Knee-Length Tailored Coat
A women's single-breasted fitted coat, slightly flared to the hem, with princess seams on the front and back, a notched collar, double-welt pockets with flaps and a centre back vent. Fully lined.
When To Wear
- In spring and autumn over a suit, a dress or trousers with a blouse.
- For the office and for town wear in cool weather.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted at the waist by princess seams on the front and back, widening slightly towards the hem.
Collar: Notched collar with lapels; under collar set into the coat neckline, upper collar into the facings.
Closure: Single-breasted, five buttons on the drawing, buttonholes on the right front; separate front facings.
Sleeves: Two-piece set-in sleeves with eased caps; the drawing shows three buttons at each sleeve hem.
Pockets: Double-welt pockets with flaps on the fronts; flaps cut from main fabric and lining and edgestitched, set between the welts.
Back: Centre back seam ending in a vent, back princess seams; the left back is topstitched along the seam above the vent.
Finishing: Shoulder pads; interfaced hem allowances on the back and sleeves.
Lining: Full lining sewn to the sleeve hems, front facings and back neck facing, cut out around the vent and stitched to its edges.
Level Of Difficulty
Advanced. Double-welt pockets with flaps, a lined back vent, a notched collar set between coat and facings and eased two-piece sleeves.
Fabric Recommendations
Medium-weight coating, wool or wool blends that press well and hold the princess seams.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric
- Fusible interfacing (front facings, back neck facing, under collar, main fabric pocket flaps, 4 cm strips for the pocket openings, hem allowances of the back and sleeves)
- Buttons for the front
- Shoulder pads
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Pocket Flap – 2 pieces
- Center Back – 2 pieces
- Side Back – 2 pieces
- Side Front – 2 pieces
- Back Neckline Facing – 1 piece
- Pocket Facing – 4 pieces
- Collar – 2 pieces
- Center Front – 2 pieces
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Upper Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Lower Sleeve – 2 pieces
- From lining fabric:
- Center Front – 2 pieces (minus the width of the Center Front Facing)
- Side Front – 2 pieces
- Center Back – 2 pieces (minus the width of the Back Neckline Facing)
- Side Back – 2 pieces
- Upper Sleeve – 2 pieces (hem with seam allowance only)
- Lower Sleeve – 2 pieces (hem with seam allowance only)
- Upper Pocket Bag – 2 pieces
- Lower Pocket Bag – 2 pieces
- Pocket Flap – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing:
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Back Neckline Facing – 1 piece
- Collar (under collar) – 1 piece
- Pocket Flap (main fabric) – 2 pieces
- Strips for the hem allowances of the back pieces and sleeves
Sewing Instructions
- Interface the center front facings, under collar, main fabric pocket flaps and back neckline facing (fuse the interfacing to the wrong side with a hot iron).
- Stitch the center back seam up to the vent. Press the cut-on vent facing of the left back to the wrong side along the fold line and sew it to the hem allowance. Topstitch the left back along the seam. On the right back, press the cut-on vent extension to the wrong side and sew it to the hem allowance. Pin the vent along the matching lines.
- Stitch the front and back princess seams and press the seam allowances open.
- Double-welt pockets with flaps: Place one main fabric and one lining pocket flap right sides together, stitch along the side and lower edges, turn and edgestitch. On the wrong side of the front, iron a strip of interfacing approximately 4 cm wide over the pocket marking. Place two pocket facings (welts) on the front, right sides together,, pin along the pocket opening marking, and stitch, ensuring that the longitudinal edges of the facings align with the center line of the pocket marking. Cut along the opening between the stitching lines, clipping diagonally to the ends of the stitching. Be careful not to cut the pocket facings! Press the cut edges away from the openings. Turn the facings through the opening to the wrong side to form a neat welt, and baste, aligning the folded edges of the facings in the middle of the pocket openings. Stitch in the ditch of the attachment seams. Turn the small triangles at the ends of the opening to the wrong side and stitch to the facings precisely from the ends of the upper stitching to the ends of the lower stitching. Insert the open edges of the flaps between the facings, stitch into the attachment seams of the upper facings. From the inside, stitch the upper pocket bag to the flap seam allowances and the lower pocket bag to the seam allowances of the lower pocket facing. Trim the pocket bags even and stitch them together.
- Stitch the shoulder and side seams of the coat.
- Stitch the under collar into the neckline. Stitch the shoulder seams of the back neckline facing and center front facings, and stitch the upper collar into the neckline of the facings. Press the seam allowances open and clip the curves. Place the upper collar with the attached facings on the coat, right sides together, and stitch the front edges and collar; turn right side out and press. Hand-stitch the neckline allowance of the upper collar to the neckline seam. From the right side, roll the front edges and collar into position and baste.
- Lower edge: Fold the center front facings forward. Turn the hem allowances to the wrong side and stitch. Turn the facings back to the wrong side.
- Two-piece sleeves: Interface the sleeve hem allowance. Stitch the upper sleeve and lower sleeve together; press seam allowances open and turn the sleeve right side out. Press the sleeve hem allowance inwards. Setting the sleeves: Run small ease stitches along the sleeve cap between the marks and pull the thread to fit the armhole. Dampen the fabric and shrink out the fullness with the tip of a hot iron. Pin the sleeve into the armhole, matching the notches, and stitch from the sleeve side. Sew in the shoulder pads.
- Stitch the lining pieces together. Stitch the lining to the sleeve hems, the inner edges of the center front facings and the back neckline facing. Carefully pin the lining in the vent area on the back. Cut the lining along the vent accordingly, remembering the seam allowances! Turn under the lining edges and stitch to the edges of the vent. Hem the lining.
- Make buttonholes on the right front according to the markings and attach buttons.
