Cut!

So I did. All of it. I had JUST enough for the pattern plus the trenchy yoke and a three-piece hood. I freehanded the yoke, but am going to muslin the hood before making the final cuts, as there's no room, er, fabric, for making mistakes here. Not bad for 2.4 meters, eh? Being vertically challenged has its benefits.

A confession: I didn't muslin it - but it's an unfitted coat, and I did measure bust & hip circumferences pretty carefully first. Size 76/12UK/8US has 45" across the bust and 46" at the hip. More than sufficient, still I cut the SA's a little wider, just in case I'll want more ease over my nethers. I added 8 cm for the hem fold and 6 cm for the sleeve folds. The collar-shawl as drafted is so high I'd need a periscope to get around, so I lowered it by 1" - it now clears my eyeballs. I'm not too crazy about pocket linings playing peekaboo with the public - a little too your slip is showing, ma'am - so I widened the SA's at the pocket openings. Oh yes, and I added a half-raglan seam in the back so I can sew the trenchy-yokey-thingy into it.

That was yesterday. Today I started quilting the underlining to the ff. Cashmere is warm, it's light, it's a pettable delight, and it's delicate - so it needs support.

I found the perfect fabric in my stash - a wool-poly blend, lightweight, very flexible, stable in both directions, adds a little warmth, totally ideal for the job. I knew I'd never use it for anything else because - no offence, underlining! - it's the ugliest shade of dark dingy grey imaginable. Must've been an internet purchase or a freebie, 'cause if I'd ever come nose to nose with it in real life I'd have turned my nose up at it faster than a sneeze. I already tried to fob it off on hubby, offering to make him a pair of garden worthy trousers, and even that didn't sell. But as underlining, this ugly fabric rocks!

Here's the underlining quilted onto the centre front piece. I sneakily put selvedge at the facing fold line to make it do the job of tape. You can see me changing my mind as to the length of the stitches along the edge, and then revising my approach to the quilting. The straight basting with a tiny backstitch every 3 or so forward stitches is much easier to control, and to hide on the front side. All other panels are, or will be, quilted that way. With chalk lines to keep the stitching straight.

Parting shot: my freehanded trenchy-yoke.