COATS : The Black Cape Collar Coat

After putting the finishing touches on the lilac coat on the weekend (outfit post to come), I made a start at finishing the black one.

After a comment from Esz a little while ago, I started thinking about interlining.  The black wool is an incredible fabric, but much lighter in weight than the lilac and the red coats, and to be honest I was worried I would make this magnificent coat and then be cold wearing it.  So the search commenced for an interlining fabric.  What I came up with was this:

This is what's left AFTER I cut my pieces

Its 100% cotton wadding thats used in quilting.  Its unbleached and chemical free so I thought it was a pretty good option - AND its not too thick.  The other bonus is its VERY wide, so I didn't need to buy 5 metres to make the coat, I needed about 1.5 metres.

So on Sunday I set about making the interlining, and discovered the downside to working with 100% cotton wadding.  Its a fluff machine.

My velour tracksuit pants (yes, I do wear tracky pants at home) are actually black, but by the time I had the interlining together they were covered in so much fluff that they looked grey.  Needless to say it also got all over the black wool of the coat.  I now need to invest in a good lint roller!

Anyway, so I got the interlining made and 'inserted', and by then it was night time, so I moved downstairs so I could continue in better light (the light in my sewing room is really bad at night).  I basted the interlining in around the neck, down the fronts, and around the cuffs.

Last night I sewed the bias to the hem, pressed the hem up, and inserted the lining fabric.  Then I sat in front of the TV (after cooking dinner and cleaning up) and hand sewed the hem for two and a half hours!!!  So all that needs to be done now is sew the lining to the cuffs, secure the facing to the back of the bound buttonholes, sew on the buttons AND baste on the cape (I made it removable just in case I get sick of it).  Obviously thats still a lot of work, and while I hope I'll get it all done tonight, chances are I won't...

But!  Here it is at the moment, covered it white fluff:

The cuffs are folded back to reveal the lining fabric as a reminder that I need to sew them, and the cape is just sitting on the shoulders which is why it doesn't look even.  And the facing is pinned around the buttonholes hence the silver lines.  I really should have taken a better photo this morning - sorry about that!

But it will make the final reveal so much better!

This has been a massive project and I'm so close to finishing I can taste it!

Beccie
xxx