Six Fock Coat – purple test:lapels and lining

Now that I have completed Phase One - assembling the body of the test coat - I can now embark on phase two, setting the collar and lapels and lining the coat.

Although I cut the pattern for the coat in one go, I left the collar and lining pattern until this point so that any problems could be resolved before proceeding.
As it happens all has gone well so far, but it was still as well to wait.

The collar and lapel draft are a little tricky, due to the unique roll line running right down to the hem.

I had provisionally included the lapel facing in my pattern block to make sure it would work – you can see part of the lapel shape on the right-hand side of the block (see left).

I will now redraw it in full to create my pattern.

The lining is going to have to be a little unusual, as I will need to pattern it in its entirety, not just for the pieces adapted from the body of the coat.
The skirt of the body is made from five panels each side, and this will be vastly simplified for my pattern, plus I need to plan in the internal pockets, which are surpassingly minimal and basic in design. More on that later.

I first take my block for the coat body, and retrace the common parts: the back, coat tails, side panel and area of the front.

The lining for the skirt needs to be split at the side seam. This is the back edge of the panel with the outer pocket. I cannot simply trace the existing lines, as I need to make sure my hem circumference matches the body, so there's a bit of jiggery-pokery to crib the combined curve from the skirt panels.

Giving you a sneaky preview of the finished coat, you can see the outer seams (above, left) highlighted in green, compared to the lining seams (above, right).
the two narrow triangles of the skirt have been combined into the wider panels adjacent to them.

Six Fock Coat – purple test: making the tasteless tasteful

Things may seem a little quiet on the Frock Coats front, but I have been working away very hard lately, sorting out the pattern so that once have sourced the fabrics I am good to go.

I’ve worked up a basic calico test (see left), essentially just to check the pattern works, but now I want to up my game prior to making it for real.
I’m itching to get started making up the coat, but I’ve been caught out by enthusiasm before, and know that racing into cutting final cloth can be fatal, so to work it out of my system I’m gonna do something a little radical!

Finding a superb supplier for my felt and woollen fabrics has been an absolute godsend, and their materials are of superb quality at competitive prices.

My favourite fabric out of the whole coat is the purple felt, Fabric (2) in my Fabric Breakdown (see right).

It has a wonderful a richness of colour and weight about it.
So, to properly test myself on construction techniques; to iron out any issues I might find with my pattern; and just for the hell of it make a version of the coat you CAN step out of the front door in, I am going to make one totally in this fabric, using a matching velvet to accent the design.