i was able to get a good bit of sewing in over the weekend… we are in for the home stretch at this point! yay!
i would have started the lining sooner, but i am highly intelligent and managed to cut my weft interfacing for the wrong side of the jacket facing 😡 so i had to go back to the fabric store and buy more weft. now i just realized i also should have bought more thread. i can’t believe how much thread i’ve gone through at this point – an entire spool of silk, nearly 2 spools of the blue, and almost a full spool of the silver. it’s not like i’m sitting here sewing and ripping out seams over and over, either. ugh!
anyway, i’m about halfway done with the lining. it is in, so pretty much all that’s left at this point is a bunch of handsewing and working on the details.
the first thing i did for the lining – which took FOR-FREAKING-EVER jsyk – was cut out every freaking piece in some soft lightweight (pajama?) flannel and sew it to the back, making sure everything was smooth with no wrinkles or puckers.
i sewed with a 1/2″ seam allowance, and then cut the flannel as closely as possible to the stitching.
then i sewed the pieces together as per normal. at this point, i have made 3 of these coats – one muslin, one in lightweight wool, and one in silver bemberg rayon. i feel like we are besties, the lady grey pattern and i.
after i sewed the back facing in (fyi i interfaced that sucker with a piece of horsehair, instead of the suggested lightweight fusible. i wanted it to be nice and sturdy or idk whatever), i sewed on my tag. thanks to everyone for your votes – and even the 3 of y’all who voted that my tags were ugly, seriously thanks for your honesty but uhh maybe you should keep that to yourself next time ’round bc i was totes crying myself to sleep over a cold beer later that night – i decided to go with the first option. isn’t it a beaut!
here is the lining all assembled and ready to be married to her lifelong partner, the shell.
obligatory back shot
and the whole mess right before i sewed them together. i just thought it looked terrifying, with all the padstitching and horsehair and shoulder pads and stuff you never see when you buy ready-to-wear.
on a side note, this coat is HEAVY. waaay heavier than i expected it to be! this is a good thing, because it is also warm, and very structured and it just feels sturdy, you know? but i was expecting it to be a little lightweight, since all the fabrics are pretty light on their own. a nice surprise, i will be able to wear this much longer into the season than previously anticipated!
aaaand here is where we are at right now:
i haven’t basted the lapels yet, so they are pin-basted.
i got tired of looking at it last night, sorry.
to do list:
– shaping the upper collar
– attaching the collar
– inserting the shoulder pads
– hemming the jacket shell
– cutting out the interlining
– attaching the interlining to the lining
– assembling the lining
– inserting the lining into the jacket shell
– hemming the jacket lining
– finishing the bound buttonholes & securing the sleeve lining to the sleeves
– sewing lace along the jacket hem
– securing the lining princess seams to corresponding seam allowances
– sewing the belt & belt loops
– attaching the buttons
if worse comes to worst, i figure i can do all the machine stuff @ home and then drag the coat with me to my parent’s house on thanksgiving to finish the handstitching – the sleeve hem, the bound buttonholes, the lace, and the lining princess seams. I WILL GET THIS FINISHED BY THANKSGIVING, GAWD.
totally irrelevant but being posted nonetheless…
here is a picture of a hawk plucking a dead bird in our office parking lot this morning.
GET IT GIRL
LLADYBIRD 
Yay, comments!