Vampire coat

Major success on the sewing front today as I have completed a project that has been 4 years in the planning (ever since Costume Studies, oh boy) and spanned nearly 5 months in the making- an 18th century-inspired winter coat that I have dubbed my "vampire coat", suitable for all my gothy needs in cold weather.
Time: Lots of hours, I suspect- spread out over several months. Aaaargh.

Material: The black wool was a fantastic find- on clearance at buy-one-get-two-metres-free. The lining is my pride and joy- beautiful, plush, fleece lined kasha lining. It is thick, silky soft and warm- one of the main reasons this jacket ended up becoming a winter coat.
Plastic buttons- at least until I get my hands on a vintage set.

Okay- so I cut a lot of corners and yet it still ended up taking a long time- but I didn't expect it to be any other way. Since making a coat is a rather new experience for me I opted to buy a pattern (Butterick 4665) and alter it... a lot.

Let's just say the intructions came in handy (as I don't have very concise notes on putting together a jacket- and will tend to forget steps or the order in which to do them) but I probably would have been better off drafting my own pattern.

Like most patterns, the sizing turned out to be way too big all over! The shoulders were the worst part- as I have narrow and sloping shoulders, I had to reshape the entire armhole (I still haven't got it quite right). The waist had to be taken in a full 8 inches for the fitted look that I wanted. The princess seams were reshapen, the sleeves and hem shortened and frockcoat vents, a center seam AND slit were added to the back. All that alteration time that could have been
spent on a custom-drafted coat- but oh wells- I didn't have a mannequin at the time of starting.

I had to bring this sucker in to my work at the tailor shop to press the thick, stubborn wool after hours with the big industrial steam iron.

The coat is very "relaxed" due to light interfacing and much warmer than it looks- though it is more a fall/mild winter jacket and will not stand up to the challenge when temperatures dip below zero.
To be honest, it was designed for the express purpose to be worn with impressive knee-high boots. It would also look best dressed up with many accessories.

Pictures simply don't do justice to this gorgeous lining- it is a deep, blood-red crimson but very shiny (it has no trace of orange)

Anyway! I looks like I won't debut the wearing of it for a couple of days as it is raining. Gross!

Coming up next: learning to crochet (bought a book and ever-ay-thing), Halloween MADNESS
omg omg omg halloween anyone???