Laser-Cut Wool Coat

Here's a coat that I just finished made with laser-cut wool from B&J in New York. I underlined it with a brown silk satin that I've had in my stash for a while. I should be perfect for this winter, which has been extremely mild so far in London.

I fell in love with this fabric when I saw it in the store that I had to have it even though it was expensive. Now that I live in London and I know what expensive really is, it seems like the laser cut wool was a bargain.

I did not use any interfacing or canvas underlining. The silk satin has a lot of body, so the coat really did not need any extra structure. I've worked with silk satin before, and it's kind of a nightmare. It's extremely stiff, it curls and it ravels. It's great for fabric flowers and small embellishments, but in larger quantities, it can get a mind of its own. For this project, I decided to beat it into submission immediately by placing the wool pieces on top of the silk yardage, basting them together at the seam lines, and then cutting the silk. It worked like a dream, and the satin gave me no problems at all. Except for these hair-like threads that I kept finding everywhere, but they were easily cleaned up. Here's a photo of my layout:


To complete this project, needed some tailoring supplies, and I FINALLY found a place in London to buy them. It took me so long and so many inquiries to find this place that I feel like I should have to kill you after I divulge this information, but here it is: Kenton Trimmings on Mozart Street is where you need to go to buy tailoring supplies in London. They had just about everything I needed, such as shoulder pads made of batting instead of foam (I hate foam), silk buttonhole twist, undercollar melton and linen undercollar interfacing. It would have been better if they had had pre-made undercollars, but a little pad stitching never hurt anyone. Here's a photo of my beautiful padstitching:


Normally, I don't put labels in anything, but I was watching the Queen Elizabeth I movie (the one with Helen Mirren; I have not seen the Cate Blanchett one yet), and in one scene she is wearing this amazing dress with insects embroidered all over it. It was almost like they took anatomical drawings of the insects and traced over them with beads and embroidery. It was beautiful and creepy all at once, and who can resist that combination? So I had to try that on my coat as well. In the place where the label would normally go, I embroidered a bee on the lining. 3yo dd thinks it's the coolest thing ever.