04/10/2015

The Robson Coat!

It's done it's done it's done!  Oh thank goodness I'm finally done with this coat.  I thought it might never end!  I've finally completed my version of the Robson Coat by Sewaholic Patterns.

First, off here's some 'before' and 'after' photos:




Well, it only took me about a month, but it's finished!  This was by far the most difficult thing I've sewn to date, and I am SO proud of how it turned out.  It's not perfect, and there might be a couple things I end up fixing on it down the road, but overall I'm very happy with the result.  It's done just in time too... it's getting chilly here in Ottawa!

For the coat I used the following materials:
  • 4.5 m Navy blue cotton twill for the outer coat
  • 4.5 m Grey geometric patterned quilting cotton for the underlining
  • ~ 1 m fusible interfacing
  • ~14 m Teal bias tape
  • ~1 m navy bias tape
  • 16 Teal buttons
  • Teal thread
I also went through a whole pack of quilting needles, broke 2 denim needles, and broke one button in half trying to sew it on with my machine (whoops).  I found that the quilting needles got through all the layers the best, but they went dull fast.  Once I ran out of quilting needles I switched to the denim ones, and broke two of them sewing on buttons/ forcing the needle through too many layers.

As for the bias tape... good grief.  I nearly threw my machine out the window one evening I was so frustrated!  The pattern calls for 12 yards, so I bought the equivalent in metres (~11).  Before I got to the sleeves I had already run out.  Went to Fabricland, bought another package (at 2.75 m) and that STILL wasn't enough.  I had to go back to the store, and get navy bias tape because they were out of the teal.  I was convinced I was being shortchanged... but I measured the length and it was fine.  I must have put the binding on more pieces than I was supposed to, or done something wrong... but I can't seem to figure out what.  Anyways, if you're going to make this for yourself - get more bias tape than you need, just in case!

I also chose to underline the coat, even though the pattern itself doesn't call for it.  It can get pretty chilly here in the fall, and I wanted to wear this coat as late into the season as I could since it was going to take so much work to make it.  I used a couple tutorials to figure out how to do this (Seamstress Erin, The Curious Kiwi).
These two blogs were helpful in outlining what pieces I should also cut for the lining.  To make sewing a bit easier, I basted the lining pieces to the main pieces as such:



From there, it was actually pretty easy assembling most of the coat.  There are a ton of pattern pieces, but they fit together so nicely and the instructions were really clear, so it made putting the whole thing together easy!

Here's a couple progress shots that I took over the course of the project:










'Phew!  The coat sat without the collar for about a week... I was so nervous about screwing it up!  I just made sure to take my time, and it turned out fine.  After that, it sat without the sleeves and all the finishing touches because again... so nervous!  I've never been great with sleeves, and these would be ones that I reaaaaally couldn't mess up.  Finally this weekend I sat down all day Saturday and just plowed away at finishing up the coat.  The sleeves took a couple tries, and some intense Google-ing and instruction-video watching, but they turned out pretty well in the end.  Again, not perfect... but you can really only notice a couple small things if you know what to look for.

Topstitching!  Oh goodness the topstitching!  I know most people hate doing this, but I actually really enjoy it.  I love the look it gives, and a nice straight stitch just looks so good.  There are a couple wonky spots on the coat, but you can only really see them if you look closely.  I'm really glad I chose the contrasting thread, it looks great!  The photos don't quite do the colour justice.

Also, through the process of making this coat I used countless other blogs for reference. Here are a couple of my faves, in addition to the two mentioned above:



Anyways!  Enough with the text... Here's a bunch more photos of the coat (don't mind the cat hair... no matter how hard I try I'll never get rid of it all):

Shoulder Epaulettes
The sleeves!



Full back of the coat
Back storm flap, button detail




Not shown (oh dang - forgot to take pictures!) is the under-side of the back and front storm flaps.  I chose to line these with the grey fabric, so the pattern just peaks out from underneath.

Inside - back
Inside -shoulders
Inside - front & inner buttons












Showing off the underlining!  I'm so happy with how this looks!
Aaaannnnd... flashing strangers!
Welp, there it is!  If you have any comments or questions about the coat or the process, leave them below!  I'll just be resting my fingers... they're sore and slightly burnt from all the pressing and button work.

7 comments:

  1. Stunning!!! That is truly a project to be proud of. Beautiful work.

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  2. That is some gorgeous stitching! Well done!

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  3. Wow! That is a lot of buttons. Good job!

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  4. I'm speechless. I've never attempted anything that complex - and you've done a super job.

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  5. Gosh how gorgeous. What a beautifully finished project. Love the lining and the contrast bias!

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  6. Gosh how gorgeous. What a beautifully finished project. Love the lining and the contrast bias!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gosh how gorgeous. What a beautifully finished project. Love the lining and the contrast bias!

    ReplyDelete