Long Princess Seam Coat
A long women's coat fitted by princess seams, with a shirt collar on a stand, a single-breasted five-button front, flap pockets set into a horizontal seam on the side fronts and a buttoned strap over a centre back pleat. Fully lined.
When To Wear
- In autumn and winter over dresses, skirts and trousers.
- For town and the office with knitwear and boots.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted through the bust and waist by front and back princess seams, flaring towards the hem.
Length: Long, well below the knee.
Collar: Shirt collar on a separate stand; the interfaced stand is set into the neckline and the upper stand is hand-stitched over the seam.
Front: Single-breasted, five buttons with buttonholes on the right front; separate front facings.
Pockets: Each side front is cut in two parts; the pocket opening lies in the seam between them, covered by an edgestitched flap, with a pocket underlay piece and a lining pocket bag.
Sleeves: Two-piece set-in sleeves; the cap is drawn up with small gathering stitches and shrunk with the iron. A vent in the elbow seam is stitched closed from the inside; the drawing shows two buttons on each sleeve.
Back: Upper and lower back cut on the fold and joined by a horizontal seam, side back panels, a stitched pleat at the centre of the lower back, and a two-layer strap topstitched 0.5 cm from the edge and attached with two buttons over the joining seam.
Finishing: Shoulder pads; interfaced hem allowances.
Lining: Full lining (back, fronts, two-piece sleeves) sewn to the facings and to the sleeve hems.
Level Of Difficulty
Advanced. Flap pockets worked into a panel seam, a collar with stand, closed sleeve vents, a pleat combined with a horizontal back seam, and a full lining.
Fabric Recommendations
Coat fabrics: lightweight wool coating (drap), velour, bouclé.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric
- Fusible interfacing (front facings, one strap piece, upper flap pieces, one collar and one stand piece, hem allowances, sleeve hems and vents)
- Buttons: 5 for the front, 2 for the back strap, 2 for each sleeve (as shown on the drawing)
- Shoulder pads
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- 1. Upper Back - 1 piece on fold
- 2. Lower Back - 1 piece on fold
- 3. Side Back - 2 pieces
- 4. Center Front - 2 pieces
- 5. Upper Side Front - 2 pieces
- 6. Lower Side Front - 2 pieces
- 7. Center Front Facing - 2 pieces
- 8. Lower Collar (upper and under collar) - 2 pieces
- 9. Stand Collar - 2 pieces
- 10. Upper Sleeve - 2 pieces
- 11. Lower Sleeve - 2 pieces
- 12. Strap - 2 pieces
- 13. Pocket Flap - 4 pieces
- 14. Pocket Underlay Piece - 2 pieces
- From lining fabric:
- 15. Back - 1 piece on fold
- 16. Front - 2 pieces
- 17. Upper Sleeve - 2 pieces
- 18. Lower Sleeve - 2 pieces
- 19. Pocket Bag - 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing: reinforce the center front facings, one strap piece, the upper pocket flap pieces, one collar piece and one stand collar piece. Additionally, press the interfacing to the hem seam allowances.
Sewing Instructions
- Reinforce the center front facings, one strap piece, the upper pocket flap pieces, one collar piece and one stand collar piece with fusible interfacing (Heat-activated interfacings are pressed to the wrong side of the piece with a hot iron).
- On the lower back, create and baste the pleat, aligning the notches. Then stitch it, placing the stitch line slightly above the marked line on the upper seam allowance.
- Assemble the back: stitch the upper back to the lower back, then stitch the side backs (princess seams). Stitch the pleat according to the markings.
- Stitch the two strap pieces together on three sides, turn right side out, and press the folds. Turning under the raw edge, topstitch around the strap at 0.5 cm. Attach the strap to the back with buttons, covering the seam connecting the upper back to the lower back.
- Pockets: stitch the pocket flap pieces together in pairs along the sides and lower edge, turn and edgestitch. Turn under the seam allowance of one long edge of the pocket underlay piece and topstitch it onto the pocket bag.
- Align the raw edges of the flap with the lower edge of the upper side front, placing the flap on the right side of the upper side front; place the pocket bag with the pocket underlay piece on top of the flap, baste all layers. Stitch the flap and pocket bag in place and turn them down.
- Press the seam allowance of the upper edge of the lower side front to the wrong side. Baste the pocket opening closed (upper side front to lower side front) with cross stitches.
- Fold the pocket bag along the fold line, turn under the raw edge and topstitch it to the seam allowance of the upper edge of the lower side front. Baste the pocket bags to the edges of the lower side front.
- Stitch the princess seams of the fronts (center front to side front). Stitch the shoulder and side seams.
- Stitch the interfaced stand collar to the interfaced collar, and the plain stand collar to the plain collar; press seam allowances open.
- Stitch the lining fabric pieces. Stitch the shoulder seams of the center front facings and the back lining, and stitch the lining to the inner edges of the facings.
- Set the interfaced stand collar into the neckline and press the seam allowances open; attach the plain stand collar to the facings with the lining.
- Place the upper collar, joined with the facings and lining, onto the main garment right sides together and stitch the fronts and collar; turn right side out and press; hand stitch the edge of the upper collar stand to the neckline.
- From the right side of the garment, straighten the front and collar, baste.
- Reinforce the hem seam allowance of the sleeve and the vent with fusible interfacing. Stitch the sleeve seams, leaving the vents open in the elbow seams.
- Above the vent mark, clip the seam allowances of the lower sleeves. Press the seam allowances open above the vent. Hem the sleeves.
- Press the edges of the vents on the upper sleeves to the wrong side. Pin the vents, topstitch the edges of the vents together from the inside.
- Gather the sleeve cap with small, frequent stitches between the indicated marks and pull the thread until it matches the corresponding distance on the armhole of the garment. Dampen the fabric and shrink the gathers with the tip of a hot iron.
- Pin the sleeve to the garment, aligning the control marks, and stitch, sewing from the sleeve side.
- Attach shoulder pads. Hem the bottom of the coat.
- Stitch the lining to the lower edges of the sleeves. Hem the lining.
- Make buttonholes on the right front and sew the buttons on the left front.
