Finished!

Hand sewing the zipper took a little time.  I take many small horizontal stitches through both thicknesses and place them one on top of the other.  This results in a row of slanted stitches running down the zipper tape.

Turn the coat inside out.  Keeping the sleeves right side out, tuck a sleeve into one armhole with the underarm sleeve seam centered in the 2″ decrease area in the armhole.  Center the top of the sleeve on the shoulder seam.  Make sure you have the two pieces right side together.  Clip the sleeve to the armhole edges and crochet or sew around the edge.

The above photo shows the sleeve seam crocheted together.  Weave in all ends.  Sew the buttons under the buttonholes on the front.

I will post a modeled photo soon but now I am going to sign off for a couple of weeks and to take a vacation with my children and grandchildren.  When I return, I will provide the free crochet Bike Chain Car Coat pattern.

 

Making Progress

Okay, it seems that I will have enough yarn to crochet the collar and bottom band of my Bike Chain Car Coat. I’ve now finished the sleeves, woven in all the ends and the individual pieces are in the process of being blocked.

The Bike Chain Car Coat Pattern will be rated as skill level “ intermediate”.  The actual pattern and the shaping of the pieces is not difficult, in fact, I would rate that portion of the project on an “easy” level.  What becomes a little more unusual is the blocking process.  Whenever you have a crochet pattern where every 2nd row is identical (headed in the same direction) you end up with a fabric that is very skewed to the right or the left. 

It may not seem obvious in this photo but the body of the coat is stretching toward the left.  The pattern rows are flowing on the diagonal instead of vertically.  This also causes a slight ripple along the edges.   In the photo below, you will note that one side of the sleeve is almost straight even though both sides were increased every 4th row.   All of this can be fixed with blocking.

I like to use the daybed in my guest room to block my projects.  First I covered it with white towels.  Then I laid my coat body wrong side up and poked stainless straight pins directly into the fabric to secure it to the mattress.  I measured carefully to make certain that all edges conform to the measurements in my sketched diagram ( to be provided with the pattern).  I actually had to smooth the rows of the pattern to make them vertical and line up with the underarms and the front edges.  The bottom of the coat had a bit of a ruffly edge so I squeezed the rows together and pinned them here and there.  After the entire project was fastened down, I misted it lightly with water and patted the ruffled edges with my hand.  I will let this coat dry overnight.  In the meantime, I will come up with a stitch for the collar and the band and finish the rough draft of the free Bike Chain Car Coat pattern.

I am going on vacation next Friday and hope to have all of this done before then but if I don’t, it will have to wait until I return in early November.

 

Hitting A Snag

I’m still working on the Bike Chain Car Coat and have hit a bit of a snag.  As I finished the body of the coat and began on the sleeves, it became obvious that I will probably not have enough yarn to make the collar and bottom band.  I had 18 skeins of Naturally Caron Country  and have already used 12 for the body of the coat.  My rules of thumb is that one side front equals one sleeve and I’m just barely there.

To give you some idea of what I had planned, I made a very amateur drawing of my design.  I ordered a 25″ red separating zipper for the center front and thought that I would put two tabs with buttons–one at the collar and one at the bottom band.  I found some nice buttons at JoAnns.

Now it appears as if I have two choices.  I can either turn the whole project into a sleeveless jacket or choose another way to make the collar and bottom band.  I’ve decided to try something I have always wanted to do–marry crochet fabric with woven fabric.  I think I’ll look for fabric that matches the color of my yarn and use this to make the collar and bottom band.  I have some beautiful red sateen on hand that matches exactly but I think that it is too dressy for this application.  Perhaps some micro-suede or corduroy? 

I’m still working on the sleeves and this whole project is taking a while because of my sore wrist and the small hook that I am using but I promise that I will produce a free pattern for this once I am finished.  I will give directions for the crocheted collar and bottom band as well as for the sewn version.  Stay tuned…

 

Bike Chain Car Coat in Progress

Here is a portion of the car coat that I started before I made the Bike Chain Hat and Scarf  for Paul.  This pattern is taking a while to complete.  The nature of the bike chain stitch is such that every other row is single crochet.  Since I am working side-to-side, each row is very long and I am using a fairly small hook (G).

In this pattern, the sleeves will be worked separately from the bottom up starting with a ribbed cuff.  I intend to use a zipper closure, something I have never done before on any of my designs.  I also plan to include a stand-up collar as well as a band across the bottom.  At this point, I’m not really sure how those two things will work out but I’ve been experimenting a little with my original swatch to see what type of stitch will go well with the bike chain stitch.

Working this way results in a bulky fabric.  Despite the fact that I am using Naturally Caron Country, which is a light worsted weight yarn, the front post single crochet stitches are creating a ribbed effect which is perfect for a coat.  It should hold its shape well and will be toasty warm in the winter.

Progress is slow because I am having a problem with my wrist again.  I try to work at least three double-rows each day so that I can eventually see an end to this project, have a nice new winter coat, and offer another free pattern on my blog.

In the above photo, you will note that I have left a rectangular area open for the sleeve.  Unlike most designs, this coat will have sleeves that will be set in after the shoulder seams have been sewn together.

Above you can see a close-up of  what I call the Bike Chain Stitch.