December 19, 2017

#2017 WINTER COAT PROJECT (KWIK SEW 4197)...

...twas six days before Christmas, just one day after my birthday, and my 2017 Winter Coat Project is complete.  Right now I'm calling her my "Fluff-A-Nutter Coat". 

 I enhanced the exposed seaming by hand stitching the lofted side of the fabric to the exterior of the coat so more of the fluff would show - that was a lot of hand stitching - but I made it through.  You know me, I'm extra like that.  But she's done, except for just a little more hand stitching that I plan to do to the seams of the cuffs when ever the forefinger of my right hand heals from pushing that needle for two days (the result of not being able to sew with a thimble).

As you know, working with this fabric was a brand new experience for me.  As with most new experiences, this project involved intimidation that resulted in lots of procrastination on the project.  It wasn't until my Sunday morning sewing chat with Sheila CTK that my mind was put at ease and I was able to work confidently towards completion.  I should have talked with her earlier on in the project but had forgotten that she had made not one but two coats from faux sherling.  Sheila assured me that the shedding would indeed stop, and that I could feel completely comfortable in putting this coat through the wash (line drying afterwards).  THANK  YOU SO MUCH SHEILA CTK, you saved my sewing sanity once again!

When I showed a picture of the coat to a friend today she said, "where are you going to wear this, New York?"  Well, our high temperature today was 71 degrees!  Mind you it was Winter when I started the coat.  Although it's Spring right now, Winter is promised again next week so I will be ready for it when it does return.  I am really amazed how light weight this coat really is.  I have always wanted a coat like this - and now I have one.  There was absolutely no tailoring, no interfacing,  pad stitching or interfacing used in this project.

Thanks for sticking with me through the coat making process once again!!!

36 comments:

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    1. Thank you so much Carrie. I am so glad that it is DONE!

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  2. OMG!! You did it...not only do you make a BEAUTIFUL coat, you used fabric you’ve never worked with before! And all turned out AMAZING! I’ve never worked with that fabric ever and I knew you would be successful! You are the “Coat Queen”! Congratulations on a job VERY well done! And Happy Belated Birthday!

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    1. Thank you so much Myra! You wear the crown until I can reproduce that leather moto-jacket that you made!

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  3. I turned out fabulous! I’m happy you finished and that you like it! I really like the exposed seams! Great job!

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    1. Thank you LaQuana. I was really scared until my talk with Sheila. She was God sent!

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  4. So incredible Faye, you have done it yet again!!!! What do you do with all of your coats?Do you keep them? I must say, Fluff-a-nutter is one of my favorites! Great job!

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    1. Thank you Alethia! I do keep and wear all my coats, however, I am about to send my 2014 Winter coat to my Mother because it is the heaviest one of all the ones I've made. I figure she will get more use of it in New York. We've had quite a few 28 to 32 degree mornings and when we do have them, I love pulling out one of my coat babies.

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  5. What a wonderful coat!

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  6. What a nice coat! It looks like it was a challenge that was beautifully execcuted.

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    1. Thank you Mardell! I've been making a winter coat every year for quite some time now mainly because I wanted to learn tailoring. The coats I make usually take me a month to complete whether a coat or a jacket because of all the tailoring I incorporate into them. Although this one took much less time to make because it had no tailoring at all, it was the fabric that had me intimidated. I really want to make a tailored jacket this season too.

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  7. I've been looking forward to seeing this! I rather enjoy hand stitching but it sounds like this was quite a lot to take on. And I'm glad I'm not the only one that can't sew with a thimble...I bet the fabric was tricky to push the needle through. Your finished coat is gorgeous though, Faye. I love all of the fluffy seams highlighting the design lines and that collar is luxurious. Bravo!

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    1. Thimbles are tough for me too! I don't like sweaty, heavy fingertips you get with metal thimbles, lol! I bought a Japanese sashiko thimble... I'm wondering if it'll be different.

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  8. It's beautiful Faye! I love how you stitched down the seams--it really emphasizes those lines beautifully! May I grab one of the pictures for Snippets this week?

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    1. Thank you so much Elizabeth and I'd love to be included in your Saturday Snippets!!! Congrats on winning on the blab!!!

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  9. Beautiful! 2018 I've decided is the year I make at least one coat - I'm committed! I love yours Faye and I understand perfectly why you kept putting it off but wow it was worth all that waffling and getting ready :)

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    1. Thank you Kathleen! I will surely watch out for your 2018 Coat project.

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  10. How did the sleeve easing go? With that fabric, it looked like it would be a bear. Also, did you have to rip out a seam. How did that go?

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    1. The sleeves: I thought putting in the sleeves would be a bear, but they were not. I did stitch them in flat (which some people consider cheating, but dealing with this stiff fabric and all the pins it would have taken to set the sleeves in I thought would be a nightmare and I would have ended up pretty scared up. I only used pins at the beginning and end of the sleeve seam, another pin at each of the notches front and back, a pin at the shoulder seam and a pin at each of the dot markings (total of 7 pins). I made sure I stitched with the sleeve against the feed dogs and with only a little finagling they went in WITHOUT a pucker.

      Now about the seam ripping: Of course I had to rip. I ripped an entire side seam and sleeve because my seam guide must have slipped and I ended up with that side seam way too big/wide. HOW DID THAT GO? Trixie it was MISERABLE AND TEDIOUS! Although I had used a 3.5m stitch length I had used Gutermann 100% poly thread. (I used this brand because the color match was perfect.) I had only used Gutermann thread on one other occasion. Let me tell you that it is strong. Had I used a razor the process would have gone a lot faster, but I was afraid of slicing the fabric so I opted for a seam ripper instead.

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  11. Great looking coat Faye! So glad you hung in there with it.

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    1. Thank you Catherine, that is exactly what I did (hang in there LOL).

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  12. It's cold here always so I'll gladly take that coat off your hands! I'll do a quick scope on how to use a thimble! You'd be surprised on how many use it incorrectly or just really don't know! (just like a seam ripper)

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    1. I would AIR MAIL this coat to you but I am afraid that it would swallow your petite frame Fabric Whisperer. Please for the tutorial, it's going to take my finger 2 weeks to heal!

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  13. Beautiful coat and you are so Welcome.

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    1. Thank you Sheila and you don't realize how much you eased my mind!

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  14. Anonymous12/20/2017

    What an awesome coat! You did a great job with it, Faye! Happy belated birthday!

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  15. Another great addition to your wardrobe.

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    1. Thank you Mariela Alethia! We need to talk about our Christmas menus soon.

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  16. Your coat is just beautiful Ms. Faye!!!! I love that you were "extra" with it, lol!!! I totally understand the drama of the weather, but if I were you, I would find a way to wear it everyday.

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    1. Thank you Vanessa! And yes, I'm just extra when it comes to adding work to my construction. I just can't talk myself out of it!

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  17. Happy belated birthday and congratulations on a stunningly beautiful coat!!

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  18. LOVE your coat!!! Great pattern choice and really like the way you exposed the shearling/sherpa this way. Completely understand the way your fingers were feeling as simply sewing those snaps over the buttons tore mine to bits! Hope it's been cold enough to wear lots this winter as this coat definitely deserves to be seen. :)

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