Swing Coat Completion

Finally, my swing coat is complete. Well, finished enough to post, but there are still a couple of finishing tweaks to take care of. I haven’t been able to find the kind metal clasp closures I envisioned at Fabricland which is the only sewing notions store in the Okanagan Valley! I’m either going to have to put on some big buttons with loops or search the internet for options! Here’s a photo of the coat with no closures. Thank you to my lovely model, Ngaire!The coat itself turned out pretty much like the pattern photo, but my fabric is still a bit stiff and so it doesn’t have quite the flow and swing that I was looking for. I’m confident that after having been worn a few times it will drape a little more.

My second problem is that I’d really like to top stitch the front of the jacket from hem right around the collar to the other hem. This will ensure that the facing stays where it should. My problem? The presser foot of my sewing machine won’t open enough! This means tracking down someone with an industrial machine to do it, or taking a hammer to the fabric to see if I can flatten it enough to get under the presser foot – daunting to say the least!The collar turned out so much better than I’d hoped. I did the general collar shape from the pattern, but elongated the pattern piece to make the collar have deeper, wider points .I then cut a smaller piece of a similar shape and layered it on top gathering it to soften the whole look. This is makes the swing coat a bit more individual and adds a modern touch, I think.I lined the coat with winterized satin lining in navy the same shade as the collar. The inside of the satin lining has a flannel like finish that adds an additional layer of warmth. It has a very luxurious feel and weight.

Here’s how the project started out… This is Alice Schleins network twill pattern from " The Best of Weavers - Twill Thrills".Warp Description

Warp Yarn: Wool
Count: 2 ply medium
Color: Alternating navy and black
Warp Length: 6 yards – only 5 yards woven as I ran out of weft
Warp Width: 33 inches
Set: 10 epi
Reed: 10 dent
Sley: 1 per dent
# Ends: 330 plus 2 floating selvedges

Weft Description

Weft Yarn: Wool
Count: 2 ply medium
Color: Natural – 2 different dye lots

The take up and shrinkage was 10% overall. I machine fulled the yardage and then air dried and pressed before placing the pattern pieces.
Next time I would sett the yarn at 8 epi and full a bit more...., but other than that I'm pretty good with the finished product.