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Sleevils! Cashmere coat #1

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Now normally I love sleeves, don’t see any problem with setting them and so on…but when I got ready to cut this coat out, I realised that it had a CRAP sleeve pattern.  I really don’t like one piece sleeves for coats and jackets any more.  Once you’ve seen the delight of a gently curved two piece sleeve, nothing else will do.  And it’s CASHMERE FFS, why slouch?

So I decided to audition some sleeves to see which would do.

#1 Truly Victorian riding jacket pattern.

I love this jacket so much, so out it came, and I measured the armscye and sleeve head.  More than three inches of difference! The modern one being the longer of the 2…

Look at how gentle the curve is on the Victorian pattern, and how sharp the curve on M7848.  Such a lot of difference.  I remembered that historical sleeve patterns fit much higher under the arm, not great for an over coat, so abandoned that one.  On to candidate 2.

#2:  The Simplicity 1732  Arkivestry coat I made for the other half.

GREAT sleeves.  Very gathered of course, so I pleated out the excess, and scientifically smooshed the 3D pattern flat.  Comparison- very close sleeve head fit and sleeve width.

But smooshed.  So I rummaged and came up with another possibility.

#3:  McCall’s 7456

A costume jacket, with interesting style lines totally invisible on the [of course] black fabric of the cover photo.  Being the same brand, it’s drafted from the same basic blocks, so, voila!  A near-perfect match for the sleeve head, left and right

At the cuff, not so great  but more easily fixable

So there we are, a hybrid coat it shall be.

I also did a tissue fit and decided that despite the Women’s sizing of the coat pattern [18W, finished bust 44″] an FBA would help,  To avoid the mahoosive side dart usually produced, I went for my first attempt at a Y shaped FBA.

Look away you obsessive pernickety tracers of patterns!  I CUT THE TISSUE AND SELLOTAPED IT TO WALLPAPER LINING!  Quick and easy lol.  That’s added in a nice 3″ to bust and waist, so I’m good to go.  I’ve even hunted down an old duvet cover for interlining, and a remnant of red stretch denim for the bodice underlining to give it some oomph…it does have to survive a zip front after all.

And there we are, January the first, good to start cutting.

But first, I’m off to the local ‘everyman’ cinema for the first time, to see ‘The Favourite’.  Rachel Weisz, phoo-er missus!

Image result for the favourite

 

 

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16 thoughts on “Sleevils! Cashmere coat #1”

  2. Absolutely worth it for that gorgeous coating fabric!

    One of the reasons I still trace everything is I prefer working with sturdy paper than flimsy tissue for pattern alterations so I hear you on using the backing 🙂

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  3. I’m very fond of technical terms when pattern altering and sewing: smooshing it flat, skootch it over, snug it in and so forth. I do find these terms work best in a hands-on-class as Spell Check will change them to something else if you’re not careful. Happy New Year everyone!

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  4. Two-piece sleeves are the best. Can’t imagine making a coat with anything else these days, especially if I had invested in cashmere. I now have a favourite two-piece sleeve which I use for all coats and just re-draw the armhole to match.

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    1. good plan! I’m making this up using the underlining as a toile, just to make sure before I cut the precious fabric! I’m not usually so cautious, but I have spent two hundred squid on this!

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    1. I can’t be doing with tracing, seriously life’s too short and I treasure books, not sewing patterns lol the reason they’re printed on tissue is so you can cut the things! Weird how sewing habits have changed over my lifetime. I used to have to trace patterns from old sewing mags in the 90s ad hated it with a passion. Much more fun to just get on with things

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    1. Got the sleeves sorted but then mocked it up in the underlining and the bust with FBA is WAY too big, too low, and rather droopy. Must assume this is because it’s not a ‘misses’ pattern but a ‘W’ size. I only added in what the tissue fit suggested. HOw odd. I’ve tucked a tweak out of CB length, shave a bit off the side fronts and will now go for it, allowing generous seam allowances. Woohoo!

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    1. I’ve had more messing- the FBA seemed to add way too much so I shaved a little of the side front pieces off, not very scientifically, and will trust to the turn of cloth to suck up some more excess. All cut out now and I’ll be sitting basting the underlining to the main pieces later today. The actual sewing will be very simple, no buttonholes, nothing fancy on this baby, it’s all about the fabric!

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