Part 2: Hemisfèric Coat completed, Pauline Alice patterns

True to form, those of you who read my blog are interested seeing the insides of garments and construction details. Thanks for the nice comments on the previous post. I'm lucky to be able to pick and choose who I want to sew for, and the process of selecting patterns + fabric is maybe the most fun part of the process. That is definitely my view once I get near the end of a complex project, when the fun fades away and I just want it to be done!

This project felt that way at times, mostly because of delays with all of us getting sick after the holidays. But it's complete and it's adorable.



Everything about this project was a time crunch, including taking the photos, so the lighting and sharpness is not quite what I would have liked and I have increased the brightness a bit so the details are visible. I made this coat for Sara, who is the daughter of my friend Heather (who I have sewn a lot of things for, including this coat). They were going to an evening wedding so Sara needed a coat, and I did sew a dress for Heather which is one of my favorite things I have done in a while, Burda 07-2017 # 124A. The dress is fantastic and I can't wait to blog about it. One thing at a time::)

I tested this Hemisfèric coat pattern for Pauline last fall. I really love her designs, Pauline Alice Patterns, and feel that she always thinks about creating a design that is unique, as in her Quart coat which I also tested and then sewed up for a friend. But she also has patterns that are for casual and fun wear as well. And now she has a book - although I think it's in French - not one of my better languages...yet.

As mentioned in my previous post, I love the shape and seaming of this coat but I just don't like separating zipper, particularly a long one on a coat front so I changed the front closure from zipper to a hidden buttonhole placket.
All the details on how I did that are in my previous post. Also lots of info on interfacing. The fabric was from Stone Mountain in Berkeley, as well as the lining.



Here's a good look at the shoulder and neckline seaming which is unique. I love it when garments have interesting seaming and shaping, they are more entertaining to sew, to look at, and it's nice to make something that is new to you. The sleeves are raglan with a seam along the top of the shoulder, and the whole coat front and back rise up to create the funnel neck which stands up quite well in a coating fabric like this one.



And pockets of course. The pattern calls for the pockets to be in the front princess seams and with my buttonhole changes there is just enough room for them. I suppose I could have put them in the side seams but I wasn't really thinking about it. And they work fine where they are. She doesn't really have her hands far down in the pockets but there is plenty of space. This image is a bit fuzzy but she has the coat buttoned about 2/3 of the way up, so the top two buttons are open and I expect that is how it will be worn. While it looks super sharp with the top buttoned it is probably more comfortable like this.





I am still so happy with the placket! Time to confess that with the thickness of the fabric I had fears that it would be a lumpy mess, but choosing that silk charmeuse to use as the inner layers of the placket really worked out beautifully, plus it feels so luxe.






The lining is bemberg rayon also found at Stone Mountain - they have a great selection of colors.
The pattern pieces for the lining are included in the pattern and are separate pattern pieces which is very nice.

One construction photo that I didn't include in the previous post, the hem, I did lengthen this about 3 inches, and Sara is shorter than me. So this coat is short! Which I also found in the Quart coat. Anyway by adding length at the bottom I took away that shaping on each princess pattern piece which is necessary for the hem to fold up smoothly and not have excess fabric due to the angle of the seam at the fold.



So I did have to quickly stitch up and trim each seam so that it folded up without excess. In this blog post from 2014 I showed what I'm talking about. Scroll down the post for the photo with the pink and yellow lines marked on the picture.

Found the photo with the coat all buttoned up.



Quick reminder, this is the pattern drawing and an example from the website.





So cute! One of these days I will have to make a Pauline Alice coat pattern for myself. We'll just have to see what she comes up with next year.

And sneak peek for my next post - this fantastic dress that I made for Heather. I am still raving over the quality of the blue wool crepe fabric.  Sorry for the grainy photo - it's cropped from full length one, and the light was really fading as we took the photos. But hey - it's documented and done. On to the next project!




What's in the works? I just finished something with mini-sequins. Easier than I imagined and kind of fun. I want to make a few pairs of jeans or pants now that I am happy with my pattern that I made via copying a RTW pair of jeans. Plus I have a lot of stuff to prep for some upcoming classes at Hello Stitch Studio.

So keeping busy here  - and now I'm off to repair some of my garden drip irrigation, because there is no rain in sight and we are getting worried about the drought again. Hope not but I think so.

Are you watching the Olympics? I am an Olympics fanatic - not that I have ever done any of those sports. Well plenty of skiing but other than that, nope. However I love watching everything and am a sucker for the human interest stories. (although no network is as good as ABC was back in the "thrill of victory, agony of defeat" days.)  But the Tara and Johnny skating coverage is very entertaining. Plus they dress  to coordinate!

Happy Sewing, Beth

Here's today's garden photo - so many daffodils already.