I Need A New Winter Coat: Update!

I finally found some time to work on my coat! I am not anywhere close to finishing but I do have a good start. Thankfully, Heavenly Father has provided us with some warm weather so I don't have a need for a coat just yet! I am not sure how much longer this warm weather will last, so I am going to have to finish it very soon.

I made some changes to the pattern. As you may recall, I am using the Folkwear Model T Duster Coat pattern. You can see my original post here.

In the early 1900's, this coat was not worn as an elegant coat, it was worn to keep the dust of the road off of your good clothes. Since I wanted mine to be a dressy coat that I could wear to church, I am changing the seams, and adding a lining.

The pattern directions call for using flat felled seams (flat felled seams are commonly used on jeans). I think this gives an informal look to the coat. In my opinion, flat felled seams would look great on a rain coat, but not on a dressy coat. Instead, I decided to use a serger to bind the ends of the seams. To make everything lie flat, the seams of the lining will be pressed to the opposite side of the seams on the coat.

As of today, here is my coat.

Overall, I am very pleased with this pattern manufacturer. The directions are well written and the pattern is very easy to use! The seam allowance is 1/2 inch. I used a scant 1/2 inch. The notches and dots lined up beautifully - no adjustments were needed!  When I construct the lining I am going to use slightly over a 1/2 inch seam. This way, the lining should fit into the coat without any wrinkles or extra folds.

My original goal was to make the shorter version of the coat (without pleats). I bought the yardage recommended for the shorter version. However, I laid out the pieces differently than the pattern recommended and freed up some extra fabric to make the pleats. Here is a picture.

The next step is to add the sleeves, then the front pockets. Once those are finished, I will start on the lining. I haven't even cut out the lining pieces yet!. I think I am going to add an extra pocket to the lining so I can conceal carry my handgun. I am probably going to have to lay out the pattern pieces differently here as well, or I won't have enough fabric left over to make the pocket. The coat is somewhat fitted, so after I get the sleeves in, I will try it on to make sure the gun will fit.  I may find that my gun will leave a noticeable 'bulge' if I try to carry it. If that is the case, I won't add the extra pocket.

I am going to try to work on the coat a bit more before New Year's Eve. However, I am not sure how much I will accomplish! I probably won't have another coat update until January!