Nov 18, 2013

A Slight Change of Plan



Let's get back to the pea coat project.

As you'll recall, I'm making my coat from the Japanese men's coat pattern book up top.



I made a muslin, and last week was all set to make the coat in this brown Donegal tweed.



Then it hit me: I didn't have sufficient time to do all the tailoring it required (what with all my Japanese TV commitments) and I wasn't confident enough about the pattern, which I'd had to trace from a book written entirely in Japanese.  (This month's theme is JAPAN.)

After sleeping on the issue, I decided to buy a different fabric that would require less tailoring and if I liked the way the pea coat turned out in the new fabric, make a Donegal wool version later on.  Doesn't that make more sense than rushing?

My new fabric is a coated cotton canvas.  It's as if the canvas has been painted with a thin coat of brown rubber, but it's not heavy or clammy feeling, and the grain remains visible.  It also has a slightly stone-washed patina I love.  It reminds me of waxed cotton.  Also, it can be pressed without the coating coming off.





Here's the selvage:



The underside feels like brushed cotton.



I plan to line the coat with the cotton flannel below, a remnant from a shirt I made for Michael last year.



Today I started cutting and I hope to start sewing tomorrow.



And that's it!  I do intend to make outerwear with that wool; maybe next month if all goes well.

In closing, readers, have you ever seen fabric like this before?

What do you think it's coated with?

Happy Monday, everybody!

17 comments:

  1. That fabric looks great, but is the coating breathable? Could get uncomfortably warm if not. Could you tell us where you got it?
    Thanks,
    James

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  2. Well that is going to look fantastic! I love the way the seams look on that fabric. They're clean and precise and the thread seems to nestle down into the fibers, so it really show the details to great advantage. It looks really good. :)

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  3. I'm reading this in secret because Mr O so wants a peacoat and it's so not going to happen this year with all that's on the list! Thanks for the tip off about that book. Really hard finding a good choice of mens coats. Just interested to know. What are the tailoring techniques that are different on the wool compared to the coated fabric?

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  4. Interesting fabric - not ciré because not highly glazed, but not dull like a rubberised fabric either. I think it will look great. (BTW I realise now why the blue cotton I bought in Mood this January to make a shirt for my partner seemed familiar...)

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  5. It looks like oilskin - not the plastic stuff for covering tables with, but proper oilskin, for wearing in wet weather. It's nice to sew, though gets a bit oily in warm weather. It gets a lovely rugged look as it ages.
    http://www.britishmillerain.com/products/apparel-accessories

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  6. Sounds like waxed canvas meant to be waterproof I think. It's funny because Sarai over on Coletterie.com just did a post on sewing with waxed canvas.

    Can't wait to see your finished coats.

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  7. I like the new fabric choice. Flannel for the lining - will the coat be easy enough to put on over long sleeve shirts? That's an issue I have now with 2 coats, one I made of fleece, lined with a cotton shirting type fabric, and one fleece jacket with no lining. In both cases, I've heard stitching pop somewhere while tugging to get them on over long sleeves due to the friction between shirt and jacket. I'm seriously considering lining the sleeves with fabric that's a bit slippery.

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  8. Totally agree with JustGail. Maybe flannel for body and cotton satin for sleeves. Won't need much yardage just for sleeves.

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  9. It looks great and I agree, you want a sleeve lining that will slide over sweaters. This is very commonly seen in jackets where the main body is lined in something like flannel.

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  10. Hi Peter, I was just about to suggest a slippery lining for the sleeves too. When we were children my elder brother had a jacket (referred to as a "car coat", no idea why) that had a snuggly flannel lining for the body, but lining fabric for the sleeves. It came to me as a "hand down", as was the way in my family, as our parents were children of the depression. By the time it got to me it was not stylish, but was warm.

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  11. Your fabric looks like pigment dyed canvas. It has a thick layer of dye rolled onto one side, and it tends to wash off the high spots after washing and drying. It will have a nice, faded look, similar to dark denim after numerous washes.

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  12. Is your lovely new fabric from Mood?

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  13. Love that jacket pattern and fabric! And I have to say you have a ton of boldness to sew a pattern written in a foreign language! I can't wait to see the completed project!

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  14. Do tell us where you got this great fabric :-)

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    Replies
    1. It's from the synthetic rainwear/outerwear section of Mood Fabrics.

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