Leather-Trimmed Coat
A women's knee-length coat in wool with faux leather trim, with a notched collar, a single-breasted three-button front and a horizontal waist seam. It has princess seams front and back, a back vent, two-piece sleeves with buttoned vents and a full lining.
When To Wear
- In autumn and early spring over dresses, skirts and trouser suits.
- For office and city wear.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted at the waist, flaring slightly below the waist seam.
Length: About knee length.
Collar: Notched collar with small lapels; the under collar is interfaced, and the facing seam is understitched 0.2 cm from the seam.
Closure: Single-breasted, three buttons with buttonholes on the right front.
Front: Centre front and side front panels, each cut in an upper and a lower part joined at the waist.
Pockets: Pockets in the waist seam of the side fronts, with a folded welt topstitched at both ends and lining pocket bags.
Sleeves: Two-piece set-in sleeves with a vent at the hem, with buttons sewn on; shoulder pads and sleeve head rolls.
Back: Centre back and side back panels, also cut in upper and lower parts, with a centre back seam ending in a vent.
Finishing: Seams pressed open; hem turned up and hand-sewn.
Lining: Full lining with lined sleeves, cut around the back vent, 1 cm shorter than the coat.
Level Of Difficulty
Advanced. Tailored collar and lapels, waist-seam welt pockets, sleeve and back vents, a full lining finished around the vent.
Fabric Recommendations
Pure wool or wool-blend coating; faux leather for the trim.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric
- Fusible interfacing (facings, centre fronts, upper back, vents, under collar, welts, hem allowances)
- 3 buttons for the front
- Small buttons for the sleeve vents
- Shoulder pads
- Sleeve head rolls
Cutter's Must
From main fabric:
- 1. Center Upper Back – 2 pieces
- 2. Center Lower Back – 2 pieces
- 3. Side Upper Back – 2 pieces
- 4. Lower Side Back – 2 pieces
- 5. Lower Collar – 1 piece
- 6. Upper Collar – 1 piece
- 7. Side Upper Front – 2 pieces
- 8. Side Lower Front – 2 pieces
- 9. Center Upper Front – 2 pieces
- 10. Center Lower Front Part – 2 pieces
- 11. Off-Set Welt – 2 pieces
- 12. Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- 13. Upper Sleeve – 2 pieces
- 14. Lower Sleeve – 2 pieces
From lining fabric:
- 1. Center Back – 1 piece
- 2. Side Back – 2 pieces
- 3. Side Front – 2 pieces
- 4. Center Front – 2 pieces
- 5. Pocket – 4 pieces
- 6. Upper Sleeve – 2 pieces
- 7. Lower Sleeve – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing: center front facing, center upper front, center lower front part, upper part of the center upper back including the armhole area, vent area, armhole area of the side upper back, sleeve vent, lower collar, off-set welt; hem allowances of the lower side back, center lower back, lower sleeve, side lower front and upper sleeve.
Sewing Instructions
- Fuse interfacing to the center front facings, center upper fronts, center lower front parts, the upper part of the center upper backs including the armhole area, the vent area, the armhole area of the side upper backs and the lower collar; and to the hem allowances of the lower side backs, center lower backs, side lower fronts, lower sleeves, and upper sleeves including the vent area.
- Place the upper collar and lower collar right sides together and stitch them together. Trim the corners and turn the collar right side out.
- Fold the off-set welt in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Stitch the off-set welt to the upper edge of the side lower front between the notches.
- On the right side of the side upper front and of the side lower front, place a pocket piece right side down at the notches and stitch it on. Press the seam towards the pocket and topstitch it onto the pocket. Topstitch both ends of the off-set welt to the side upper front. Stitch the pocket pieces together.
- Stitch the center upper front to the center lower front part. Press the seams open.
- Place the center front facing on the right side of the front, right sides together, pin and stitch along the marked line, working from the front side up to the notch that marks the end of the collar attachment. Stitch the lower ends of the facings to the front exactly on the marked hemline. Trim the seam allowances at the upper and lower corners of the front edge. Understitch the front edge seam allowances 0.2 cm from the seam: onto the facing along the buttoning area and onto the front along the lapels. Turn the front edges right side out and roll the seams into place.
- Overlock the edges of the front princess seams from the hem to the waist. Stitch the front princess seams and press them open.
- Stitch the side upper back to the lower side back and the center upper back to the center lower back. Press the seams open.
- Stitch the back princess seams. Overlock the edges of the princess seams from the hem to the waist and press them open.
- Stitch the centre back seam. Press the edge of the vent under by 1 cm. Press the centre back seam and the vent towards the centre back. Topstitch the centre back seam diagonally at the top of the vent following the marking, catching the vent underlay allowance.
- Overlock the side seams from the hem to the waist. Stitch the shoulder and side seams of the coat. Press the shoulder and side seams open.
- Stitch the elbow seam of the sleeve and the vent corners on the lower and upper sleeve. Press the elbow seam open, clip and press the vent.
- Stitch the front sleeve seam and press it open. Press up the sleeve hem.
- Stitch the lower collar into the neckline of the coat.
- Set the sleeves into the armholes, matching the notches. Attach the shoulder pads and sleeve head rolls.
- Stitch the lining pieces together and set in the lining sleeves. Overlock the lining seams from the hem to the waist and press. Stitch the lining to the inner edges of the center front facings and to the upper collar. Press the collar seam allowances open and tack them together close to the seams.
- Turn under the lining sleeves and stitch them to the sleeve hem allowance of the coat; press the excess lining down. Turn the coat right side out. Smooth the lining, pin its side seams to the side seams of the coat and carefully cut the lining along the vent edges, 1 cm towards the centre back seam. Stop 1 cm below the top of the vent and make 1 cm diagonal cuts to both sides. Turn the cut edges in and pin them to the vent edges. Reach between the coat and the lining, take hold of the pinned edges and pull them out one at a time. Stitch the edges and turn the hem back down. Straighten the edges of the vent. At the top of the vent, turn under the corner of the lining and sew it to the vent allowance. Turn up the lining hem and stitch it so that the lining is 1 cm shorter than the coat.
- Make the buttonholes on the right front and sew the buttons to the left front. Mark and sew the buttons on the sleeve vents.
- Overlock the coat hem, press the hem allowance to the wrong side and hand-sew it.
