sewing saturday! a doll's cotton trapeze coat

We're home again in Nashville! After a relaxing weekend on the lake, we've settled back in and are preparing for another mini holiday - Independence Day tomorrow. The lake was super relaxing, despite some technical difficulties (our engine crapped out on us when we were out on the lake in the houseboat.. kind of scary! but we made it back safe). It was great to see Neil's family. And I was able to wear my new swimsuit, which I think I wore the entire time we were up there. Photos soon!

This past week, I began work on the jacket I'm sewing for my niece Stella's American Girl doll (and for herself). I settled on the ivory cotton muslin fabric for her doll's coat and the cream colored floral cotton for Stella's coat. I'm going to cover the buttons of each coat in the fabric of the other coat - to kind of tie them together.

What I needed for this project.. about half a yard (a bit less) of cotton muslin, a very small amount of fusible interfacing (a strip about four inches long) for the collar, contrasting fabric for covered buttons and buttons to cover, and the usual - matching thread, an iron, measuring tape, pins, and a good pair of sharp scissors.

I began by ironing out the fabric, pinning the pattern pieces, and cutting them. I cut two of the peter pan collar pieces, then one collar piece of the fusible interfacing. I then trimmed the interfacing down by about 1/4 inch on each side, placed it glue side down onto a muslin collar piece (to its inside), then pressed it with my steam iron, letting it rest until it was properly fused.

Once the collar was fused, I sewed the two muslin collar pieces to each other on the outside ends, right sides together. I turned it rightside out, pressed it, then topstitched the outer edges, leaving the inside edge open.

Keeping in mind the 1/4 inch seam allowance, I sewed the back seam together and the neck facing together at their designated spots. I then finished the seams with my serger and also serged the outer edges of the front and edges of the sleeves. I pressed about 5/8 inch inwards at the sleeves.

I sewed the edges of the sleeves shut where I had pressed them, and also turned the serged edges of the front of the coat inwards and sewed them, wrong sides together, so the front of the coat will look more finished when I fold the front center opening in to form a facing. I then stitched the jacket at the side seams, forming the overall shape of the coat and especially the sleeves.

That's all I had time for this weekend! Next Sewing Saturday, I will attach the collar to the neckline, finish the bottom edges of the coat and front opening, and cover some buttons with contrasting fabric and attach them (as well as some snaps). Karen has an American Girl doll, so she's going to bring it over and we'll have a fitting.

People are lighting off fireworks outside and our little dog is going crazy. I kind of like it though, because she gets really cuddly and has to be right beside me.. so we're watching The Kennedys together as I package up Etsy orders and draft a fall 2011 idea board (velvet coats! hard to think about when it's 97 degrees outside). Happy Sunday!