Return of the mac…

V1564 raincoat, #2

Cutting this out took AGES.  I’d already selected a pattern size and cut out all the tissue pieces [mwahahaha NO TRACING here!  Do I make you wince?]  Strangely, on starting to lay it out on the fabric, some pattern pieces were missing.  I checked the packet, where I’d returned the surplus bits, to no avail.  I must have scrunched up some of the ‘scrap’ tissue paper by mistake…and unfortunately, the recycling bin had been emptied.  Bum.

Eventually, after much muttering and swearing, and even considering buying another copy of the pattern, I contrived:  the pattern is multi-sized, and I’m ignoring the size suggested to fit my bust, as it had EIGHTEEN inches of ease.  Now, loose fitting or not, that’s a bit much for me.  I wanted size D.  I seem to have thrown away the back pattern piece for sizes DEF, and the one for the belt loops. [Not worried about that though.]

After a bit more swearing I just used size C, and cut it larger, following the grading differences for ABC sizes, if that makes sense.  Looks OK anyway!  [If anyone has this pattern, and would be a little love, could you measure the belt loop bit and tell me the dimensions?  Hmmmm? Pretty please?]

Anyhew, all cut out.  The lining I had left was exactly enough for the whole thing, yay!

This asks for a LOT of interfacing.  Definitely not enough iron-on or sew-in in stash…bum!   The weather does demand reasonable speed though, so I rummaged, and found a rarely used poly-cotton sheet.  It’s even a purply colour [not that it matters!] It turned out to be EXACTLY enough to interface all pieces [including hem-to-hood pieces, quite greedy] and to underline the lining.  Barely a few scraps left in the bin, I feel quite virtuous.

Shams on ‘Communing With Fabric’ just made yet another gorgeous coat, and made couture covered ‘snaps’ to fasten it, so now I’m thinking I might do that- the local market has some FABULOUS giant size press studs [sorry, ‘snaps’ is too American, makes me wince to type it more than once!] so I may just snag a pile of those to use.  The fastenings on the back storm flap thingy and the cuffs may end up being D-rings or something, who knows?  Not there yet!

I’ve evn done a little test piece- it stitches fine with a microtex needle, presses fine [but a bit springy, and I will be using a pressing cloth throughout, just in case.]  I tested three shades of thread for topstitching, and we [me and the missus] both agree that the darker mulberry shade on the right is the way to go.  I don’t want too much attention drawn to my bound-to-be-wonky stitching…

Before I go, here’s a pic of the snow this morning…worse now as it hasn’t stopped all day.