This is the coat that I never knew I needed. So, imagine my excitement as a brand new Minerva Maker combing through the endless fabrics until I landed on this amazing blue wool! Vogue's 1649 had been in my pattern stash for a few months, but I had not given any thought to when or how I would make it.....until I saw this wool. Once it arrived and I ran my hands over it, I knew it was definitely the one. I opted for view A such that I could adorn my creation with black grosgrain ribbon. I enjoyed the process of creating this coat and thought I might share some pointers with you.
For starters, I highly recommend the use of a heavy duty needle and walking foot. The thickness of the wool might be intimidating, if you choose otherwise. You've been warned...lol! After cutting and interfacing all of your fabric pieces, I would definitely opt for extra wide double fold bias tape. As a matter of fact, I would absolutely serge the facing pieces and omit the bias tape altogether (unless you want the hotness of some good looking trim). My reasoning for this is because the 1/4" wide double fold bias tape is just not enough to definitely cover the free edges of the facing pieces. I found myself having to replace slipped bias tape in several spots. In some spots, I laid the already sewn bias tape on top of the slipped spots. I stitched them in place and held my breath. I'm still holding. It was pretty overwhelming.
As I prepared to stich my button holes, I quickly realized that I should have extended the front pattern pieces by at least two inches to account for my heavy bust. Normally, I can get away with the finished garment measurement. This time, the gorgeous wool wasn't having it *sigh*! So, I settled on a single breast 2-button closure versus a double breast. That also saved me quite a few buttons. As for the button holes, the button hole foot would not cooperate no matter how hard I tried. I'm pretty sure it was due to the thickness of the two layers of the coat sandwiched to the facing. Luckily, I had just watched a video of another sewist making button holes with her walking foot using the zigzag function. It was genius! I gave it a go and ended up with almost perfect button holes!
Last thing. I found great pleasure in finishing the hem and lining of the sleeves by hand stitching. You just can't beat how the two melt into each other in the palm of your hand. It took me a long time to appreciate that!
Although I listed the few hiccups that I faced while sewing with wool, if you follow my advice you can make this awesome ensemble in no time! There is no other fabric that I can even imagine using for this coat. Please check out my blog page on www.minerva.com . Also, stay tuned for my YouTube tutorial for even more help!
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