Fur Coat Project Part IV
This time lets talk a little bit more about pattern preparation and then the lay out and cutting of the fur.
I made my choices, printed everything in quarter scale and kept changing the design till I was happy with it.
I cheated and used my wide bed printer and sent thru the pattern front two times one for coat and one for lining.. do remember when you cut as a single lay you will want the one front cut print side UP and the other front cut print side DOWN.
The pattern back was printed as a right side and as a left side to be able to cut one full back.. after carefully preparing each side so seam allowances were corrected, shoulder lengths matched, side seams trued and hems lengths trued I taped the left and right sides together overlapping the center back line.
I also printed one extra back to treat as a lining.. I will remove the facing from this portion as I will use a facing.
I printed one full length sleeve as a straight sleeve not a raglan.
Oh.. I didn�t say which pattern I picked......but just so you know I chose the swing coat with a 15 degree flare ( 30 was a bit much for me), knee length. I also finally decided on a jewel neck to which I am going to add a wide fur collar that will be attached with fur hooks and lined.. not stitched on..this way I can change collars........I found a contrast fur that would dress down this coat so will make two collars instead of the original plan which was for a shawl collar.
I chose to make a hand draft side seam pocket and another in lining pocket which will be smaller.
I did add 2 inches of bicep ease, extended the shoulder 1/2 inch and added to the arm hole depth .....that was a new way of using this tool. I had 2.5 inches of arm hole depth to start with and wanted three.. I found out how much I had with an on screen view and the grid.. noticed it was less than I had expected and put on the ease button.. sure enough it said 2.5 inches.. so I changed it to 3 and got exactly what I had been thinking of. I want plenty of room for a jacket or sweater under this coat. I also asked for a point 5 inch shoulder pad
I did not ask for darts as this would only complicate the construction.
I did put front and back pattern peices together overlapping the stitch line at side seams and pinned it and took measurements across bust, waist, abd and hips and then again at the bottom hem.. compared them to my chart and got enough information to determine this coat will not be oversized and not be too tight.. I also overlayed the facing on the pattern and trued it up.
I then measured a coat I own and knows fits well and compared those measurements.......I�m going to take a chance and NOT toile this coat!
Now that may be really dumb and I should make it up in polar fleece just to make certain.......but I�ve decided I will make the lining first and check it out before cutting the fur. It just looks so darn good and I trust it !!!!
The lining of course will seem oversized compared to the heavy thick fabric of the faux fur....do NOT over fit the lining!!!! if you choose to go this route.
Since faux fur is washable the lining and interfacing must also be washable... I chose a hymo for the inside front interfacing. and upper back interfacing. this is a sewn in interfacing and is available on the net as well as some fabric shops and tailor shops. The hymo was washed in the sink after i serged the raw edges and then hung to dry, then rewet and thrown in the dryer.... I didn�t trust it.
I am lining the coat with a very nice satin lining fabric I got several years ago and this has been washed, dryed ,and pressed.
My front facing is going to be a black faux leather I got a few months ago......I didn�t REALLY want leather pants...can you picture Grammie Kaaren in a bikers jacket.......rofl!!!
To prepare the fur I have laid it out on an unused bed so it relaxes for a couple days..this also spent a half hr in the dryer on air fluff first! ( clean the lint trap !!!!!!)
I�m hoping to get a bright enough day to take pictures show the changes I made to the lining pattern.
Overlay the facing pieces on your main pattern and trace mark with a colored pencil.. I used green which to me is a guide line not a cut line... then remove the facing pieces and add a seam allowance to your green stitch line... cut the lining to this new shape on the pattern pieces marked lining.
Note the back neck facing on the back and the full front facing for the front..are used .
The sleeve I removed the hem allowance and left just a seam allowance.
The back lining may be cut on the fold, you can also offset the pattern piece from the folded edge to provide an action dart if desired. cut two sleeves, and two fronts.
The pockets are made of plush velvet left over from some project or other.
I did hand draft these pockets with a tab of a seam allowance on the opening end which is a little deeper than the normal 5/8ths.. and I will INTERFACE the pocket back with organza and put a stay tape of TWILL on the opening edge during construction.
Now I�m at a stopping point because I have a workshop lady arriving tomorrow...but you need not stop here... make your lining and try it on. If you are satisfied you can continue to cut out your fur.
Here are some tips:
Especially if your sewing room is carpeted put down an old sheet on the floor to help with clean up.
Use the best lighting you have.. bring in an extra lamp if necessary.
Carefully lay out your relaxed fur hair side UP and lay out your pattern pieces.. remember to use a with nap type lay out.. I used large safety pins to denote the beginning and end of each cut out piece pinned to the backing side... With the fur up you can color match pelt lines .
Now that you have established your general lay out turn the fur over so the hair side is down lay out your pattern pieces and use large QUILT pins to pin on the pattern pieces.. since the fur squishes it would be very easy to get off on your edges.......weights help but don�t quite do it...
Take a washable marker and trace around the entire pattern piece on the wrong side. You can use chalk but it will come out prematurely.... you aren�t applying that much marker and it will never bleed thru...
If you are adding pockets inseam or other wise now is the time to mark the placement on front, back side seams. It is also a good time to mark your closure positions. A frog or fur hooks can be used.. this is not the place to apply a zipper!!! and buttons are a real pain.
There are LOTS of ways to do this but here�s one trick that works.. I used a chop stick to push the fur aside on the fur side while snipping the backing with sharp scissors..... what you do NOT want to do is use a rotary cutter or cut thru the fur itself.. you want to cut ONLY the backing.
Now sit down over an empty large waste can and using duck billed scissors give the seam allowance a hair cut.. be carefully not to cut the backing... and don�t take off too much or you will have bald spots on the right side...use your fingers to smooth the hair towards the inside of the pattern piece.. and snip away the bulk of the hair in the seam allowance only.(after construction you can use a fine dog brush or comb and comb your seams to fluff up so you wont even see them!)
Roll the pattern piece up towards the middle run outside and shake the� bedickens� out of it...!!!
BEFORE you make the first stitch take a 6 by 6 inch sample trim away what would be seam allowances and make some sample stitches on your machine.. On my Babylock I found that 3.0 or 3.5 worked very well and I did NOT need a walking foot. I also used a size 100 needle and a heavy poly wrapped cotton thread.
This lengthens the stitch considerably. You may also wish to practice �taut sewing�.. which means apply pressure behind the needle so you are kind of dragging it thru the needle a LITTLE bit. while holding onto the front edge as well.
I would also add some kind of extension.. a chair placed to my left or a small table to support the weight of the fabric so its not going to drag even more against the dogs.
This is hard work on the hands.. you are lifting pulling and tugging some considerable weight. You may wish to look into the gloves that quilter�s use to support their hands while hand quilting. Or you may just wish to take frequent breaks!
Once again if you have tips you wish to share with others PLEASE just email me and Ill add them to the page at the first opportunity.
I also found that making a leader helped.. by this I mean a small rectangle of fabric I started sewing on before i got to the actual seam these little fabric squares get cut off after the seams are completed.
The leader can be any scrap fabric you have laying around ( unused muslin..folded over in two works well. GGGG)
Do remember that faux fur is ground up coke bottles......and there will be no pressing!!!! No fusible interfacings, no pressing open seam allowances... You will need to finger press.
An easy way to help accomplish this is to use a wooden seam roll, ( a broom handle works great!.. Run your finger down the seam allowance to push open...small dabs of barge cement can be used to hold open some areas.. after stitching trimming and grading seam allowances to reduce bulk is highly recommended!!! To grade a seam allowance cut one side at 1/2 inch and the other side at 1/4 after stitching, clip curves well.. reinforce the underarm seam with extra stitching. To clip: clip in on a diagonal / on one side and \ on the opposite allowance.. the bias cut will not ravel or run . Make your clips a good 1/2 inch apart so you don�t weaken the stitch line.
Also remember this backing is a knit and can stretch.. practice on some scraps to get smooth even seams!!!!
As usual I�m responsible for any errors or omissions ...
GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!
� 2001 Kaaren Hoback, Dryden, New York