I am making a 1950’s style coat for my final project. Here are my top 5 constraints for this project.
- Skill Level: I haven’t done very much sewing in my life. I want to develop this skill which is part of why I chose this project. This means that everything will take twice as long as it would if I were an experienced sewer. Making the patterns will probably take the longest time. I’ve already worked on trying to get this right and its really difficult.
- Money: Fabric is really expensive. Right now I am trying to decide what fabric to buy for my final project because I want it to look good but I can’t spend $300 on fabric. Especially because I will probably make a lot of mistakes.
- Aesthetics: I want this coat to be a good representation of the coat I am trying to replicate. I have looked through a lot of different coats from the 1950’s and there is a fairly distinct style that I am trying to emulate.
- Time: This project requires a pretty large time input to make it look as good as possible. I need to manage my time well because all of my classes this semester have projects. This means that the end of the semester will be very busy so hopefully I will be able to finish this project before everything else gets too crazy.
- Fabric: I have heard that thicker fabrics are harder to work with and it requires a larger needle and other extra considerations. Since I want this coat to be functional I will need to use thick fabrics and this could present some problems in the sewing process.
Here are some of the sketches I have done in order to try to figure out the pieces I need to cut out and then sew together. I found some example coat sewing patterns online but none of them were right so I decided to try and make my own. This choice is going to make everything take a lot more time because I have never done anything like this before so I will need to iterate.
The collar has been giving me the most problems in theory but I am going to try and make one soon. This is my current design so we will see.
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[…] Top 5 Final Project Constraints […]
You could use thinner, less expensive fabric with an inexpensive batting/insulating layer between the outside and the liner. You might also look at vintage sewing patterns. These all have detailed instructions on how to cut and assemble, and would give you a template to start from. See what they have at JoAnne fabrics. Thrift stores sometimes have fabric remnants you could practice with. I’ve seen them often at Ares Thrift shop.
I think these are pretty realistic constraints. With relation to experience, it might help if you made some prototypes with cheaper fabrics, not necessarily to scale, but practice doing the kind of sewing that your final product would involve. Although, that might not help the money constraint.
Eleanor, I like the ambition you have shown in your project. I think that this is a really cool idea and these types of coats are really in now. If you are having trouble with the think material I would recommend using a thinner material since it will be easier and I often think that the thin material looks really nice especially if you are wearing it to work.