Winter Coat wrap up: Can be seen from space

 Finishing the coat took a long time. I just didn't have any extended period of time to sit with it and get it all done, so sewing in five minute chunks would have to do

the quilting was too big for the exterior, so I trimmed it down

I open up the pins and hang them on the edge. As this went on, I hung them with the heavier bits on the inside of the bowl.

Yes, it's huge, even without hood or cuffs or hem. It's all held together with safety pins

This is the time when the coat is just dragging itself off the table and trying to break free.

I need to set up on the big work table when I do this stuff, and I just.... don't. 

I like the checkered flag tape. 

My zipper is weird: at the bottom, the insert pin is on the right (my left) and the retaining box is on the left (my right). I am used to inserting the pin with my right hand, and this is backwards and I can see a day where I rip this zipper out because of it. My brain is not happy with this.

https://www.ykkfastening.com/products/zipper/s_zipper.html  What a zipper is supposed to be

I made cuffs for the previous version remodel out of socks and it worked really well. I'm only using the part above the heel, folded in on itself, and not using the cuff.

This part, where I sew the sock ribbing to the end of the sleeve, took a ridiculous number of tries to get it right. And I unpicked it all every time I redid it. Picking black thread out of a black sock is really hard on the eyes, but really good for the profanity.

Added the end piece of fabric (also a lot of undoing and redoing)

Flipped up

It's over stretched but it keeps out the wind well enough

It sinks way in there

I had to pull it over a 2 by 6 piece of wood to get the basting properly done

I also had to remove the hood and redo it so that the collar is wider - it's still more snug than I would like, and I need to put something on the inside of the top of the placket to keep it from poking me in the neck.

Oh, you can see me coming alright

Homemade bias trim from rayon lining to cover neck seam

Cuffs need a something: this will wear out the fastest but is easily replaced

It wants to be free; the rest of the coat is crawling away

I wore it out today; the prequilted lining is really stiff and this is noisy and I am mammoth in it. 

The zips in the outside pockets are annoying, so I will unpick the single welt and either add a wider flap or just remove the zippers.

Clearly I am not staying on top of my blogging, but I am going to continue. I do post on instagram when they aren't blocking me from posting (there's a couple other faux Ernie accounts and I could put a stop to it if I paid for my account and got a blue star).

Also, fyi: this coat is not THAT fluorescent in person. I did get some OH MY comments from strangers today, but there are so many construction workers in Seattle I kinda fit in.

I will add a photo of me standing on my front steps (the fluorescent green ones) to complete my  story.

More Mistakes: Winter Coat 2023 Gets New Fabric and Rally Stripes

 

The recent darkness has reminded me that it's better to be seen than to be fashionable

Old version on left, new traffic flag version on the right

The old ultrex green coat got dirty and it can't be scrubbed, 

but the water print just disappears into the shadows and so will I. 

Meanwhile, an orange with racing stripes will not.

I can get a little dirty over the years, as long as I continue to have the opportunity to do so.

The 2ply ultrex in orange and 2.5" reflective tape are from Seattle Fabrics, which is still not open to the public. There was a snafu with the reflective tape, but I covered up the 'clashing orange' (had ordered black) with poly grosgrain and reflective grosgrain from the stash, also from Seattle Fabs) so I'm more rally stripes than single stripe. I feel like I should put on a racing number in a circle on the opposite side.

the hood has been sewn and seams glued. The stitching on the stripes has been glued as well. The front pockets will be next, with welts and zippers.

Finished rally stripes. This is the one down the back.
It won't get done when I wanted it to be done.
I will look enormous and orange.
And stay alive crossing the street.

"How Did It Hold Up?" The Green Apple Winter Raincoat

 Courtesy of a prompt by GMarieSews (https://gmariesews.blogspot.com/2022/01/is-it-possible.html?), we introduce a new feature:

    HOW DID IT HOLD UP?

You know, a thing I made and what happened to it? A  walk through the drawers and the closet to see what lasted and what happened to it.

The one on my mind right now is the big green winter raincoat. Cause I'm wearing it from October to March, from 2018 until now. Today, frankly.

Once again, we lost the war on Christmas

https://erniekdesigns.blogspot.com/2018/02/201718-winter-coat-that-is-not-black.html

The puckering wrinkles on the front placket don't annoy me while I'm wearing it

Because it needs some loving, and a small rethinking or two.

The interior pocket festival was great. The big 'holds my latte' pocket has also held a box of girl scout cookies, a handful of Covid test kits, a pair of mittens and a hat, a folded over Kangol hat, it's just too big enough for fun but not big enough to tear the lining from too much weight. I am not a shoplifter, but it could work for that.  The three piece hood (borrowed from the Green Pepper jacket) is just the right size with the short brim reinforced brim and the cut back sides (I can see with my periperal vision and if I turn my head, I can see even more and the sides don't swallow up my head).

One  side seam has popped at what would be the armpit, and I think I will tidy it up and open up the other side. This coat gets steamy on a cold day when I exert myself. Self-opened pit ventilation.

The zipper was too long, and has torn away from the front and see that wear at the bottom? Plastic just doesn't last, or at least the tape on this one doesn't last. But certainly the zip being too long has put undo wear on the far end when I zip it up with my little T-Rex arms. New shorter metal zip is in the WAWAK order. Sadly not orange, but a nice green. 

I added ring snaps to the top to make it close up better, and will add them all the way down the front to add back some closure at length. It's nice to be able to put it on and snap it on without having to commit to zippering the whole thing up to keep it on over my shoulders to run out to the garbage or the mailbox.

The reflective material is less reflective and needs work or replacing

Actual color of coat

Okay, so the appliques still reflect on a flash photo. They just look like hell up close.

The cheap lining started pilling the first month, but I can live with that and I still do. And I knew it would need replacing after a year. It's lasted longer than I thought it would. The handwarmer pockets need to be insulated from the outside. They get super cold.

The hard part is: I cannot get it clean enough. The waterproof coating stains easily, there's this big scrape on the front that won't come off, and I don't want to scrub it really hard to make that worse.

A print would have been a better choice.

But I .... can make this into a print.....

STENCIL SPRAYING TIME! (or when winter is over and I can take it outside to do a proper job)