Linen Tailcoat, c. 1815

After looking at Sam at Jane Austen Festival and realizing that he was wearing every article of Regency clothing he had, I jumped into a frenzy of sewing for him that hasn't quite stopped.  Number one on the list was a new linen coat for him.  He is now a costumed interpreter at Historic Locust Grove and their period of interpretation is 1816, so he needed a new coat since his late-1790's secondhand coat would not work.  We decided to base it off of this original in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is dated 1815.

We found the perfect fabric at Regency Revisited, which you might recognize from Sam's Civil War-era waistcoat that I made last year.  Thankfully, Walt and Jan still had it in stock and we could get some for this coat!  

We began by mocking up the pattern.  We used Laughing Moon #122 with some alterations to the collar and lapel.

It got off to a rocky start - right off the bat I had to piece the collar because we forgot to cut 4 pieces and only cut two.

Only to find this giant chunk of fabric left over from the waistcoat after all of the piecing!

Next up came padstitching the collar - gotta love it when it stands up by itself!

I'm so happy with my topstitching on the collar and lapel - look how neat it is!

In true Deviant Dressmaker fashion, this was finished the morning of the event. We were hemming and sewing buttons on the coat until the opening of 200 Years on the Ohio!  Oh well, it is finished, and looks amazing.  And a sewing machine never touched it!  Sam has worn it for multiple events since then and it's holding up very well.  I can't say the same of his breeches, but that's a story for another day!

Check him out :)

200 Years on the Ohio - photo by Past Impressions Photography

200 Years on the Ohio - Photo by J. Meyer

During one of my cooking demonstrations at the antiques fair at Locust Grove - Photo by Story Moon Photography

The Locust Grove costumed interpreters perform at the Annual Meeting - Photo by Story Moon Photography

Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge #15: White

Hello again, everyone!  I have just returned from the Jane Austen festival, which was a lovely time altogether.  It was great seeing old friends and making new ones, and introducing my beau to the world of reenacting!  I wasn't able to make myself anything new for this event, but I did make a waistcoat for David.  It was my first tailoring experience, and I think it turned out pretty nicely!  It also qualifies for the fifteenth HSF challenge.  Yay!

The Challenge: #15: White

Fabric: Ticken from Wm. Booth, Draper for the front and cotton muslin for the lining

Pattern: Kannick's Korner Man's Waistcoats pattern

Year: 1812

Notions: Gutermann polyester thread, eight pewter buttons from Jas. Townsend

How historically accurate is it?: I'd say 50%.  The fabrics are correct, the cut and style is correct, but most of the construction is not.  Because I was pressed for time I had to cut a few corners, but I still did all of the necessary tailoring by hand.

Hours to Complete: 16

First Worn:  The Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, KY

Total Cost:  Including the pattern, $60

I have a few construction pictures, and I of course will include more pictures with my write-up of the Jane Austen Festival as a whole!

Tracing the pattern out

Everything is cut out and ready to go!

Padstitching the collar--with my handy stitch-checker!  This was before I realized that I had soaked the other end in coffee, and frantically attempted to remove the stain.  Lesson learned--spray and wash does nicely on ticken!

The waistcoat before collar, buttons, and buttonholes.

Here it is, in all its glory!  See the dirt stain?  At least I knew how to clean it from the coffee stain :)