Wool coat progress

Merry meet all,

Spring is on its way! Ostara is just around the corner. Ostara, or the spring equinox, is the second spring Sabbat in the wheel of the year. 

I made progress with my wool coat. I have finally sewn the coat lining. That was a real headache. I added a half inch to each lining section and each of the eleven sections were cut on the grain. This means that the lining won’t pull or twist when I wear it with the wool exterior. I sewed the sleeves. I had to ease the two sleeve pieces in together. I eased the sleeve on one side then I pinned the 2 pieces together. I used the iron to stretch the wool to make the upper and lower sleeve pieces fit together. The wool is thick and I can hardly even get a pin through. It worked. Now I set in two rows of basting stitches within the seam allowance of the sleeve crown. The thread is a contrast color to make it easier to remove them later. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was so tired but I worked hard stitching all eleven sections of the lining together. Then I did a fitting once the whole coat lining was sewn. The coat lining was sewn with a 4’8 inch stitch. The wool coat was sewn with a 5’8′ inch stitch. I have to set in the sleeves, sew the belt carriers, sew the upper collar to the coat lining, sew the lining to the coat and hem it. Then once I am happy with that, I will sew in the buttonholes. I already purchased the buttons for the coat. My sewing machine has a button foot but I have zero experience sewing buttonholes. I know someone who will help with that step but that happens later. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The coat is coming along beautifully. I have to correct the seam allowances in the sleeve area of the wool exterior. I tapered to 3’8′ of an inch instead of 5’8′ inches. If I correct all that, then the sleeves will set in perfectly. There is a bit of work to be done but it will all pay off in the end. I have to sew the lining sleeves the exact same way I did with the wool sleeves. The lining always mimics the exterior of the coat. I am sure it will be beautiful. 

The research and the reading I did has paid off. I now feel more confident sewing the coat. I intend to finish the coat this week or early next week. After all, I have waited two months for this. Spring will be here then there will be no point to wearing a wool coat. Yup I better make it happen!

I not only gain a beautiful coat. I have gleaned new useful knowledge from sewing the coat. I love using a tailor’s ham and honestly don’t know how I lived without it. I also now own a sleeve roll which will soon prove very useful. I cut the lining sections on the grain which means the garment will hang more correctly on your body. I added interfacing to the sleeve caps to prevent stretching. I added a strip of interfacing to the pockets of the coat to prevent stretching. I added interfacing to the collar sections even though I didn’t have to, but it will strengthen the collar sections. I plan to add shoulder pads to the coat. I decided against sewing on a fur collar. If the fur sheds, it won’t look good. I am sewing on a detachable lined hood. I may make the hood permanent because sewing buttonholes on the hood with all that bulk will be next to impossible. That is why the belt carriers are sewn on before the lining is added. There is a lot to consider in the proper construction of a wool coat. 

I added the shoulder pads, sewed the sleeves into the coat lining and sewed the lining to the coat. It was far from complete, though. The wool coat is now lined. The collar points were sewn to perfection thanks to my Mom. The wool sleeves are attached. It has been tons of hard work. The lining has to be hemmed and the buttonholes have to be done. So much work!!!! She wants to fix the belt carriers and sew in the buttonholes. So much work!!! 

The photo shows the progress of the coat so far!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The coat is done. All that remains to be done is to sew on the hood. I am so happy with the coat. It looks so beautiful. 

Spring is coming. I should start planning which seeds I will start soon. I have lots and lots of seeds. I can’t wait to get to work on my garden again. 

Blessed be, Spiderwitch

 

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Merry meet all,

I know, I know, as if Covid wasn’t bad enough, it is also the middle of winter and spring seems a way off. Snow frosts the yard and garden here. To cheer myself up, this is how I have spent my time. A copy of Lisa Morton’s book Ghosts: A Haunted history. I am sure it will be an awesome spooky read. I polished an article about Paranormal paganism for the editor of Witches and Pagans magazine at her request. I am still slogging away on my brown wool winter coat. My lining material has strangely vanished from my apartment. I have no idea where it went. It’s been nearly a month and it hasn’t turned up. My Mom bought the last of the brown wool online as the fabric store had discontinued it. I would not have been able to sew the sleeves.  I am buying new lining fabric in a different color by the end of the week. I am also slowly slogging away on a new novella story. 

I have been busy. On top of slaving for my cat, as per protocol, I conducted a Sherlock Holmes worthy investigation of where the fabric could have vanished to. I did bring home a new mirror. I never saged it when I brought it home. Now I have smudged my apartment, spritzed holy water onto the mirror and smudged the mirror. I plan to sew a long white cloth and empower the cloth with a blue rune symbol like Eolh as a binding symbol for protection. 

Mirrors are known to be portals for spirits, especially unsavory spirits. Some people believe that if you have a mirror in your bedroom, your partner will cheat on you. Ouch! Others believe that you should cover the mirror with a white cloth at night if  you do plan to have a mirror in your room. Right now, the long mirror is in my bedroom with the back of the mirror facing up. I am broke right now and as soon as I can, I will cover the mirror at night. I want to buy a bagua. I believe in Feng Shui. Maybe incense too!

However, I can’t explain how my fabric managed to VANISH from a tiny, cluttered apartment. It is nowhere to be found. I blame the new mirror. I have to blame something. It is truly weird that fabric can disappear. It never left the apartment. I have waited all month for it to return to me and no luck. I beleive now I can’t use that lining fabric for my coat. I have to buy new lining fabric that has good energy in it. I am now not in love with the color anyway. 

Some day I might find that fabric and then kick myself for the rest of my life. It will turn up in the most odd or unlikely place. In the meantine, I have sewn the hood for the coat, the belt and the outer shell of the coat. I have yet to sew the sleeves and set them in the coat, and line the coat and sew on the carriers for the belt. I am pleased with how beautifully the shoulder seam sleeves and the under collar turned out. I stitched a perfect brown wool belt too and the buckle is a gold color. The gold perfectly enhances the brown wool. Wool can be turned right side out. It just takes patience and being gentle with the wool. 

Eventually, the winter coat will be completed and look just beautiful. I can’t wait. I know my strawberry blonde hair color will be enhanced by the brown wool. The gold buckle looks beautiful on the brown Kashmir wool. I borrowed a book about couture sewing and a book from the library about sewing. I also bought the Vogue fashion sewing book from Thriftbooks. I chose Thriftbooks because it is much cheaper than Amazon and more reliable. I was scammed by a seller on Amazon. 

I invested in a thread box that stores thread- no more searching!, and a tailor ham, tailor’s chalk, new sharper scissors which hugely helps and are only for sewing. I do plan to buy a sleeve roll so I can perfectly sew the sleeves. I plan to interface the sleeeves and add a sleeve head. That is so the wool fabric is smoother and more professional looking. My Mom has offered to sew the buttonholes. I have never done that before and I am terrified. I have a button hole foot but she can do it better than I can. With a wool coat, there is no room for error. I plan to sew the buttons on by hand. The sewing needle might hit the button part itself, not the hole or break. I can’t wait!

Blessings, Spiderwitch