Second Life for a Suit [pictorial] - Page 6

You put the button you want to use in this plastic thing:




You choose a buttonhole style (14-16):




The machine thinks...




And then you press the button and the machine does the work:




On a piece of test fabric first:




If you don't like the result, you can change the settings a bit (size of the hole, number of stitches). C'est tout.

I appreciate that last remark.

She tried some buttonholes by hand, but those are quite hard if you've never done them before, and it's not a very attractive or interesting job - not something you want to practice in your leisure time.

^ Thank you.



***



Long (and a bit sentimental) intro alert. Feel free to skip.

The nicest thing about the above coat, I think, is the story behind it. It is actually a remake of a coat that the grandmother of my daughter (my girlfriend's mother) made almost forty years ago for the aunt of my daughter (my girlfriend's sister; I hope I am not complicating things by mentioning the family details, but they are important). My daughter wore that same (forty year old) coat last year. She has grown out of it now, but we liked it so much that we wanted to make a new one. The aunt (who wore the original coat as a child) knows how to make patterns, so she took the old coat and made a new pattern for a bigger version.

The original coat was in beige corduroy with a striped pink/white lining. The POW coat was a test coat (which turned out well, and which was worn this spring/summer). My girlfriend made another version which was more true to the original, but this time in a light blue corduroy with a light blue/white gingham lining. You can see the result in the following pictures.



The New Corduroy Version


Pattern parts pinned on the fabric:




Details pattern:






Lining: (cotton) gingham, and bemberg for the sleeves:




Cut:




Button holes:






Small shoulder pleats (hand pinned, machine stitched):






Done:




Detail:




Inside out:




Detail:




Handwork — lining in sleeve, lining and finishing bottom, button sewing:

^^ Dank je wel.
^ Thank you.