Directions for Assembly: Single Breasted Confederate Frock Coat.

Sleeves:

Lay the body of the sleeve and the lining of the sleeve (good sides together) and pin the bottoms of the sleeve together. [Note: When pinning a seam, the  pins should be placed ½” apart and should run so they are perpendicular to the seam] Sew a ¼” seam across the bottom of the sleeve

Press the seam towards the sleeve lining

Fold the sleeve lengthwise in half. Pin and sew a ½” seam lengthwise to close the sleeve. Press this seam open. [Take care to make sure this seam is pressed well. The sleeve has a ballooned outer sleeve seam and can take a while to press.]

Turn the sleeve inside out and press the cuff so there is a 1” facing at the bottom of the sleeve.  Turn the sleeve right side out and hand topstitch a seam ¼” from the bottom of the sleeve. This should be a backstitch and the stitches should be 6-7 stitches per inch.

Collar:

Pin and sew a ¼” seam along the center seam of the inner and outer collar, then press open. 

Baste the cotton interfacing to the outer collar. The stitching should be ¼” from the top and sides and 5/8” from the bottom. The basting stitch should be loose enough so it can be easily removed later on. [You can do this via hand or machine] 

 Trim away the seam allowance from the edge of the interfacing.

1. Press down the top and sides of the outer collar so they lay over the interfacing.

2. Hand overcast the outer collar to the interfacing, be careful not to allow the stitches to show through the outside of the  collar, you should just be catching a tiny piece of the cotton.

Body:

Baste the interfacing to the front panel piece of the coat. The basting along the front and arm hole should be 3/8”, the bottom, shoulder seam and side seam should be ¾” and along the collar should be 5/8”. Trim away the interfacing seam allowance between the basting stitch and the edge of the coat.

Pin and sew a ½” seam along the side seam. Press open and overcast the seam allowance to the interfacing.

Pin the small triangular piece the skirt and sew a 3/8” seam. Press seam open. Press the rear of the skirt 1” back.

Press the front of the skirt ¼” back and then another ¾” so that it is ‘double rolled’. Overcast this facing to the inside of the skirt. Keep the stitches from coming through the outside of the fabric. Try to just catch some of the cotton on the inside of the jeancloth.

Press back the fronts of the coat so they overlap the facing piece and overcast. (as with the top and sides of the collar)

Pin the skirt to the body. There should be a mark that will line up with the side seam. The body of the coat should line up in the front and ovelap ½” in the rear. Sewn this seam and press it up into the body of the coat. Overcast the pressed seam to the interfacing of the body.

Pin and the rear/side seam together and sew ½” seam. Press open. Clip the bottom of the seam as in the picture.

Pin and sew the shoulder seam together. Press open and overcast the seam allowance to the interfacing.

The skirt pockets:

Clip ½” of one side of the pockets at the mark. Double roll the pocket and overcast seam.

Stich a ¼” seam along the curved edge. Turn and press.

Pin the rear of the skirt, the back panel and the pocket together. Sew a ½” seam from the bottom of the skirt to as close to the waist seam as you can get. Make sure to sew the bottom of the pocket bag, but not the opening of the pocket bag.

Press the pocket bag and this seam towards the front of the coat. Handwork a bartack stitch at the bottom of the pocket bag.

Overcast the top of the pocket bag to the waist seam.

Hemming the skirt:

Press the bottom of the skirt ¼” back and then another ¾” so that it is ‘double rolled’. Overcast this facing to the inside of the skirt. Keep the stitches from coming through the outside of the fabric. Try to just catch some of the cotton on the inside of the jeancloth. [You may want to overcast the exposed seams around the triangular piece also, but this is not necessary]

Forming the vent:

Sew a ½” seam down the center back seam. Clip the end of the seam and press open. Right skirt should overlap the left skirt at the vent.

Topstitch a row of stitching starting from the corner of the back/side seam and going 1: diagonally toward the outer corner of the skirt. Topstitch two parallel rows at the top of the back vent. Stitch through all thicknesses.

Counter Sinking the buttons:

Using a bone stiletto which you can get at most antique shops….

Form a hole for the shank of the button at the side/back seam. Sink the shank of the button and stitch to the inside of the coat so that the backmark of the button is flush with the body of the coat.

Attaching the collar:

Set the collar at the marks and attach using a 3/8” seam. Press open and overcast the top of the neck seam to the collar interfacing.

Press back ¼” along the top and bottom of the inner collar

.

Set and overcast the inner collar to the outer collar along sides and top. Be sure that your stitches to not come through. Overcast the bottom of the collar to the interfacing, no need to overcast to the back seams were there is no interfacing.

Lining:

If you are going to quilt the lining, click here

Sew the facing piece to the front lining panel. Press toward the cotton.

Sew the side/rear seam and press open.

Inside Breast Pocket:

Lay the pocket facing over the top of the outer pocket bag. The clipped corner should be

Press the facing over and topstitch the top of the pocket bag 6-7 stitches per inch.

Set the bottom of the pocket facing and the top of the inner pocket bag to the left front of the lining. The bags should be set so that they overlap the facing piece of the lining. Sew a ¼” seam to form the pocket opening. Leave 3/8” of cotton on the left and right.

Cut across the middle of the stitched lines and clip the corners of the opening

Turn the pocket inside out and press open. Press under the pocket facing ends and overcast them. Topstitch the ends of the facing.

Close the pocket bag with a ¼” seam

Setting the lining:

Press back ¼” seam from the top, front and bottom of the linings.

Set and overcast the lining to the body along top, fronts and waist seam. Be sure that your stitches to not come through. Baste the lining at the arm hole. There is no need to overcast at the shoulder seam and side seam.

Press back the center back lining panel ½” along edges. Pin and overcast to the body.

Buttonholes:

HAND-WORKED BUTTONHOLES

Most people who do their own sewing do so in order to insure that the buttonholes on their garment are hand sewn. However, running a needle and thread around a hole doesn't make it a buttonhole. Hand top stitching and hand worked buttonholes are one of the first things that people will see when they inspect your garment. Having a good pattern, knowledge of construction techniques and a good iron are a start, but it's the finishing touches that will really set your garment apart from others.

Here are some tips that I would suggest practicing.

PLACEMENT
Placement of the buttonholes is crucial. Be sure to take particular notes off the garment you are copying in regard to this or follow your pattern's instructions to the letter. Mark the placement of the buttonholes with a pencil or a piece of tailor's chalk. Count that you have the correct amount of buttonholes marked. Then count again, then count a third time...you don't want to make a 3 button sack coat or a 8 button Infantry Uniform Coat.....

USE A CHISEL
I suggest using a wood chisel and a hammer to ‘punch’ out the buttonholes. This give a more uniform appearance than you achieve with scissors. Make sure to line up the chisel evenly along the yarns to get a clean cut. The size of the chisel you choose will depend solely on the diameter and height of your buttonhole. Most cuff sized buttons will require a 3/4" chisel, coat sized buttons require a 1" chisel and most muffin style coat buttons will require a 1 1/8" or 1 1/4" chisel.

To do a key hole buttonhole, just take a 1/8" round leather punch and place it on outside edge of the buttonhole BEFORE you punch the slit with the chisel.

PREPARING THE HOLES
When working with jeans, I also suggest overcasting the button hole with about 10 loose stitches to keep the buttonholes from fraying.

THE THREAD
I would highly recommend getting a spool of #16 buttonhole/top stitching thread. There are other sizes you can use, but the #16 size will work for most of the garments you'll be making from drawers, to frock coats. Color choice is up to you of course and will depend on the original garment you copied. The thread you use should be waxed to prevent curling and knotting, but this must be done sparingly to avoid staining the fabric or having the wax clump up on you.

The length of the piece of thread you cut will depend on the size of the buttonhole, but you should be able to do most 1" buttonholes with about a yard of thread (this isn't something you want to misjudge).

I usually use a #8 or #9 sized needle. I know some people who use a larger one, but they seem like harpoons to me and the smaller ones usually lend themselves to being more manageable.

STITCHES PER INCH
A good hand-worked buttonhole has stitches worked close together, stitches of even depth. The stitches per inch will depend the thickness of the thread you use. I've seen buttonholes with 44 stitches per inch and some with 8 stitches per inch. If you are sewing with a loosely woven material with large yarns like a jean cloth, then you'll actually want to do fewer buttonholes per inch. On a jean jacket, my 1" buttonholes will usually have 55-60 stitches, on broadcloth, they'll have about 70. On utilitarian garments like issue shirts, drawers or shelter halves, you'll have less.

The depth of the stitch again will depend on the fabric. Too deep and you will distort the fabric if you pull tight, too shallow and the stitch will come through the cloth (especially if the fabric doesn't hold a raw edge well).

The regular buttonhole may be horizontal, with a rounded fan-end near the garment edge (where the button rests), and a bar tack at the other end or it may have fans at either end. The directions below will explain how to do the former. To do the later, just skip the bar tack.

Start at bar end. With a knot at thread-end, insert needle into right side of fabric about 1/2" from bar end, and bring it out through the slit at that end. (The knot will be removed later.) Cover edges with buttonhole stitch (see below), making a fan or a bar tack at ends.

Finish off thread-ends carefully. Clip off the thread used for starting, and pull out the knot.

Buttonhole stitch is worked from right to left, with the needle pointing toward you. Loop the thread as shown (31) and insert needle into slit, bringing it out just below stitching with eye and point over the looped thread.

Draw up needle away from you so that the purl is formed at edge of slit. Do not draw up the thread too tight. The purl is the most difficult thing to learn, I find that while most people can get the stitch down pretty well, they either don't pull tight enough to form the purl, or pull to tight and the purl gets distorted.

The fan is worked around the end as shown. Keep stitch-depth even and turn gradually.

The bar tack is made by taking two stitches at buttonhole end, across both rows, and then working over these threads with blanket stitch without catching the fabric. Use the needle eye-first, as shown. Then put the needle through to wrong side.

CORDING?
If you are cording your buttonholes, take a piece of size 12" thread and place it under the stitch. The cording will help to give your buttonhole some form and keep it's shape.

So, how did you all do with your first buttonholes? Very Good? Not so good? I say practice, practice, practice. You don't want to practice on that nice new coat your making and it's better to spend the rest of the winter working on practice buttonholes to insure your garment's finishing touches are perfect.

I hope these tips have helped and if anyone has questions, please post them here so we all can see the answers.......

Setting the Sleeves:

Set the sleeve seam midway between the shoulder seam and the side/back seam. Working under the sleeve [clockwise for the right sleeve and counter-clockwise for the left sleeve] pin the sleeve in place. When you get half way around you will notice that the sleeve is larger than the sleeve hole. You need to ‘ease’ the rest of the sleeve into place. Pin the fabric so that there is some ‘easement’, but there isn’t any pleating when it comes time to sew. This may take you a few tries and you may not get the hand of it until you set a few dozen ‘eased’ sleeves. You may want to use a basting stitch to see how the sleeve looks before using a stronger stitch.

Setting the sleeve lining:

Start by placing the sleeve seam half way between the shoulder seam and the side/back seam. The lining should be rolled under ½”.

Then set the rest of the sleeve lining into place. Again, there will be some ‘easement’ in the sleeve lining. Stitches should be 6-7 stitches per inch.

Finishing the coat.

1.                  Attach buttons.
2.                  Remove all basting stitches.
3.                  Give the coat a final pressing. [Don’t rush through this, take your time and make the coat look really nice]
4.                  Try it on.
5.                  Brag to all your friends how you sewed the coat together all by yourself!

The Quilting Option:

 Cut a piece of cotton batting larger than the front lining panel. Sew parallel rows of topstitching though all layers of the lining and batting. The bottom row should be 4” from the bottom and each subsequent row should be 4” above the first.

 Trim away any extra batting.

 If you are going to quilt the coat, please do so before attaching any other pieces to the front lining panel.