Tailored Peacoat Series: #7

Today is the last day of the Tailored Peacoat Series!  Thanks for following along!  Today we are sewing the finishing steps and will have a finished peacoat to present by the end of the post.

Finishing

Topstitch the coat, starting at the edge of the facing along the bottom of the hem, and stopping at the mark for the top buttonhole and roll line.  Don’t backstitch, but pull the thread to the back of the coat and tie off.  Flip the coat and topstitch from roll line to roll line along the lapels and collar, then flip again and stitch from roll line to the end of the facing.  This way, you’re always stitching with the “right” side of the coat facing you.

I made buttonholes by hand, and also made a buttonhole on the right side of the coat and sewed a flat button underneath the top decorative button on the left side.  This button supports the underside front and keeps the coat hanging nicely.  Bonus points if you actually remember to button it when you wear the coat.

Remove all the basting threads and tailor tacks (there are a lot!!!).

Press the coat, working slowly and making sure edges are crisp and seams are flat.  Use a clapper to smash out any bulky spots.  It can take an hour to properly press a coat.

The finished coat! (Wahoo!  What gorgeous results after all of this hard work.  Congratulations, Dana!)

 Whew, and that's the end!  Once again, thank you very much, Dana, for contributing this incredible series - what a resource for everyone planning to sew a Goldstream Peacoat!

As I said in previous posts, I have learned a lot of techniques (and have been reminded of a lot that I had learned in the past but have neglected to do!) during this series.  I'm really looking forward to trying out pad stitching and I will certainly be basting A LOT more than I did throughout the last pea coat sewing project!  I don't know if I'll have the patience to baste quite as much as Dana did but I really should just slow myself down and force myself to do it.  After all, if I am going to put hours and hours of work into sewing a coat for Matt (not to mention all the money for nice wool!), I would like the finished product to look as beautiful and last as long as Dana's coat does and will.  Hmmm you just got a glimpse of the boxing match going on in my sewing room: too much excitement to see the finished product vs. the desire to create perfect, quality results.

Now that we are armed with all this knowledge and inspiration, we are completely ready to conquer our fears of tailoring and our habits of sewing only projects that provide immediate results.  It's time to begin your big Goldstream Peacoat sewing project!  What did you think of this series?  Which tips and tricks do you think you will be using?