Tuesday, 15 November 2011

Peter's 1944 Topper Project + COAT QUIZ!



Readers, having recently put the finishing touches on my 1944 misses' jumper -- which evidently stirs up unpleasant young Jane Eyre at Lowood charity school-type memories for a number of you -- I am now ready to get started on the most challenging and exciting of my three 1944 garments, the vintage Butterick topper.

As you may or may not know already, a topper is a woman's short, lightweight coat. This is a tailored garment, and there will be a good deal of hand sewing involved, horsehair interfacing, twill tape, etc.  The coat has welt pockets, but because they are located on a seam, there's none of that complicated pulling one layer through another.







There are also -- saints be praised -- no buttons, which means no bound buttonholes.  So I'm approaching this as sort of a practice tailoring exercise: just enough to be challenging, but not so much as to be discouraging.

You may recall that this is a refashioning project.  My fabric is a vintage wool blanket purchased at the Chelsea flea market.  I wouldn't be surprised if the blanket dated back to the 1940's itself.



While the seller claims to have had the blanket dry cleaned, it retains a -- how shall I put this? -- distinct aroma of basement, with some damp attic top notes; halfway between a moldy Featherweight carrying case and a washing machine full of old cardigans.  I think the damp weather may be contributing as well.  It wasn't apparent when I purchased it, but steaming seems to have restored its original smell.  I am hoping this will dissipate over time.

Butterick 2969 is an unprinted pattern and, right out of the envelope, the pieces resembled those wadded-up Kleenex one occasionally finds at the bottom of pants pockets after doing the laundry.  Thankfully, with a little careful dry ironing, I was able to bring the pattern back to life. 



I needed to bring the blanket back to life as well.  It measures 66" x 82" and is not without its cosmetic flaws, which I proceeded to outline in white chalk so I could cut around them.  Nothing major -- just some small tears, areas of excessive wear, light stains and discoloration.  







For topstitching, I'll be using beige cotton thread, which adds some much-needed freshness to the look of the fabric.  The wool is relatively easy to work with so far, though quite thick.





Friends, I had planned today to post a few similar vintage Forties women's coat patterns available on Etsy, and there are quite a few, like this one:


But as I was looking through coat patterns, I noticed a very odd trend.  I have decided to let you identify just what this trend is, in the form of a quiz.

1) What is wrong with distinctive about the following coat patterns?

2) What do these patterns suggest about a) fashion trends, b) home sewing, c) pattern companies, d) anything else you can think of?







Readers, I must start my day.  I hope you will take a moment to respond to today's quiz, as well as to share your best time-tested methods of removing dank smells from old wool.  You've been so helpful in the past with my old luggage (now sold, thankfully) and Featherweight case!

Have a sweet-scented day, everybody!

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