Unlined Frock

Time to take a breaking from doing things for myself and do something for someone else. A good friend of mine and awesome living historian asked me to make him an unlined wool frock coat. He' super excited about it, and I think I am just as excited. I love the look of a finely tailored (and historically correct) man's 18th century garment, and it's even more rewarding to see someone happy with their garment.

For this project, I'm using a green broadcloth from my friends and Burnley and Trowbridge, who's retirement home I am probably financing. This coat will be a 7.5 inches shorter than a full-length skirt and unlined, which allows you to wear it though the dog days of summer while only being mildly uncomfortable. I often joke that wool is a "not quite" textile. It will keep you warm in the winter, but not quite warm enough. It will keep you cool in the summer, but not quite as cool as you'd like to be.

 So far, I have body interfaced, the backs completed, and the sleeves completed. Next, I will move on to installing the pockets, buttonholes, and then it's onto assembly.

This picture is the basted together body, ready for a fitting, before I tear it all apart again. You know, true 18th century process.

This project, is going to feature, quite a few cool 18th century nuances, including the cape (collar) and pocket flap linings being done in and historically correct serge instead of linen, and the interfacing being done in a manner that is consistent with period garments.

There are also going to be a few surprises that I have not told my customer about yet, that I'm really excited about and will talk about in a future post.