Positively the (next to) LAST faux fur coat post!

Friends, they say all good things must come to an end, but honestly, I could keep working on this coat forever.  And not because it's such a treat, but rather because there is an endless amount of finishing work to be done on a garment like this.

The collar and the facings had to be catch-stitched into place -- Kenneth King does this between the layers themselves and so did I.  OK, I also did some stitching through both layers from the outside here and there.  Tiny stitches sink right into the fur, never to be seen again.  And so do big stitches.  I love fur!

It's a long story, but take my word for it that if the undercollar and overcollar weren't whip-stitched into place, the cat fur, which doesn't have that faux suede backing like the rabbit fur, would not correctly roll over the top of the collar, as it does (correctly) in this photo.



I had to make that happen, and the collar had to look good both turned up and turned down.   Thanks for the back of your head, Michael!



I did less whip-stitching in the lapels but I still did some.  Did I mention how much I don't like hand stitching?  Well, I don't, but I'll do it if I have to, and the good news is I'm getting better at it.  The bad news is I'm going blind threading needles.





I decided that for the time being I would not line the coat, leaving the faux suede inside visible, which looks fine except for the inside of the pockets, one of which displays the right side of the pocketing, and the other the wrong side.  How did this happen?  I couldn't even tell you.  Life goes on.

Following Kenneth Kings instructions, I attached bias to the facings, and stitched down the bias by hand.  If a lining should go in, it will get slip-stitched to the bias.  If.





I tried hemming the coat and it ruined the drape.  That fake suede backing can't be folded up, not on a coat that drapes like this one does.  The bottom is thus raw and shaggy and drapes beautifully.  I really had to go with my gut on this one.  (The fur does not shed once cut, btw.)

The cuffs were a cinch: machine sewn along the inside cuff edge and then folded up over the sleeve and hand-stitched into place.





I tried a belt.  Michael and I agreed that, done in the fur, it lends a bathrobe-y feel to a coat that's already a little bathrobe-y.  Done in the faux suede, it cuts the coat in two in an unflattering way.  So right now the coat has no closures.  I may or may not explore other options (snaps?) but for right now it hangs open.

As for big rhinestone buttons, here's the deal: Michael loves this coat and wants to wear it to the opera (dressed as Margaret Dumont, perhaps?).  It actually looks great on him -- well, very good.  Plus -- and you'll see this in the photo shoot -- this coat is BUSY.  And very thick.  It needs no further embellishment.



Actually, it hangs very much like a man's beaver coat (see pic below).  Maybe that's what this is -- pink beaver! (no jokes, please)



Today, I have to work on finishing touches to coat and pantsuit, and I may try to make a turban with this poly chiffon, this pattern, and this old rhinestone ring I found.



Readers, you've been so very patient during this coat construction; I know it hasn't been easy for many of you, especially you ADHD types.  But I must follow my muse.  And shave.  Big day tomorrow.

Happy Friday, everybody!

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Pocket Love + Don't Call Me!

So much to cover today, friends!

First the big news.  For the first time in my life I have no land line telephone service (and no 212 area code).  Since both Michael and I have cell phones, and now that we have cable Internet (we needed the land line for our lousy DSL), we decided to turn it off.  Since I rarely received calls on my land line anymore, it doesn't feel very different, but the event does warrant memorializing, don't you think?

Do you still have a land line?

In other news, we decided to skip the V-Day party last night.  For one thing, it started too late, and I won't tell you how late to avoid embarrassing myself.  I'm an early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, readers, and I hate to have my routine disrupted.  Also, the coat (the coat! the coat!) isn't done yet.  And it won't be done for a few days yet.  We'll do a Cathy photo shoot on Saturday combining faux fur coat and black sequined pantsuit (remember that one?), maybe even featuring a few guest celebrities!  Do you know any?

Right now, I'm trying to track down a bottle of Charlie to create the right uber-Seventies mood.

Now on to the coat.  Yesterday was all about slit pockets.  (For those just joining us, I've been following Kenneth King's instructions from an online faux fur coat-making class he led on Pattern Review a few years ago.)  Here's how I made the pockets.

First, I couldn't conceal them in a seam, because the side seam of the coat is all the way back behind the arm (common with a two piece sleeve, I believe), as opposed to being directly under it.  You can see that seam here, though I hope to brush it out a bit more:



After deciding where I wanted my pockets to go, I drew the pocket line on the inside of the coat and marked the ends with cold tape.



For the pocket bag, I used a pattern piece from an old Simplicity coat pattern I own.  (I chose a 7" pocket opening based on the pattern piece.)  This is an easy pattern piece to find, or you can trace one yourself.  I cut the pockets out of some stretch poly satin from my remnant stash.



From the inside of the coat, I stuck a pin through the front of the coat at each end of the pocket.  On the outside, I lined a ruler up between the protruding pins, and with combs, I parted my fur.  I then taped the fur down on either side of the part.  I used electrical tape because that was what I had.  Whatever tape you use (King suggests masking tape), make sure you test it on your fur first -- you don't want gummy residue or any damage to the fur.







Now, on the wrong side (inside) of the garment, I centered a piece of grosgrain ribbon over my pocket line, and stitched it down along the length of the pocket.  My ribbon was a little wider than necessary, but it was all I had.  Plus it was pink!



On the right side, you will now place the two sides of your pocket bag, one side at a time.  The pocket piece seam allowance will be placed over the center pocket stitch line, and then stitched -- from the wrong side, of course -- in a stitch line parallel to, but 1/8" to the side of, the center stitch line.  On the outside of the coat, the seam allowance will be pinned back temporarily (before the next pocket side can be attached).





I stitched down the other side of the pocket in the same way, only with a stitch line on the other side of the center stitch line.  (Don't worry about the stitches getting caught in the tape; the tape will be pulled off and is just to keep most of the hair out of the way.)

Here's what it looks like from the front (ideally, both seam allowances will be the same width, but this is OK).



On the inside, you now have three stitch lines: a center line, marking where the pocket will be slit, and two stitch lines on either side, holding either side of the pocket bag in place. 



You will now slit through the coat along the center stitch line, from the inside.  (As you can see, this is very much like making a welt pocket.)   I did this with an X-Acto knife -- highly recommended.

Keep the "V" cut at the end narrow: we don't need room for welts.

Now pull the pocket back through to the inside.  NOTE: you are not creating welts.  You are simply creating a pocket bag that covers the raw edges of the coat pocket.  The pocket lining does not show from the outside of the coat.

The inside side of the pocket (which will end up closest to the coat) will be prick stitched along the edge.  You can't press fur, and this will hold the pocket and pocket opening in place.  The stitching goes through all layers.





The seam allowance of the outer side of the pocket (the one that will show) is stitched down with a running stitch.  This is just to keep things tidy and in place.



You can now stitch the two sides of the pocket bag together with your machine.  When you're done, stitch down the pocket with a catch stitch.  Here's how mine looked.  Not perfect, perhaps, but for me, this is pretty good!



And here's the pocket from the outside:





NOTE:  It is VERY important that before you attach your pocket pieces, you know exactly how they'll look pulled through to the back, so that 1) they're facing in the correct direction, and 2) the side you want on the outside of the pocket ends up there.  This can be a bit of a mind twister, but can't be skipped.

My second pocket was better than my first and I'm sure my eighth would be better than my seventh, but whatever.  The beauty is that from the outside, slight imperfections don't show-- such is the miracle of faux fur. 

I hope this is helpful to those of you eager to add slit pockets to a faux fur coat you're making, or maybe wanting to add pockets to Grandma's old mink!

OK, folks, no rest for the weary.  Time to get to work.

Have a great day, everybody!

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MPB Valentine's Day Wishes!

Friends, a brief message of Valentine's Day good wishes, from all of us here at MPB as well of as some of our very special guests and sponsors.

The romantic Quality Inn, 1220 West Main Street, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania! 



Steve and Eydie -- still on tour!



 The cast of Dynasty!



...and from his perch on West 34th Street, Mr. David Beckham!



May your day be full of love and red stuff!















Much love, friends!

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"Bling-a-Ding-Ding" - Faux Fur Coat Update!

Friends, if you're like me you have poor impulse control.  That's why I'm just going to go ahead and show you how my faux fur Seventies coat looked earlier today, right after I performed the "turn of the cloth" (flipping the facings to the front), revealing my very understated feral cat lapels and collar.

There's still a bit of understitching to do to keep things in place, but I think you'll agree this coat makes a statement.  Having grown up in the Seventies in the Bronx of all places, a coat like this has strong associations and I'm not talking about my childhood best friend Maury's mother Francine.  Though come to think of it, I'm pretty sure Francine had a coat very similar to mine.  If she didn't, she should have.

She did drive a Ford LTD -- or was it her ex husband's -- which would definitely go with the coat.



I'm not sure how much interest you have in the construction of this coat anymore, but I'll share a few things I think warrant mention.  First, slightly off topic, the dogs just love sitting in my faux fur scrap pile and I think they're trying to tell me they want faux fur coats too.  Dream on, boys.
 




Since my leopard-y print (What is this cat print exactly?) was rather thin in comparison to the sheared pink rabbit, I padded the collar and lapel pieces to give them extra oomph.  I basted some beige fleece I had in my remnant stash and I'm so glad I did; it really makes a difference.  The fleece is trimmed so it doesn't get caught in my seam allowances, as one would interfacing.





I also padded both front lapels.



I didn't add grosgrain ribbon or twill tape along the fold line; I don't think it's necessary though I might change my mind; we'll see how my energy holds up.

I attached my overcollar to my right and left front facings, which were already attached to the neck facing.  I then stitched the whole kit and kaboodle to the coat itself, having already attached the undercollar, trimmed seam allowances, and turned them up.



Having shaved my seam allowances on the sheared rabbit fur side, my seams were very manageable and neat.  They ended up getting trimmed down to about 3/8" or less anyway.





As always, I've been vacuuming as I go, and when I remember it, I put on my face mask.  It gives Michael a good laugh if nothing else.

I'm nowhere near done, of course.  One thing I left for last was pockets, because I wasn't sure if I wanted slit pockets or patch pockets.  The original pattern calls for patch pockets and it's doable in this fur; I just have to think about how it will look.  If you have an opinion about it, let me know before I start cutting/slitting etc!

I also wanted to line the coat, though frankly, the inside looks a lot like shearling and isn't offensive to me at all. I could simple bind my facing edges, hems, etc., and call it a day.  Thoughts?  Also, how about the cuffs and/or hem?  Should I add the cat fur there too, or is the collar/lapels plenty? 

Have a great day, everybody!

PS - What's a good name for this coat?  Be kind!

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