The coat is finished

Chilly Botty cardi, part 4

Today is part 4 and the last guidelines for how to finish the long line cardigan. The diagram below shows how the skirt was patched together.

 The picture below shows how I laid up the patch pieces on my worktable, deciding how to arrange them, before sewing together. Note how the diagram above specified to cut the patches in a slightly trapezoid shape – narrow at top and wider at the bottom. This will cause the skirt to take up a curved shape so that when its attached to the upper part the coat it will have what is described in dressmaking as an “A” line shape. This silhouette is fitting at the shoulders and wider at the hem.

patches laid up on work table while deciding how to arrange them

When the skirt was long enough to match the length of the top it was overlaid and sewed on 3ZZ.
The front edges were finished with long placket strips extending from the hem to the collar.
I like to add an edging along the hem line. This does several things - a) adds weight, so that the hem swings better b) it provides an aesthetically pleasing horizontal line differentiating the edge c) it stabilises the hem edge to prevent stretching d) it adds more durability. Usually I sew a woven cotton tape 15mm - 20mm wide along the hem, sewing with zigzag or 3ZZ along each side of the tape. But I had in the studio a neat decorative braid bought from Darn Cheap Fabrics in Melbourne a couple of years ago. The picture shows the tape laid on the hem before it was sewed on.

Here is the finished coat. I sewed four upcycled buttons onto the placket so it can be buttoned up.

Front of upcycled coat

back of upcycled coat

On each side of the collar I sewed some little motifs. On the right is a small applique flower and on the left a crotcheted flower.

Top of coat, showing plackets along the collar edge, buttons and motifs on collar

Oscar the maltese terrier knows what this coat is good for

And heres me modelling the coat