This is a pleather. It is not an easy fabric to work with. You have to layer it with tissue when working on the right sides. The inside of course has a liner and is simple to deal with. But this coat is totally top stitched. It is lost in the photography.
The pattern is beautiful. It was perfect for this fabric. Stitching in shoulder pads, the right buttons, making sure all the seams were perfect. Ironing was a challenge, but not that impossible. A good muslin press cloth is all it took. I never once melted the fabric.
The challenge was the buttonholes. I couldn't make them with tissue as the paper got caught in the zig zag and was impossible to remove. So I went to Montavilla Sewing Center and got a teflon foot and solved that problem. I should have done the entire project with that foot. I wouldn't have needed to use tissue at all. As much as I know, I have more to learn.
I was able to get perfect button holes. This is the lining. It is a textured charmeuse made to look like kimono silk. But it is polyester. It has some static cling. But it is stunning. I love linings that don't match perfectly but end up being the perfect lining.
I am pretty proud of this piece. Julie will be wearing it to a quilt show coming up. I think she loves it too.
