The Coat Lining

It was lovely and warm yesterday and it made us so happy. We had a high of 6C or 42F. In the early evening, it rained a bit and then we had another 1 cm of snow fall. We were lucky as other places had freezing rain.

Lifestyle

The sanding is done and we now have to wait for the dust to settle. It will be a case of cleaning and dusting for the next few weeks. Soon we will have our home back to ourselves.
Last night, I cleaned some counters, drawers, the black sink (which was grey with dust), the microwave, and the stove. The dust was in every crack and corner and it took quite a while to get rid of it all.

The trim in this house is big and bold and we love it. Though every window and door stands out, the front door looks so grand with this trim.  

Sewing

I worked a lot on the coat yesterday. It isn't finished but it is almost done. Tough an easy pattern, there was a lot of work to it. But first a look at the coat as it looked on Thursday night.

When I finished Thursday night, the facing was pinned to the lining ready for the soutache braid.

Yesterday, the lining and front facing were sewn down 1/8" from the raw edge. Then the soutache braid was zig-zagged down.

And the lining was trimmed back to 5/8" from the stitching.

The sleeves were sewn into the lining and then it was put together. Lines matched up.

It is now ready to be hemmed and button holes made.

I can't wait to see it finished (in a good way). I feel I have rocked the drapery challenge and my challenge to do some high end techniques.
Matching the vertical plaids was the most time consuming part of this project. Having the lines match from the sleeves to the body was a real thought process and I did draw quite a few lines on the pattern I traced. Well worth the time and effort.
The soutache trim was another technique I wanted to use. I was not thrilled finding out the front facing was left with a raw edge and having three thicknesses of heavy fabric in the front seams. So what I did was perfect and gives the coat a better appearance in the front. Both inside and outside.
When I inserted the sleeves, I hand basted them in prior to machine stitching them. No pins to worry about and I knew the gathers were in the right place and not shifting around. I cut V notches where the fabric rippled in the seam allowance of the sleeve so it would lie flat. A careful pressing and they look perfect.

Today

I work and then will have to do more cleaning in the kitchen when I get home. We have three days of no one working so that will help me get some things done.
Until the next time.......................