes, as I like to call them:-! Looking forward to seeing the whole wardrobe together when it's finished!

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    1. Creative fixes - good one. But of course, you know I had planned to do it like this all a long - LOL

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  16. This is fantastic! I love the combination of black and beige so much. The way you fixed the bottunhose is nice and the patch looks cute too!

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    1. Classic colours that coordinate with lots of others, hopefully I'll get good wear out of it.

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  17. Don't know how I missed this. So wait, I make a pair of children's slippers and you make...this?? I just don't know how you can be so mean.

    Seriously, both your sewing and your aesthetic skills/flair are really developed. What a lovely piece! Having recently made a reversible cape, I think reversible garments are about 8 times as hard as normal garments. Well done for such elegant finishing.

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    1. I just didn't realise how much work is involved in a reversible garment. A lot was 'figured' out as I went along.

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  18. Wow this is amazing. I love your patch workaround. Beautiful coat!

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth, I had to do it otherwise the whole thing would have been in the bin. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

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  19. ohhhh! me like!

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  20. Ta very much - needs to warm up a bit before it gets its first outing.

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  21. Despite your challenges, that is one knockout coat. I love it!

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  22. Your reversible coat is amazing. I love the black details on the bone/beige side, they really make it pop, yet it still looks classic. Both sides look so good, you are very clever. What a versatile garment.

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