Vogue 8548 Finished

Front view of the coat

Side view

And the back

I am going to take this to a dry cleaners and have them steam press it, as I just don't seem to be able to get a good final press of the wool.

Inside view of the bodice, I added interfacing to the side front and back side as I thought this wool needed the extra body.

Button loops from stretch cording, this is the kind of notion that is used in fur coats.

Inside view of the bodice before the bottom is attached. The wool is double on most of the top, including the centre back piece.

I am pleased with this coat, but there are a few things I would do differently. The pattern does not call for shoulder pads, and I think the sleeves would hang better with a small pad. The lining is attached by machine to the armholes before the sleeves are inserted and then the sleeve lining is hand-stitched in place. So I won't be undoing all of that to add shoulder pads at this point. I will live without them.

I plan on making this again, the version with the more open neckline and I have a houndstooth wool in mind for this. But I will make some changes. I will reduce the flare at the sides of the coat, as I am not keen on this on me. It looks great on the others that I have seen, but most of the flare seems to be on my back, and I would prefer to have less. Also, I will attach the bodice lining to the bodice front and then sew that piece to the lining of the skirt part of the coat, then attach the entire lining to the coat at the front edges. This will eliminate most of the hand sewing which was rather tedious. I think it will be easier to press as well, since I will be dealing with single layers, rather than the bulky seam at the empire waist.

The wool was a dream to sew, and top-stitching really shows up well on this. I particularly like the seams on the bodice being accentuated that way. A good pattern, even if it is out of print. You can still buy it on the Vogue pattern site, under their OOP pattern link.