American Beauty - Coat - Part VIIIb

Some things look better in the morning . . . .

So I slept on the whole dilemma. I was planning on working on it last night, but sat and watched TV with my husband instead. I've decided to go with Option A. I have put a lot of time and work into this already. For the most part, I am happy with the results. Appliquing the roses of the lining in two red tones, plus the sheer with the two tone roses, plus handmade roses in both reds will unify the whole thing. So, it's full speed ahead.

Let's back up a bit though. I didn't show you the crushing of the velvet. Very easy to do and if you don't like the result, you can always wash it in the washing machine and try it again. Threads March 2004, has excellent instructions for this process, but I'll put in my own details here.








Basically, you lay the velvet face up on the ironing board and gather a section with your fingers. This ends up being about 6 inches wide or so. The gathers don't have to be even, and actually that's the point. Then, with a hot iron (correct temp for the vevlet fibers!) and full steam, iron those gathers flat. This will flatten the nap on the top, but the fabric within the folds will remain uncrushed. Let fabric cool, and move on to another section. I crushed the whole 4+ yards and then cut out the pattern pieces.




I've got one cuff faced and ready to put on the sleeve, and will get the other one done today. I can then work on the facings and the fur collar. I tried on the coat yesterday and I think the collar will need some trimming off. It's a bit too big, but I knew that I wouldn't really know how it would look until this stage. I'll have to see about that button/closure, too.

Once the front facing/fur collar is done, it's on to the lining. Well, if I ever get the 10 yards of white silk that I ordered two weeks ago. I've enquired via emial, and it should be here this week. I need it not only for the coat lining, but for the dress!