Albion
Pattern: Albion by Colette Patterns - Walden
Size: XS
Fabric:
-Fused Lace Boiled Wool from B & J Fabrics
-Rayon/Silk Satin from Dharma Trading - dyed Cerulean Blue with Dharma Fiber Reactive Dye
-Weft Insertion interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply
Notions:
-Snap hooks and D-rings from Pacific Trimmings
-Buttons from Pacific Trimmings
-Leather from an Etsy seller
-Lace from Fabric Depot - Bridal department
Modifications:
-Forward shoulder alteration
-Removed width from sleeve bicep area while widening from elbow down
-Lengthened sleeve by 3/4"
-Took in 1 1/4" at waist
-Raised armhole 1"
-Cut patch pocket as slanted pocket (more natural hand position) - eliminating the need for a flap. Also added diagonal stitching at the bottom pocket corners because I hate losing things into the deep corner of a pocket
-Changed in-seam pocket shape to more traditional kidney shape, but still long enough to catch in center facing topstitching and used lining fabric instead of fashion fabric to eliminate bulk - plus I like a slippery pocket fabric
-Hemmed lining with lace instead of tucking into fashion fabric hem line
-Metal snap-hooks and D-rings instead of toggles
-Changed position of sleeve tab to face backwards for more interest from a rear view - also cut the tab ends rounded
-Interfaced both back and front upper yoke, center front facing, armhole edges, positions of the snaps, in-seam pocket openings
-Eliminated hood tab as my thick fabric made it look just silly hanging off flapping free and I didn't think I would use it
-Added embroidered "made by" tag
-Added hanging chain
Thoughts:
This project has turned out to be satisfying sew although there were times I wanted to throw it out the window.
My fabric was very thick and required a walking foot. Though the construction was pretty straight forward it was definitely time consuming.
My biggest obstacle during the muslin alterations was getting the sleeve just right. I ended up almost redrafting the whole sleeve cap as the bicep area of the original pattern was just gigantic on me, but the forearm/cuff area was too narrow. After probably 5 different drafts I finally got a shape that worked, but boy, I was really pulling my hair out on that one.
My biggest obstacle with sewing was the lining. I hand dyed it in my bathtub and it turned out the most gorgeous shiny cerulean blue. Just fantastic! My love for the fabric stopped there. The fabric was horrible to work with. I stiffened it with starch and it was still super slippery and shifty. Cutting it out was a nightmare. I never quite got it on grain so there was some….interesting bias growth in some of the pieces. I used the sharp microtex needle and still got some pulled threads. It frayed like crazy so I finished the edges with a zigzag stitch for fear of what would happen once it was installed in the coat.
Onto hemming - As for the lining hem…some of my pieces grew and some of them were too short to hem as the pattern directions dictated. After a lot of stressed out thinking I came up with a solution to hem the coat fabric and lining fabric separately. I would use the 1" hem for the coat fabric and add a lace hem to the lining fabric to even it out. I was able to zigzag the lace to the hem in a straight line parallel to the coat fabric and then trimmed off the lining fabric close to the stitching line. I then handstitched the still-loose sides of the lining/lace to the center facing.
I used metal snap-hooks and D-rings as closures because I thought the traditional wood toggles of the duffle coat would cheapen the look and black ones would blend in too much. I also wanted to add a little edginess. So I picked out brass snap-hooks and D-rings. I attached them with black leather tabs - rounded at the ends to continue the rounded edge theme from the sleeve tabs. I left the ends of the tabs unstitched as I thought it added some dimensional interest.
A coat chain was added at the hood/body seam to aid in hanging on coat hooks. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one with a brass finish to match the hook hardware.
And finally, an embroidered tag with my name, year of completion, and fabric content was added to the upper back.
Albion
Pattern: Albion by Colette Patterns - Walden
Size: XS
Fabric:
-Fused Lace Boiled Wool from B & J Fabrics
-Rayon/Silk Satin from Dharma Trading - dyed Cerulean Blue with Dharma Fiber Reactive Dye
-Weft Insertion interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply
Notions:
-Snap hooks and D-rings from Pacific Trimmings
-Buttons from Pacific Trimmings
-Leather from an Etsy seller
-Lace from Fabric Depot - Bridal department
Modifications:
-Forward shoulder alteration
-Removed width from sleeve bicep area while widening from elbow down
-Lengthened sleeve by 3/4"
-Took in 1 1/4" at waist
-Raised armhole 1"
-Cut patch pocket as slanted pocket (more natural hand position) - eliminating the need for a flap. Also added diagonal stitching at the bottom pocket corners because I hate losing things into the deep corner of a pocket
-Changed in-seam pocket shape to more traditional kidney shape, but still long enough to catch in center facing topstitching and used lining fabric instead of fashion fabric to eliminate bulk - plus I like a slippery pocket fabric
-Hemmed lining with lace instead of tucking into fashion fabric hem line
-Metal snap-hooks and D-rings instead of toggles
-Changed position of sleeve tab to face backwards for more interest from a rear view - also cut the tab ends rounded
-Interfaced both back and front upper yoke, center front facing, armhole edges, positions of the snaps, in-seam pocket openings
-Eliminated hood tab as my thick fabric made it look just silly hanging off flapping free and I didn't think I would use it
-Added embroidered "made by" tag
-Added hanging chain
Thoughts:
This project has turned out to be satisfying sew although there were times I wanted to throw it out the window.
My fabric was very thick and required a walking foot. Though the construction was pretty straight forward it was definitely time consuming.
My biggest obstacle during the muslin alterations was getting the sleeve just right. I ended up almost redrafting the whole sleeve cap as the bicep area of the original pattern was just gigantic on me, but the forearm/cuff area was too narrow. After probably 5 different drafts I finally got a shape that worked, but boy, I was really pulling my hair out on that one.
My biggest obstacle with sewing was the lining. I hand dyed it in my bathtub and it turned out the most gorgeous shiny cerulean blue. Just fantastic! My love for the fabric stopped there. The fabric was horrible to work with. I stiffened it with starch and it was still super slippery and shifty. Cutting it out was a nightmare. I never quite got it on grain so there was some….interesting bias growth in some of the pieces. I used the sharp microtex needle and still got some pulled threads. It frayed like crazy so I finished the edges with a zigzag stitch for fear of what would happen once it was installed in the coat.
Onto hemming - As for the lining hem…some of my pieces grew and some of them were too short to hem as the pattern directions dictated. After a lot of stressed out thinking I came up with a solution to hem the coat fabric and lining fabric separately. I would use the 1" hem for the coat fabric and add a lace hem to the lining fabric to even it out. I was able to zigzag the lace to the hem in a straight line parallel to the coat fabric and then trimmed off the lining fabric close to the stitching line. I then handstitched the still-loose sides of the lining/lace to the center facing.
I used metal snap-hooks and D-rings as closures because I thought the traditional wood toggles of the duffle coat would cheapen the look and black ones would blend in too much. I also wanted to add a little edginess. So I picked out brass snap-hooks and D-rings. I attached them with black leather tabs - rounded at the ends to continue the rounded edge theme from the sleeve tabs. I left the ends of the tabs unstitched as I thought it added some dimensional interest.
A coat chain was added at the hood/body seam to aid in hanging on coat hooks. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one with a brass finish to match the hook hardware.
And finally, an embroidered tag with my name, year of completion, and fabric content was added to the upper back.