The coat of many origins

A number of years ago I lived in Germany with my sister. We had very little furniture as most of my furniture had gone to Italy with my husband for his house there. I got a job in Germany, instead of Italy, so the reason for no furnishings. So we set out to find things by going "junking". We were the recipients of living room furnishings that were to go to the street for junking but took a detour to our house instead. The coverings were fuzzy, old, cut velvet type stuff that was just UGH! And an awful yellow green color. While attending a flea market I happened upon a man who had bolts of flax and hemp fabric that had been hand-woven in homes in East Germany until the 50's when hemp was outlawed - I guess they thought it was marijuana. After the wall came down this man went around buying up the stockpile of this now very desirable fabric to sell to folks like me. I bought as much as I could afford. It was not very wide - about 40 inches - because of the size of the looms that could be kept in a house. These bolts were sold to the factories that manufactured the shirts, sheets, tablecloths and duvet covers for the masses. The weave differed, as did the weight of each. I was fascinated, of course, since this was such a treasure trove into the lives of people - just up my little anthropological alley.

My sister liked the stuff as well and we set out to make vests lined with wonderful fabrics from another treasure trove of fabric that I brought to Germany. I still have those upstairs in my closet and hope to finish them some day. However, as we visited other flea markets and fests and places we began to pick up other pieces of linen and coverings that Ellen decided to turn into a cover for the living room furniture. She worked like a Trojan, cutting and pressing and piecing and sewing. A few articles of clothing went into the work as well. In the end she covered a three cushion sofa, a chair and an ottoman.





But, alas, I had to return to the States, so I left all of that furniture behind with Ellen. She moved into an apartment and took the furniture with her. After a couple of years she had an opportunity to buy some really nice leather living room furniture, so she removed all of the covers from the furniture, packed them up and mailed them to me. I was overjoyed at her thoughtfulness but really didn't know quite how I was going to use the fabric. Last year we visited Spain together and in a shop I found a coat I really liked. It was quilted and warm and comforting. I was determined to duplicate it and to use some of the natural fabric that remained from the original stash. However, at some point it occurred to me that I should use the wonderful patchwork for it. I spent a very long time taking the piping off of the pieces and eventually had yards of it rolled up in balls, along with pieces of sofa and chair cover in bags and boxes. In the middle of this I moved - to a much colder climate. I thought I should hurry to get this coat made, so in January I visited Ellen with the bags and boxes and pattern so that she could help me put together the fabric to be cut into a coat. We again pieced and sewed and cut.

One of our cousins many times removed, Fran, visited while this was in progress. She is an accomplished quilter. Boy was that a blessing. She gave us many tips on how to move forward with the project. After I came back home I left the stuff to rest for awhile, but winter was still needing a warm coat. I drew all of the lines on the coat with disappearing ink and spent many hours quilting all of the pieces. I learned so much - mostly that I could do it. In the process I decided that I would sew the piping back into the seams. That was a great idea, until I started doing it. However, I had started it and had to finish. So, if you examine the pictures you will see the piping clearly. Sewing over those lumps took a thing called a "jean-a-ma-jig", a thingy Fran told me about.

One problem was preserving some of the characteristics of the original pieces. In the picture of the ottoman you will see a ribbon tied into a bow. That was originally a tie on a duvet cover. When we cut out the coat it was at the lower edge of one of the sleeves. When it came time to finish the coat the sleeve was about 6 inches too long and I, sadly, had to cut it off.

I loved that feature and am still trying to figure out what to do with it. There was some lace from a tablecloth that I have not been able to use yet. Perhaps they will be framed. If you have any suggestions let me know. One of the features of using old garments is that there are often flaws. The pocket on the left side of the coat has a very worn spot patched with another piece of fabric behind it. That pocket came from one of Ellen's old, comfortable dresses. In the back, where three pieces of fabric were pieced, there was a very big boo-boo, made by me. Ellen came up with the perfect solution when she found this big red button at a yarn shop in Roswell, GA (The Cast-on Cottage). I used cording and sewed it on. I'm just glad I won't have to sleep on that big lump.

So, the coat is finished. It is warm, but it is May. When Fall comes I will happily begin wearing it. I wish it fit better, as it is rather large in the lapels, but overall I think it is going to be great with jeans or other pants and my snow boots as I slog through the Pennsylvania weather to the Library and coffee shop in greater metropolitan Picklesburg.