A Collar Well Turned

There is nothing like a well turned collar.

I copied a raincoat for a woman in this lovely wool. Her original coat was that awful plastic that after a while just starts disintegrating. The collar was a metallic plastic that was eventually all over everything in my studio. It was flaking off and falling apart before my eyes - it was one of the strangest things I had ever seen. I dont know what could have caused that to happen. Body acids? Heat from sitting in the trunk of a car for months? It kind of grossed me out. But I gritted my teeth and set out to do what I said I would. This was the first time that I have ever been happy to use my little cotton gloves!


I made the pattern directly off the ratty raincoat. I didnt take it apart, but long ago learned how to take patterns from garments. It was a great design with hidden buttons down the front, so I could see why she wanted another one. Its a very flattering shape. I flat-lined the wool in a lightweight cotton to give the wool some body. I'm a huge fan of flat-lining. This is where you sew or baste two pieces of the same shape together to give a lightweight fabric some body and allow it to do what you want it to do - rather than sag and droop. I like hand basting all pieces together as this gives me better control of the fabric when Im working with it. It also has a better drape. Its more work, of course, but the end result is nicer. As you can see in the front of the coat, there is some puckering at the bottom where I topstitched and that had to be fixed of course before sending it out. This coat was lined in a butter colored silk.

I love making coats. I love working with wool. And I never used to, but I sure love a good plaid.

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