Geranium Red

Life has been really busy, and a few projects had to be put on hold.  

But all that red linen was hard to ignore, so I decided to get to it.

Time for one lonely little bound buttonhole.

I generally prefer to do buttonholes before constructing the garment, so if I do not feel like cutting out little squares of fabric one day, the whole project gets sidelined.  Silly, but that seems to be the reality.

After that, the linen portion of the coat came together rather quickly and easily.  That being said, this pattern would probably be a little overwhelming for a beginner.

What I love about the instructions is the reminder to add stay tape to pocket openings and shoulder seams.  A gentle reminder to incorporate some tailoring techniques is a lovely addition to the directions, although they do assume that you know basic garment construction.

I went ahead and used my standby: rayon seam binding.  It may not be as sturdy as twill tape, but it absolutely does the job.

Because this coat is made of linen, I decided it really needed a back stay, so I whipped one up.

And then lo and behold, while exploring the Lolita Patterns blog, I came across a tutorial for the Spearmint sew-along.  

I like to use pinking shears on the edge because it is less likely to create a ridge on the outside of the coat.  And obviously, I also pinked the linen . . . it was starting to fray, and with the narrow 3/8" seam allowance given, that was making me nervous.

This project is turning out to be much more colorful than I was anticipating . . .

I ran out of red cotton remnants for interfacing, but thankfully, the lavender seems to work just as well.

The collar layers were hand basted together.

Next the edges were trimmed down to get rid of the seam allowance (remember, I am binding the edges).

Then there was a lot of bias binding to cut, and some very curved edges to cover!

I still have to decide on my lining fabric.  There are two possibilities that I keep staring at, and one of these days I am going to choose! 

[The fabric for this project was received in exchange for my contributions as a Britex Guest Blogger.]