New saga: Coats
Oct. 20th, 2022 09:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
totchipandaThe weather today decided to throw heckin' winds and rain at us, so I busted out my winter coat - the one I bought for -40 - because it was the only really weather-proof coat I have. And while I was dry and warm, I was TOO warm. Weird to say. The actual temperature was pleasant (for October) but the conditions negated it. I don't have a fall/early winter coat, so obviously that's what I've spent the last three hours thinking about.
I am grouchy about modern coats. So many listed as "wool blends" where the actual wool content is 27%, less, or utterly nonexistent (seriously saw one listed under "wool coats" that was 100% polyester). Most of them are shapeless sacks. Somewhat hilariously, so were coats in the 1920s, but the prevailing fashions at the time made the coats make a little more sense.
Welcome to another edition of "totchi's thought spiral", the exciting semi-regular series where I dither about buying something vs making it!
Any modern coat I get would have to be larger in the bust/shoulders to accommodate my hips. On my winter coat this is OK because it is heckin warm and there is a cord inside to help pull the waist in and keep it closer to my body.
Any coat I make would not necessarily be warm enough for my liking. Ideally it would be coat wool, an insulation layer, and a lining. My favourite coat held up to 10 years of wear until it shrank in my post-covid closet (ahem), where I only needed to fix a hole in the pocket, and stitch the cuffs closed again.
Musts:
I have suit-weight wools at home, no coat-weights. I could possibly do a pre-quilted satin lining. Making my own coat would have the benefit of good fit, especially between shoulders and hips. But it's also a *lot* of work, bc coat making is not dressmaking. With my adventures into menswear and blazers, I feel confident that I could give it a good run, but... yikes. Yikes yikes yikes.
I am grouchy about modern coats. So many listed as "wool blends" where the actual wool content is 27%, less, or utterly nonexistent (seriously saw one listed under "wool coats" that was 100% polyester). Most of them are shapeless sacks. Somewhat hilariously, so were coats in the 1920s, but the prevailing fashions at the time made the coats make a little more sense.
Welcome to another edition of "totchi's thought spiral", the exciting semi-regular series where I dither about buying something vs making it!
Any modern coat I get would have to be larger in the bust/shoulders to accommodate my hips. On my winter coat this is OK because it is heckin warm and there is a cord inside to help pull the waist in and keep it closer to my body.
Any coat I make would not necessarily be warm enough for my liking. Ideally it would be coat wool, an insulation layer, and a lining. My favourite coat held up to 10 years of wear until it shrank in my post-covid closet (ahem), where I only needed to fix a hole in the pocket, and stitch the cuffs closed again.
Musts:
- Wool. At least 50%.
- POCKETS. Side pockets, not patch.
- Longer, around full-butt coverage, but not longer than mid-thigh
- SOME shaping. As much as I hate having a gender, I hate seeing my reflection as a shapeless blob more.
- A fun colour. I understand why most coats are dark neutrals. At least give me a forest green instead of black or brown.
- Some kind of overlap on the closure. None of this gapping or unlined zippers for wind to sneak into.
I have suit-weight wools at home, no coat-weights. I could possibly do a pre-quilted satin lining. Making my own coat would have the benefit of good fit, especially between shoulders and hips. But it's also a *lot* of work, bc coat making is not dressmaking. With my adventures into menswear and blazers, I feel confident that I could give it a good run, but... yikes. Yikes yikes yikes.
