Princess Seam Velour Coat
A women's above-the-knee coat with front princess seams from the armholes, in-seam pockets set into them, a one-piece pointed collar and a concealed fly-front button closure. Two-piece set-in sleeves, fully lined.
When To Wear
- As a spring and autumn coat over dresses, skirts or trousers.
- For the office and city wear: the concealed closure gives a plain, uninterrupted front.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Semi-fitted, shaped by the front princess seams, with a slight flare towards the hem.
Length: Above the knee.
Collar: Pointed collar without a separate stand, cut in two layers on the fold, interfaced and set between the coat and the facings.
Sleeves: Two-piece set-in sleeves (upper and under sleeve) with an eased cap; a strip of synthetic padding about 4 cm wide is sewn under the cap seam allowances. Shoulder pads.
Closure: Fly front: the buttonholes are worked in a placket on the right front facing and hidden; the placket is hand-tacked to the front edge between the buttonholes, buttons on the left front.
Pockets: In-seam pockets in the front princess seams, with one pocket bag in main fabric and one in lining.
Back: Centre back seam, no back panels.
Finishing: Interfaced front facings and back neck facing; coat and sleeve hems sewn by hand.
Lining: Full lining, cut without the facing widths and sewn to the facings, back neck facing and sleeve hems.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. A concealed fly-front placket with buttonholes, in-seam pockets in princess seams, a two-piece sleeve with sleeve-head padding and a full lining.
Fabric Recommendations
Medium-weight coating fabrics with some body: velour, lightweight wool coating, wool blends.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric
- Fusible interfacing (front facings, back neck facing, collar)
- Buttons for the concealed closure
- Shoulder pads
- Strip of synthetic padding about 4 cm wide (sleeve heads)
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- 1. Center Front - 2 pieces
- 2. Side Front - 2 pieces
- 3. Back - 2 pieces
- 4. Upper Sleeve - 2 pieces
- 5. Lower Sleeve - 2 pieces
- 6. Center Front Facing - 2 pieces
- 7. Back Neckline Facing - 1 piece on fold
- 8. Collar - 2 pieces, each on fold
- 9. Pocket (pocket bag) - 2 pieces
- From lining fabric: Center Front - minus the width of the center front facing; Back - minus the width of the back neckline facing; Side Front, Upper Sleeve, Lower Sleeve - unchanged; Pocket (pocket bag) - 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing: reinforce the center front facings, back neckline facing and collar.
Sewing Instructions
- Reinforce the center front facings, back neckline facing and collar with fusible interfacing (Heat-activated interfacings are ironed onto the wrong side of the piece with a hot iron).
- Stitch the front princess seams (center front to side front), leaving the pocket opening open in each seam. Press seam allowances open.
- From the wrong side of the front, place both pocket bags on the pocket opening seam allowances, right sides together, pin, and stitch along the marked lines of the princess seam: the main-fabric pocket bag to the pocket opening seam allowance of the side front, and the lining pocket bag to the pocket opening seam allowance of the center front (stitch this pocket bag along the center line of the seam allowance along the pocket opening). Press the pocket bags towards the center front, trim them even and stitch them together.
- Sew the center back seam, side seams, and shoulder seams.
- Stitch the right center front facing to the lower edge (stopping 5 cm before the end of the facing) and along the right front edge up to the corner (crosswise notch). Baste the facing to the front along the fold line up to the neckline. Lay the right front and its facing flat, together with the narrow cut-on facings, and press them open.
- Work the buttonholes for the fly-front (concealed) closure in the placket. Place the narrow cut-on facing of the front on the buttonhole placket and stitch the lower edges. Baste the narrow facing and placket to the center front facing. Remove the basting along the front edge.
- Stitch the left center front facing to the lower edge (stopping 5 cm before the end of the facing) and along the left front edge up to the neckline. Trim the narrow cut-on facings to the width of the seam allowances.
- Stitch the back neckline facing to the center front facings.
- Stitch the two collar pieces together along the outer edge, turn and, holding the open edges together, baste the collar into the neckline from front edge to front edge. Stitch the facings to the neckline over the collar. Trim the seam allowances close to the stitching. Turn the facings to the wrong side.
- Press the hem seam allowance of the coat to the wrong side, but do not stitch yet. Press the front edges.
- Hand-stitch the placket with buttonholes to the edge of the right front between the buttonholes with a couple of stitches.
- Stitch the upper sleeve and lower sleeve together. Press the hem seam allowances of the sleeves to the wrong side, but do not stitch yet.
- Set in the sleeves, easing the sleeve caps. Under the seam allowances of each sleeve seam in the sleeve cap area, stitch a strip of synthetic padding approx. 4 cm wide. Attach 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. Hem the lining. Hand-hem the coat and sleeves, then sew the buttons on the left front to match the buttonholes.
