After nearly sewing all day on Saturday and in bits and pieces on Sunday, I (surprisingly) finished all of my hand sewing/tailoring on my Gertie Coat (aka B5824). What’s even better is that I’m nearly caught up to where Gertie is in her sew-along even though I added all of this additional tailoring work! :)
This was a ton of stitching! For each pad-stitching row (or diagonal column looking at the images) took 1 length of thread. Each side bodice took at least (AT LEAST) 20 lengths of thread. Keep in mind I wax all of my thread & then press it with the iron to keep the thread strong and knot free, which in itself was quite a job.
Here is the bodice after I finished all of the pad-stitching but before I attached the final tailor’s tape to the outer edge of the collar.
The tailor’s tape at the roll line helps keep everything in place for the turn of cloth (and helps keep the bust gape-free) while the tailor’s tape (or twill tape) at this outside edge ensures that the collar will retain its shape for all time; it won’t sag under the pressure of the outside collar weight nor will it get out of shape with frequent wearings.
What I actually had a lot of fun doing was ironing the tailor’s tape to exactly mimic the same shape of the collar (with the 5/8″ seam allowance). You basically press the tape slowly over the pattern piece to get just the right curves. I felt like such a pro when I was doing this step. heh
I stitched the tailor’s tape to the collar with two rows of uneven (and permanent) basting stitches.
Another detail shot:
And one more detail shot for fun:
So many little lines of stitching. *Phew* I’m not sure if you see the bumpy stitching on the tailor’s tape on the right side of the bodice, but that’s my attempt to stitch nicely over the ultra thick, bound buttonholes.
What I’m going to have a hard time doing is: covering all of this work up with the outer collar. While I hope my finished coat will end up looking just the way I see it in my head, it’s difficult to hide all of my hard work on the inside and not showcase it on the outside.
When I made my Lady Grey coat 2 years ago, I wasn’t blogging/documenting my work at the time so I never took any photos of it besides what it looked like at the very end. Being my second coat, I’m feeling quite determined to take more photos of the various steps just so I have some history of what it looks like on the inside before it gets all covered up.
My Next Steps: Seam the center back of the collar together, stitch the bodice back pieces together, and then stitch the fronts to the backs. After all this is done, I can then steam the under-collar overnight to set the roll line. My bodice is soo close to looking like a bodice, I can’t wait to try it on! :) It’s always the moment of truth after doing all of this work, just hoping that it fits just right.
In: Sewing
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