This April and May I’m sewing along with Sherry at Pattern~Scissors~Cloth. A bunch of other talented seamsters and I are all making coats following the construction methods used in ready-to-wear tailoring. Mine is a Burberry-inspired trench coat, and here’s a reflection on my efforts to sew well.

This weekend I did my best to catch up on the Ready-To-Wear Tailoring Sew-Along. I’m happy to say that the trench coat is all together – including the lining, but minus the hem, the buttons, and the button holes.
First, I finished making the belt. I ironed it in half, wrong sides together, tucked in 3/8″ of the raw edges, and topstitched 1/4″ from the folded edge of the raw sides, enclosing them. It wasn’t until I was done that I realized I had no idea how to finish the ends. If I were to do it over, I’d sew it closed inside out and then turn it. For now, I’ve just done my best to make nice ends.
Then, I sewed together the coat following the instructions from the pattern. I read over Sherry’s posts to ensure I didn’t miss any of her valuable advice, but for the most part I found what I needed in the vintage guide. I did follow her instructions for the sleeve head very carefully, as that was a lesson not found in my pattern instructions.
I didn’t want to sew up the hem just yet because there are a few nagging issues I need to fix. The left sleeve bothers me a bit. It doesn’t sit quite as nicely as the right, and I think it’s because I didn’t get the frontmost pleat at the top quite right. More importantly, the back neck facing is off. It’s too large. When I went back to my pattern pieces, I realized that I’d marked the fold line wrong. I’m trying to get up the courage to pull everything apart to stitch in the correct sized facing. Wish me luck!
Yay! It’s really looking great. I worked quite a bit on mine this weekend as well and am down to the putting the lining in. I almost screwed up the facing piece as well and then went back and double-checked. What kind of fabric did you use? I think a trench may be in my future!
Thanks! I used a nice wool gabardine for the outside and a Burberry rainwear I had left over from a wedding project for the lining. I am very happy with how it’s all coming together. I can’t wait to get to the buttons! I also can’t wait to see your white jacket. You’ll have to post your progress soon.