Tree of Gondor Coat Construction: Part 4

With the back panel finally done, it was time for the easy part: constructing the jacket. I followed the directions for view C, Simplicity 3628 to make up the coat with very few changes:

First, I didn't like how the  pockets looked after I basted them in place. They broke up the lengthening effect of the princess seams and just looked kind of strange. So I took them off.

Second, the instructions for top-stitching on the collar were different from the picture on the front of the pattern. The picture clearly shows top-stitching that follows the curved top line of the collar, however the directions called for just horizontal spaced lines, ignoring the front curve. I ended up making the collar look like the picture as it echoed the curves in the rest of the jacket.

Top-stitching details.

Finally, the collar piece didn't ease into place very cleanly. I'm not sure if it was the pattern, my cutting or the materials I used, but I was able to solve the problem by gathering at the center back of the neck. And I actually like the effect it has.

Gathering at the back of the collar.

Here are a few more details of the coat:

Top-stitched sleeves.

I tried to very cleanly pleat the tops of the shoulders.

To close the jacket I used several silver coat hooks. And, to go along with the vaguely historical/Victorian feel, I added period cord buttons from LaMode for decoration on the front.

Pretty Buttons!

Here is the completed coat, front and back!

Front of the coat.

Back of the coat.

Looking back at the coat, there are a few things I would do differently:

• I would use sturdier thread for top-stitching. My usual white Guttermann thread had some issues and snapped a few times. Really it looks just fine, but I notice where I had to backstitch to reconnect the thread.
• I would have given myself a bit of extra room through the shoulders of the jacket. When I made a mock-up and tried on the shell it flexed fine, until I put the lining in. I believe this was due to the slight stretch of the micro-suede compared to the lack of stretch in the cotton twill. I made this coat to be worn with a t-shirt, so it was meant to be fitted, but the extra inch for movement would have been nice.
• Finally, I would have given the coat some pockets. Maybe pockets inserted in the seam would have worked, or just pockets inside the lining, but I do prefer to have clothing with just enough room for a wallet or cellphone. 

 I hope you enjoyed following along with the construction of my Tree of Gondor coat!
 The end! :)

Tree of Gondor Coat Construction: Part 3

After three nights of sewing the tree design, it took most of an evening to use my Gingher Epaulette mini snips to carefully cut away the center of the reverse applique. And here's what the finished back panel looks like!

The back is finally finished!

Detail of the branches and stars.

Look at all those points, they took forever to sew and trim.

Tree roots.

Next in Part 4: constructing the jacket, adding top-stitch details and the finished product!

Tree of Gondor Coat Construction: Part 2

Once I finished cutting the coat shell pieces from the micro-suede, I finally got to work on the the back panel.

Test of the reverse applique technique.

I cut out the tree from the paper pattern and traced it onto the back piece with pen, carefully lining up the center back mark on the design and fabric. Then, I cut a cream velour piece a little larger than the suede to layer beneath it and basted them together on my sewing machine. I had already done a test of the stitch setting on the fabrics and tried different feet and techniques, so I was prepared to dive into the real thing.

Here are the pictures I took pictures through the process:

Before the first stitch.
You can see the design marked out in pen. I actually used the Bernina open embroidery foot (#20), not the clear applique foot (#23) that's on the machine in this picture. Also note the basting stitches holding the layers of fabric together.

Almost to the tree roots.
You can see where I cut the basting after sewing over it to make sure it wasn't stuck underneath the narrow zig-zag stitch.

Almost done!
On the branches and stars, the knee-lift and 'needle-down' function were invaluable to getting sharp points. I also started cutting out some large parts of reverse applique to make sure the cream fabric looked OK. 

Next in Part 3, onto trimming out the center of the applique design!

Tree of Gondor Coat Construction: Part 1

Now that I had a pattern (Simplicity 3628, view C) and fabric (a sage-forest green micro-suede for the fashion fabric and dark brown cotton twill for the lining) I needed to make a mock up of the pattern.

My dressform.

First, I adjusted my dress-form to my measurements (a bra with socks for padding, and a slip). I also tied cords at the bust, waist and hip so I could check that the bust points and waistline matched the pattern.

Then I cut out and constructed a muslin mock up of the Simplicity coat pattern C according to their directions to what I thought was my size.

Amazingly, I only had to make a few changes to the pattern. I took in a bit underneath the arms at the side seams and tapered in the princess seams front and back to add more waist definition (there's an 8 inch different between my waist and bust, and 10 inch difference between my waist and hip).

Front of the mock up

Back of the mock up

Next, I scaled up the Tree of Gondor design to a width less than the measurement between the back two princess seams, printed it out, taped it together, and tried to figure out the exact placement.

Tree design pinned to the back of the mock up.

Once I figured out the exact scale and placement of the tree design I took the mock up apart, began to cut out the pieces of the coat from the micro-suede, and work on the back panel.

Next is Part 2, applique the tree design!

Mini-tutorial on how to do reverse applique

Apologies for not updating about the progress of my Tree of Gondor jacket! While I finish writing up the rest of the process, here's a mini tutorial of how to use reverse applique to create the tree design.

Here are the five basic steps:

First - Trace the design you want on the fashion fabric of the coat (the exterior layer). I tried to use a chalk pencil but, because of the micro-suede, I ended up using pen. My advice is to avoid using permanent methods of marking the fabric (like pen) in case the design changes, but it worked for me as I had a very set design and was using a narrow zig-zag that covered the pen marks.

Second - Pin and baste the backing to the interfaced exterior fabric and make sure the grain-lines match up, otherwise it'd be an awful stretched mess. I did a several lines of vertical and horizontal basting several inches apart.

Bernina Open Embroidery Foot (#20)

Third - Test the zig-zag (or other stitch you're going to use) on the same layered fabric, just to be sure all the settings are right before you start on the real thing. Also, I used a new universal needle (90/14, I think) and the Bernina open embroidery foot (#20) which let me see where I was stitching. However you have to be super careful not to pull on the fabric to suddenly in any direction as it greatly increases chances of breaking the needle. Another option would be the clear applique foot (#23) which I considered using but when I did a test I couldn't see my lines clearly enough.

Fourth - Spend forever slowly stitching over the design you just traced. It takes a lot of time, but precision at this stage is very important. If you have a design with pointy bits (like root tips and star points), it really helps to set the sewing machinet to the "needle ends down" setting and use a knee bar to lift the presser foot. This allowed me to manipulate the fabric so I could get the points as sharp and clean as possible on the ends of the tree branches and stars.

Fifth - Use the smallest point scissors you have (I bought Gingher Epaulette mini snips just for this project which worked beautifully) and cut out the inside of the design. Then you trim and trim and keep trimming until all the little stray threads are gone.

This was my test piece for the reverse applique process. 

Now, onto constructing the coat!

The Tree of Gondor Coat Planning!



Simplicity 3628, Threads Collection

I have finally started working on the Tree of Gondor coat that I have been thinking about for 4 years. My goal is to make a practical fall/spring coat that is appropriate to wear out and about while proudly displaying my inner geek. Also, I wanted to use up some of the fabric in my stash (which has grown distressingly while I was at school).

My first job was to pick out an appropriate jacket pattern. I had been eyeing Simplicity 3628 from the Threads Collection as the reviews for it were good and I liked the psuedo military style and top-stitch detail of view C (the red one in the middle). Then there was a $1.99 Simplicity pattern sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics, so I picked it up in my size.



Tree of Gondor design from Faramir and
Aragorn. Courtesy of Nicole Kipar,
 from alleycatscratch.com

The next step was figuring out how to best incorporate the Tree of Gondor into the design. My original vision was having the white tree design on the back based off the City of Osgiliath flag which had the white tree and seven stars but without the crown. I also wanted to have some scroll work or Celtic knot designs on the sleeves, collar or hem. But I've pretty much decided against that as I think it would look too much like a costume. Instead, I'm just going to do the top-stitiching on the collar and sleeves for the jacket in white/cream to tie in the design on the back.


Then I had to pick out the fabric. I knew I wanted to make the coat either blue or green with white/cream detail. And in my stash I found I had a bunch of dark sage green microsuede material left over from my Irish dress which would work perfectly as it was mid-weight, smooth and doesn't fray easily. And, while I was at my local Jo-Ann fabrics I found a remnant of white/cream velour just the right size for the tree on the back. It was also the right pile height to work as the microsuede was very flat and I wanted the Tree to not only stand out visually but also in texture. My plan for making the Tree is flat-lining the back panel of the jacket with the velour (right side to wrong side), sewing around the edge of the design in almost a satin stitch on my Bernina and then very, very carefully cutting out the inside of the design to reveal the white/cream velour.

And now it's finally time to make a mock up of the jacket and test the design technique for the Tree. Pictures and a new post to come when I finish that!

And here's the first post of my Tree of Gondor Coat Construction!