Vogue 7979 (out of print) Cashmere Coat

Hello, everyone! Today I continue to show my project from the past.
I made this coat six years ago and have worn it on so many occasions.

Vogue 7979 Cashmere Coat

Fabric: Cashmere coating and Ambiance lining from Candlelight Valley Fabric. The fabric was called English cashmere. I have to say that this is the best cashmere fabric I have ever sewn so far.

Pattern: Vogue 7979 (out of print) View D

Vogue 7979

 I added buttoned cuff and omitted welt. I managed somehow to change the collar to notched collar – I think that is quite a feat for the first-year sewist.

Though I was very optimistic and brave beginner, not everything worked as I expected. I encountered a challenge when I was making cuffs.

I wanted real-working buttoned cuffs. The problem was the thickness of plush fabric. It was too thick to go through my buttonhole attachment. Uh-oh! I decided to make bound buttonholes instead.

 

Bound Buttonhole - Front
(Please excuse the dent caused by the buttons.)

What the...?!

I think these buttonholes looks acceptable from front but shockingly ugly from the back of the cuff. *sigh* I lost courage to make front buttonholes. That's why this coat became tie-front coat. :D

Omitting shoulder pads was not a right decision for this project either. I thought I should avoid shoulder pads because they were so 80's but I found later that every good jacket in the store still had shoulder pads sewn inside. It's just gazillion times thinner and smaller than what it used to be in 80's.

Through this project, I learned a lot about inside the coat. High-Fashion Sewing Secrets by Claire B. Shaeffer (Interfacings and Linings) and Thread magazine April/May 2005 issue (A Modern Twist on a Tailored Hem, page 62) were useful reference.

Despite the flaws, this was my favorite coat. I loved the luxurious feel and look of plush cashmere. Sadly the life of the coat ended last summer. It seems that some naughty moth had a nice dinner in my closet. The coat was in the garment bag - but, for some reason, the zipper was halfway open. Lesson learned.

Moth!

BTW, I joined sewing forum called Stitcher's Guild last weekend. Thanks, SG sewists, for the warm welcome! The forum is full of inspiration and resource.

Until next time, cheers to you all!