Classic Tailored Coat
A fitted, single-breasted, lined women's coat with princess seams at the front and back that widen towards the hem, a notched collar, double-welt pockets with flaps and a centre back vent.
When To Wear
- In autumn and spring over dresses, skirts and trousers.
- For work and town wear over a suit.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted at the waist by princess seams running from the armholes on the fronts and backs, flaring slightly to the hem.
Collar: Notched collar: the under collar is set into the coat neckline, the upper collar into the facings, and the front edges and collar are stitched in one seam.
Front: Single-breasted, five buttons in the drawing, buttonholes on the right front; front facings cut separately.
Sleeves: Two-piece set-in sleeves with an eased and shrunk cap; three buttons at the hem in the drawing.
Pockets: Double-welt pockets with flaps on the fronts at the waistline; the flaps are made of self fabric and lining, the pocket bags of lining.
Back: Centre back seam and princess seams; vent at the centre back, with the vent facing cut in one with each back piece and the left back topstitched along the seam.
Finishing: Shoulder pads; interfacing on the facings, under collar, flaps, back hem and sleeve hem allowances.
Lining: Full lining, cut without the facings, sewn to the sleeve hems, facings and back neck facing and to the vent edges.
Level Of Difficulty
Advanced. Double-welt pockets with flaps, a notched collar set between the coat and the facings, a lined back vent, two-piece sleeves with a shrunk cap.
Fabric Recommendations
Medium-weight coating or heavy suiting that holds a shape: wool and wool-blend coatings, tweed, flannel.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric
- Fusible interfacing
- Buttons
- Shoulder pads
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- 1. Pocket Flap - 2 pieces
- 2. Center Back - 2 pieces
- 3. Side Back - 2 pieces
- 4. Side Front - 2 pieces
- 5. Back Neckline Facing - 1 piece
- 6. Pocket Facing - 4 pieces
- 7. Collar - 2 pieces
- 8. Center Front - 2 pieces
- 9. Center Front Facing - 2 pieces
- 10. Upper Sleeve - 2 pieces
- 11. Lower Sleeve - 2 pieces
- From lining fabric: cut the fronts (Center Front and Side Front) minus the width of the center front facings. Cut sleeve hems with seam allowances only. Cut the back minus the width of the back neckline facing.
- 12. Upper Pocket Bag - 2 pieces
- 13. Lower Pocket Bag - 2 pieces
- 14. Pocket Flap - 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing: reinforce the center front facings, back neckline facing, under collar, and pocket flaps from the main fabric with interfacing. Additionally, press the interfacing to the hem allowances of the back pieces.
Sewing Instructions
- Reinforce the center front facings, under collar, pocket flaps, and back neckline facing with fusible interfacing (Heat-adhesive interfacings are pressed onto the wrong side of the piece with a hot iron).
- Stitch the center back seam up to the vent, press the integrated vent facing (left back) along the fold line to the wrong side and sew to the hem, topstitch the left back along the seam.
- On the right vent seam allowance, press the integrated facing to the wrong side, sew to the hem seam allowances. Pin the vent along the matching lines.
- Stitch the princess seams: center front to side front and center back to side back; press the seam allowances open.
- On the fronts, make framed welt pockets with two pocket facings and flaps: stitch one main-fabric pocket flap and one lining pocket flap right sides together along the sides and lower edge; turn and edgestitch.
- From the wrong side of the front, press a strip of interfacing approximately 4 cm wide over the pocket marking.
- Place two pocket facings on the front right sides together, pin along the pocket opening marking and stitch, ensuring that the long raw edges of the pocket facings align with the center line of the pocket marking.
- Cut the front between the stitching lines, cutting diagonally towards the ends of the stitching. Be careful not to cut the pocket facings!
- Press the cut edges away from the openings. Turn the pocket facings through the opening to the wrong side to form a neat frame, and baste, with the folded edges meeting 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 them to the pocket 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 pocket facings and stitch them in the ditch of the upper pocket facing seam.
- 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, evening them out, and stitch.
- Stitch the shoulder and side seams of the coat.
- Set the under collar into the neckline; stitch the shoulder seams of the back neckline facing and center front facings, set the upper collar into the neckline of the facings; press seam allowances open, clip curves.
- Place the upper collar, joined with the facings, onto the main garment right side in and stitch the front edges and collar; turn out and press; hand stitch the edge of the upper collar to the neckline.
- From the right side of the garment, turn out and straighten the front edge and collar, baste. Hem: fold the center front facings forward (right sides together). Turn hem seam allowances to the wrong side and sew. Turn the center front facings to the wrong side.
- Construct the two-piece sleeve: reinforce the sleeve hem seam allowance with fusible interfacing. Stitch the upper sleeve and lower sleeve together, press seam allowances open and turn the sleeve to the right side. Press the sleeve hem seam allowance inwards.
- Set the sleeves into the armholes. Gather the sleeve cap with small, frequent stitches between the indicated notches and pull the thread to match the corresponding distance on the garment's armhole. Dampen the fabric and shrink the gathers with the tip of a hot iron. Pin the sleeve to the garment, matching control notches, and stitch, sewing from the sleeve side.
- Sew in shoulder pads.
- Stitch the lining fabric pieces. Stitch the lining to the bottom edges of the sleeves, 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 sew to the edges of the vent. Hem the lining.
- Work buttonholes on the right front according to markings and sew on buttons.
