1 — Block Fusing + Pre-Pressing
30—June 2021
First up in making your Poppy Coat, the important steps of block fusing and pre-pressing!
Before you start sewing we have a few tips to help you with sewing your Poppy Coat!
— We strongly recommend sewing a toile (sample garment) in a calico fabric (or similar) prior to cutting your final coat. This will ensure you have the opportunity to make any alterations in length or fit to the coat pattern using an inexpensive fabric. Sewing a toile requires additional time, but we consider this time well spent for a project of this type.
— Consider the needle size you will use in your machine. Coating fabric is heavier and can get quite thick when you have two, (or more!) layers to sew through. Try a size 90/14 or 100/16 and test it out on some scrap fabric before you start sewing.
— When pressing from the right side of the fabric, use a press cloth or an off-cut of your coating material as a barrier between your coat and the iron. Note that we haven't shown a press cloth in this sew along to make it easier for you to see where you need to press.
— Pressing tools such as a tailor's ham may be helpful when pressing your seams!
The first step in making your Poppy Coat is applying your fusible interfacing to some of your pieces. Select an interfacing appropriate for the main fabric that you have chosen. Test out your main coat fabric with your interfacing to make sure you are happy with how it feels before you commit to fusing your coat pieces.
We recommend block fusing the required pattern pieces. Block fusing is a fusing technique whereby you apply your interfacing to a section of fabric prior to cutting out the pattern pieces. It helps to avoid interfacing slippage, and stops your pattern pieces from stretching out of shape, and therefore ensures accuracy. It also means you only need to cut your pieces out once, so it saves you time! Block fusing does require you to group all the pattern pieces requiring interfacing together when you cut out your pattern however, so you may require additional fabric. Use a fuse press to block fuse your interfacing, if you have access to one. There are also businesses that offer a block fusing service which may be helpful, especially if you plan to interface the entire front pieces. Alternatively, you can use your iron to apply your interfacing.
Block fuse and cut out your facings and front pieces.
For our sew along we have chosen to block fuse our fronts. Fusing the front body pieces is optional and will depend on the weight of the main fabric you have chosen to use. For medium weight coatings, fusing the front body pieces will assist in stablising the coat.
If you do not apply interfacing to the entire front body pieces, you will still need to piece fuse around the welt pocket and hem area. If you do not apply interfacing to the entire front body pieces, you will still need to piece fuse around the welt pocket and hem area. Cut two pieces of fusible interfacing measuring 24cm x 9cm and centre these over the welt pocket opening area on the wrong side. Fuse a 6cm deep strip of interfacing at the hem edge of each piece. See the notes in the Poppy Coat Instruction Booklet for more information on how to do this.
Fuse the welts, pockets bearer, top collar and, collar stand pieces.
The cuff hem and body hems require strips of interfacing to be applied. These strips need to be 6cm in depth and cut in widths to match the pattern pieces
Fuse one 6cm deep strip of interfacing on the wrong side at the cuff edge of each front sleeve and back sleeve piece.
Fuse a strip of interfacing on the wrong side at the hem edge of the back piece.
We will now use an iron to press some areas of your pieces before you begin sewing. It is important not to skip this step! It will help to ensure accuracy as you sew, as well as aid in giving your Poppy Coat a neat and tidy finish.
Fold the welt pieces in half with the wrong sides together and press.
Take the front sleeve and back sleeve pieces and fold the cuff back at the notches. Press. The finished cuff will measure 5cm.
Take your back piece and fold back the hem at the notches. Press. The finished hem will measure 5cm.
Take the fronts and fold back the hem at the notches. Press. The finished hem will measure 5cm.
Fold the pocket bags in half at the notches, right sides together. Press.
Take the front sleeve lining and back sleeve lining pieces and fold the cuff back so the notches meet. Press. The finished cuff lining will measure 2.5cm.
Take the front lining and back lining pieces and fold the hem back so the notches meet. Press. The finished lining hem will measure 2.5cm.
Now it is time to start sewing your coat! First step is sewing the welt pockets.
Check out the Poppy Coat pattern in our Online Store here. Don't forget you can always email us via patterns@thefabricstore.co.nz if you need advice!
Poppy makes from our wonderful community are also popping up over on Instagram, follow @makebytfs and use #TFSPoppyCoat so others can check out your creations!
