It’s all about the coat

Last night, I fixed one of the major problems I was having with my coat, so today, I’m feeling much more successful. 

As you can see, my seams are much better bound today.

Those actually look like they’re supposed to.  That is the back of the neck and the shoulder seams.  Now, if I had it to do again, I’d re-cut my seam binding wider and then I wouldn’t have to trim my seam allowances to a quarter inch to enclose them.  I’m going to do that on the arms and the sides but I had already trimmed my seam allowances to a quarter inch in these sections and you can’t grow that fabric back. 

When I started the coat, I laid out the two layers of fabric to baste them together and realized that wasn’t going to be what I wanted.  It would have been a great coat for Texas.  But, I have plenty of coats for Texas.  I needed a COAT; a Minnesota coat.  And, those two layers were not going to cut it.  So, I included a layer of cotton batting between them. 

I worried that this would be too heavy, but it has given the coat the most luxurious feel and weight.  I can’t describe how soft it is.  But, it’s not too heavy.  I’ve had a lot of angst from cutting the batting back to the seams without cutting the outer layer or underlining.  I’ve also been making sure it’s cut so that it doesn’t double layer in the front facings and the hems. 

I’m not going to include the batting layer in the sleeves.  In the sleeves, I’m going to underline the green wool with denim so that it will be more flexible than it would have been with the three layers.  I’ll like that better.  I hate a coat that makes me feel like I can’t bend my arms. 

Now that I’m this far along and things are going so well, I’m drawn back to my one weak point that I wish I’d tried again. 

I have this dimple where the upper and lower hood sections come together.  It’s right next to my cheek and while I can’t see it when the hood is on, I know it’s there.  I’ve pretty much figured out that it’s going to take some hand work to make that go away.

Today is my first interview for the new job.  The interviewer is a friend of mine and we’ve worked together for several years.  She has recently moved into the department I’m trying to get into.

Unfortunately, she’s the easy interview and they get harder and harder as we go.  Most are the managers of people I’ve worked with, argued with, and compromised with. 

Everyone keeps commenting on how relaxed I am.  I probably should be more nervous.  But, I’m not.  That’s the beauty of already having a job. 

Be well.  Lane