A GIRL’S WINTER COAT: New Life for an Old Garment

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 75, Issue 1, 15 July 1947, Page 99

A GIRL’S WINTER COAT: New Life for an Old Garment

By

EVA TOPPING,

Rural Sociologist, Auckland.

A WINTER coat is usually the most expensive ** item of a schoolgirl’s wardrobe, and one that recurs as she grows, so making her coat at home can be a real economy. Many mothers think that making a coat is too big a task to tackle, but there are plain, straight-line styles which are not difficult to make successfully. There may be .an < adult’s coat which can be adapted, and remaking or even just relining an old coat are good ways of learning a great deal about coat construction. /

DEFORE deciding to remake any garment, inspect it - carefully to make sure its condition is sufficiently sound to make the work worth while. Hold it up against the. light to find , moth holes; look at the wrong side to see whether the colour is better;" examine the wearing points the cuff edges, collar, elbows, and hem.

Then consider the shape of the parts in relation to the new style proposed. The man’s coat illustrated had, a Raglan, sleeve cut in three sections, so any other style of sleeve was ruled out for the girl’s coat. Similarly, if the coat under consideration has a set-in sleeve, it is most unlikely that a different type will be possible in the remade coat unless it is for a much smaller person.

Pockets can be a problem, too. The man’s coat had long, slanting, slit pockets which would have been in the wrong place on the girl’s coat, as it was to be shorter.

The slits needed disguising, and patch pockets are the obvious solution in a case like this, , though the material is often hard to find. This time the ends of the front facings were used, with an added outline of velvet to make them large enough and more important. If the coat already has patch pockets they will probably be worn and baggy; then the new model can have straight slit pockets with flaps made of the better parts of the old pockets. : . The collar is another point to consider. When it is badly worn or discoloured, a top facing of velvet, soft leather, fur fabric, fur, or closely-woven woollen material in a plain toning or contrasting shade will be smart on the new coat Brown velvet was used on the girl’s coat, matched by pocket trimmings arid the bound buttonholes. If the old coat has no belt, it is hard to find sufficient material to make one unless a strip can be taken from the hem line. A half belt at the back might be possible, but the straight-hanging styles suit most young people, and usually «a belt can be omitted. \ Preparing the Material When all these details have been considered and the knotty points debated, the work begins with careful unpicking. Take every seam undone, remove all linings, stiffenings, and buttons and save them for later use. Make a note of the methods of construction and details of finishing as a guide in making up the new coat. There will almost certainly be little piles of fluff at the hem lines, in the seams, and at the ends of the sleeves; scrape them off with a blunt knife and brush the material well. If the coat is very soiled,, washing is indicated. First mend any small holes or tears, using threads of the

fabric or fine wool in a matching shade; draw any slits (such as pocket openings) together with herringbone or similar stitch to keep the fabric flat; and run a firm thread round curved edges like the neck and tops of sleeves, to prevent the material stretching whenit is wet. Make a soapy lather with the water only comfortably hot, and knead and squeeze the pieces of cloth, but do not rub or wring them. Wash the material in two or even three lots of soapy water if necessary, then rinse, it well, keeping all waters the same temperature. Hang the pieces to dry by folding them over the line; do not peg them by the corners or they will be' pulled out of shape. '* ~, ' A ’ ■Press the pieces while they are still damp, taking care not to stretch them and using a cloth , between the iron and the material. Recutting If the coat is to be made by a new pattern, pin the . paper pieces together

and try them on, making any adjustments necessary before cutting ; the material. The coat illustrated was remade, in the same style as the original, making adjustments . at the sleeves, side seams, and front, arid under the arms. The length was not altered so that a good hem width would allow for letting down when necessary. First Steps in Making Up Pin the seams together and try the coat on with the raw edges out." Adjust the width of the seams to give a good fit, making allowances for the heavier clothing which will be worn under the coat in the colder weather. Raglan or improved Raglan styles should also have the sleeves pinned in for <this first fitting, but set-in sleeves should oe left out. Baste, stitch the seams from the top down, and press them open. Press each piece of the work ■ as it is done, for. the shape must be pressed into the coat as it is made —it is difficult, if not impossible, ,to do it afterward. Front Interfacings Next, the stiffenings or interfacings must be put in. . They can be , cut from the old interfacings, using the pattern or the front facing as a guide. Pin them into place, baste them round the edges, and attach them to the coat with slanting basting or ; padding -stitch (Fig. 1). Use a fine . thread which matches the coat and take tiny stitches through interfacing and coat. Make the stitches about lin. apart and do not let ■ them show on the right side of the material. Facings When the interfacings are in, join the coat fabric facings to the front, trim the edges, and - press . them back into place. Tack the facings down the front fold and at the inner edge (Fig. 2). Collar Face the under-collar section with stiffening, using padding stitch as for the front interfacings, and rolling and shaping the collar with the hands as the stitching proceeds. Make rows of running stitches lin. apart from the neck edge to the roll or turn-over of the collar (Fig. 3). Tack the neck edge of the coat and fit it on to see that the collar. lies correctly. Stitch the neck edge seam, clip it at intervals so that it sets well, and press it open. Join the top section of the collar to the front facings, turn over the under collar, and catch stitch along the other edges and to the neck edge of the coat (Fig. 4). Sleeves Set-in coat sleeves are usually cut in two pieces, Raglan in two dr three.

Join the seams and press them opOll. The second seam is difficult to press on a table and should be done on a sleeve board if possible; otherwise pad a rolling' pin with cloth, ,push it into the sleeve, and use it as a pressing board. Pin the sleeve in the armhole and try the coat on, making any adjustments necessary. Baste and stitch the sleeve into the armhole, clip the seams, arid press them open. Turn the sleeve back at the lower edge, then tack and press it. Adjusting the Hem Try on the coat and mark the hem line, making it 'an- even length all round, ' Tack it flat at the turn and press it. Measure an even width and trim. Bind the raw edge and catch stitch it to the coat, cutting away the hem behind the 1 facing (Fig. 5). In the coat illustrated the bottom of the facing was cut off to make the pockets, so the correct method had to be departed from in finishing the hem (Fig. 6). Patch Pockets Patch pockets are simple to make and are most suitable for a ' young girl’s coat. .If the material is pat-terned,-make the pockets match exactly at the points where lines cross, or cut them on the true bias (Fig. 7). The lower corners can be rounded or straight. '' •

The secret of making patch pockets successfully is to have them exactly alike and quite true and even. As''an aid, cut a cardboard shape, omitting turnings, and' use it as a pattern to cut each pocket piece. Place the cardboard over one pattern piece and press the seam allowances;/ do the same to . the other pocket piece and both will be exactly the same. Cut two linings, attach them t 0... the top edges, and tack-them under . the

seam allowances so that the lining is caught when the pockets are stitched onto the coat. Buttonholes Buttonholes often present a difficulty to the home sewer, and hound buttonholes are usually found easier to make than tailored ones. Of course this task can be avoided by sending the coat to a tailor or a shop which does finishings. Try on the coat and mark ’the positions for buttonholes and buttons. Forbound buttonholes never cut the buttonhole .before the binding is stitched in place. Mark the exact size and position on coat and binding. Put the binding on the right side of the coat over the cutting line and tack it in place very securely. Outline the cutting line with stitches, hand backstitching, or machine stitching, making the corners sharp and,,the lines even. Take the stitching through coat and interfacing only and not through the facing. Cut from the middle. toward each end, stopping | to jin., and then cut to each corner, right up. to the stitches. If the stitches are accidentally cut through, overcast them by hand. - Pull the binding through the buttonhole, watching the right side, ‘ and gently work it into shape until , two even lines -are showing on the right

side .. and all raw edges are turning away from the buttonhole on the wrong side. Outline , the - buttonhole with small stitches on the right side, taking them in the seam so that they do not show. Turn to the wrong side and overcast on to the interlining. Cut a corresponding slit in the facing, turn in the edges, and catch stitch to the stitching on the buttonhole (Fig 8). Padding the Shoulders ' Shoulder pads for coats are usually made of wadding in several thick-

nesses and in a triangular or pear shape. Cut ' two shapes in lining or unbleached calico for each pad. Cut a layer of wadding to the same shape, but without turnings, and thin it out at the edges. Cut a second piece |in. smaller all round and thin its edges also. Pin the lining on and seam it all round the edges (Fig. 9). Try on the coat and pin the pads into position.. Attach them to the seams firmly so that they will not slip in wear.

Linings Linings are cut by the coat pattern, making the back a little wider by placing the pattern Jin. in from the fold at the centre of the back. The fronts are cut narrower so that the lining does not extend more than J to lin. over the facing. Make single seams in . the body part, leaving the shoulder seams open. Seam the sleeves but do not set them in until later. Turn in the neck edge, fronts, and back shoulder seams and press them. ’ : Turn the coat inside out and put it on someone or lay it flat on the table. Pin the lining in place, making a pleat at centre back (Fig. 10). Take the coat off and slip stitch the back shoulder edge over the. front. Sew the lin-

ing to the armhole seams and catch the side seams to the coat at intervals as far down as the hip . line. Herringbone the back pleat and slip stitch the neck edges and down the two fronts. Put the lining over the sleeve, turn in the top edge, and slip stitch over the armhole seam. Set a row of pins round the fore arm, turn it in at the lower edge, and stitch it to the coat. Hem the lower edge. Buttons Sew on the buttons with firm thread and leave a long, shank. Put a match or knitting needle between button and coat while making the first stitches, then remove it and wind the thread round the shank several-times before finishing off at the back (Fig, . 11). All photographs in this article by Sparrow Industrial Pictures Ltd.