Tweed coat

So, while I am swamped with work and extra family commitments due to my husband's illness, inspiration has struck. Isn't that always the way?
I have some tweed from Emma One Sock that I had planned to make my CSACoat from. It is a mix of black, brown and grey, but many blacks are too black with it and browns are too brown, so I guess it reads kind of a charcoal grey.
I didn't use it in the end because of concerns about the wear of the fabric. The edges of tweed can get pretty ratty quickly. To prevent this I decided to bind the edges with leather and add a few simple appliques in a charcoal melton that works beautifully with the tweed.

The tweed and the initial design sketch.
I am using OOP Vogue 2449 again, with modifications to the fit. I have flared out the back princess seam and made it about 10" longer. Initially I had planned scallops somehow, but went with diamonds for the design. I also extended the rounded collar out to a point.

The plan was made last night. Already it hasn't worked out.
#1-I want to do a fly closure at the front so the buttons don't compete. I have only done this once before and I would prefer to use something I can unpick, so I reversed the fabrics.
#2-But a binding won't work with the fly closure. So applique it is!
I am determined to just DO this before I chicken out.
The collar before turning.
The tweed collar was fused, then another collar in melton was laid over with the stitching lines marked. It was stitched and the inner portion was cut away. I didn't interface the melton, but it needed it, so crossgrain strips were added afterwards. The edging was done in a straight stitch that I will hand embroider over. The threads were pulled through and tied off on the diamonds.
Collar and pocket welts.
This shows the melton edge with leather diamonds along the join line. I did one larger diamond at the CB of the collar.
I learned my lesson and fused the pocket welt melton before the tweed was added. When enlarged you can see the white interfacing showing where the section was cut away from the melton on the pockets. I used a sharpie to colour it in. Shhh....
Welt pocket sewn in.
The charcoal at the front will be the front band.

The collar, before and after the stand. The basting is still there, so it is a bit puckered in places.

Back of collar, looking a bit dirty. There is a lot of pink fuzz around. Mid way through this project I realized I had to make a birthday present for my daughter's friend, so made a pink Minkee rosette cape. That stuff sheds everywhere!
I love the subtle texture contrast between the leather, tweed and melton. You don't notice the diamonds in colour value, but you can really see them when they catch the light.

I would like to add a dark rivet in the centre of each diamond, but am not sure yet. I have time to think though, I won't get back to it until early March now.

Coat finally finished

I had hoped to get it done before New Year's, but just finished up the coat today while Maisie napped and the boy brushed the cats.

Here are a front view with the front open, a 3/4 view and a close up my son took which shows the colour and weave better.

I had a set back when I decided to interline the lining with flannel. It is very warm, but snugger than the mockup was. It doesn't help that I have gained about 20 pounds recently. I almost gave up on it, but really wanted it out of the sewing room. In the end it fits fine, even with the flannel.

The Great Coat Sew Along not all wool coat

Indecision keeps me from completing many things, so while I have been contemplating design alternatives, I have been working on the "real" GCSA coat instead of the trapunto one.

I purchased a wool blend fabric from Emma One Sock last year. It looked gorgeous and I ordered quickly. As many people know, she who hesitates is lost when ordering from some websites. Small yardages can sell out quickly. It wasn't until I received the piece that I realized two things. That the fabric was not all wool and that there was a metallic fleck to it. I wasn't sure what to think. However the fabric has grown on me and matches a few things I have. OK mainly fabric I have, but a few garments as well. I cut out and began the same pattern as below in the single breasted version, but shortest length. All went swimmingly for a while. I got the pockets done and was working on the side seams when I noticed that one of warp yarns was working it's way out of the fabric. On the not-on-grain side seam and sleeve seams it looked like little caterpillars were growing out of the fabric. The funny thing is that this thread was synthetic, with a metallic yarn through it, so exactly the part that I liked least about the fabric. I tried to ignore it, but I ended up needing to serge the entire coat, which had now been more than half sewn. Retro serging, I call it. I had even double stitched the sleeves in, but I still had to serge them. the seams were really shredding and I was afraid it would fall apart.

Give me all wool anyday.