Okay, now that you have your outer jacket sewn, you are ready to sew the reverse side. This could also be your lining, if the coat/jacket is not reversible.

The inner layer of the coat is put together exactly the same as the outer, except that you leave an opening of about 8" in one side seam. You can also leave this opening in one of the sleeves, however I find it difficult to turn an entire bulky jacket through a sleeve. But this is how it is done in a factory, because that is the least noticeable place to have the opening. Take a peek inside a RTW jacket, pull out the sleeve and you will see where the opening in the sleeve lining was machine stitched closed.

CENTER FRONT ZIPPER OPENING

If your jacket has a front zipper closing, this should be done before the two layers are sewn together. I have made up patterns where the jacket and lining were put together and the zipper was supposed to be inserted between the two after the fact. This is just plain dumb, if your zipper is an exposed one. If the zipper is concealed, yes you have to do it this way. But an exposed zipper is best put in while you only have one layer to deal with.

The following instructions are for those with a jacket that has an exposed center front zip. These are the easiest to install but the method is different than putting in a regular type zipper. I guarantee you will like these zippers better.

An exposed zipper is one where you can see the teeth of the zipper when the jacket is done up. You can cover the zipper with a wind guard if you like; this can be done after the zipper is inserted, by simply top-stitching a finished strip of fabric to cover the teeth, or you can put one in as you do the zipper. To do this, cut a piece of the jacket fabric equal in length to the jacket front from neck edge to bottom of the zipper plus 2 seam allowances, and have the width 3" plus seam allowances. Then sew the two short ends, one long edge, turn right side out, press and top-stitch the finished edges.

Adding a wind guard to the jacket

The best zippers for jackets are heavy zippers with teeth rather than coils. They are stronger and less likely to break. If your jacket extends to the hip level, try to get a zipper with two pulls on it, then the zip can be unzipped from the bottom as well as from the top. This will prevent the zipper from ripping out, when you sit down or get into a car, etc. Simply undo the zipper at the bottom for a few inches and you have more room to move. I would advise that your zipper not extend to the very bottom of the jacket/coat if it is hip length or longer. Have the bottom stop at least a few inches away from the bottom hemline. It will be easier to do up and to move around in.

Teeth and coil zips and how to shorten them

Place the jacket on a table with the right side facing you. If you want to incorporate a wind guard into this sewing, this is the time to do it. Pin the wind guard onto the jacket, right sides together, and then simply pin the zipper on top of the guard. When the zipper is finished, the guard will flip out over the zipper and cover it. Place the guard on the left side of the jacket. This is unisex placement, the same as zips on jeans.

Tip: A guard also conceals imperfect alignment of the two sides of the jacket. So if you are unsure that you can get both sides of the zipper perfectly aligned, put a wind guard in and no one will be any the wiser.

Now open your zipper and take one half of it only. place it right side down on the jacket, so that the teeth face away from the center front opening. If your jacket has a collar, decide if you want the zipper extending to the top of the collar or just to the neckline. Some collars are meant to be worn up around the neck like a funnel, and these work best if the zipper extends to the top. The zipper keeps that collar closed and also acts as a nice weight to make the collar lie back nicely when opened.

Zipper basted to one side of jacket and matched on the other side

Pin the zipper in place, with the edge of the zipper tape even with the cut edges of the front. At the top, fold back the zipper tape at a 45 degree angle towards the center. This will ensure that the tape is caught in the seam and you won't see the end of the tape. If this is your first time putting in an outerwear zipper, I recommend hand basting it in place. It doesn't take long and will save you a lot of time later.

Now, place the jacket under the sewing machine, using your regular zipper foot. If you put in the right side of the zipper first, you will be sewing from the bottom of the jacket up. The left side will be sewn from the top down. So you can see the importance of basting, to be sure that the zipper doesn't shift when you sew it.

Butt the teeth against the edge of your machine foot. Check to see where your machine needle will come down. It should be right in the center of the tape. If it is not, use the needle position option to move the needle over. If you don't have this option on your machine, then you may have to change to another foot. I don't like using a zipper foot with outerwear zips, because you have to rely on your own judgement to keep the stitches in the same place on the tape. Having a foot that you can shove against the zipper makes this so much easier.

Basting the zipper to the jacket

This first line of sewing will be machine basting. Don't worry, the zipper gets sewn twice more so this line of stitching is just preliminary. At the bottom of the zipper, stitch through that hard plastic bit several times. This is the place that gets the most strain and you don't want it to rip out.

You should now have one half of the zipper inserted, but it is upside down. Not to worry. Take the other part of the zipper and zip the zipper together. Now mark on both sides of the zipper any place where it crosses a seam. This is important so that you get the second side lined up exactly right. Mark the spot where the zipper should end on the second side and also the spot at the top where the last tooth should be. Now undo the zipper and take the free half, place it right side down on the remaining side of the coat. The teeth should be facing away from center front; if they aren't, you have your zipper pinned to the wrong side. Pin it securely at the places where it needs matching. Before I pin any more of the zipper, I take it to the machine and just stitch those spots with a few stitches back and forth. Then I do the zipper up again to check that I have things aligned right. If they aren't, this is the time to correct it, not later when the zipper is fully installed.

Once you have those points sewn, pin the rest of the zipper in place and hand baste it again. Now you are ready to machine baste that side of the zipper. Fold over the tape at the top and reinforce that bottom tab as before. That's it for now.

Once you have your lining or reverse side sewn together, place it right side down over the right side of the coat. Match up all seams and edges. The lining or reverse side will cover the zipper and that zipper is still face down with the teeth facing away from the center. If you have buttons instead of a zipper, simply pin the center fronts together.

Note: Be sure to interface both opening edges of the coat if you are planning on having buttons or snaps. Most fabrics need interfacing to support the weight of buttons and sustain the wear that repetitive use puts on that fabric. For lightweight fabrics, such as microfibers, I also recommend fusing interfacing around the bottom hemline of the coat as well. This will help the lightweight fabric to hang correctly, especially if you line the coat with a heavier fabric such as fleece, sherpa, or faux fur.

Interface the jacket where necessary

Now, sew around the entire coat or jacket. You should be sewing around the bottom, up one center front, around the collar or hood, down the other center front, then around the bottom to meet the stitching. (If you made a collar and sewed it to the neck edge, you will simply be placing the second layer over the collar and sewing through that neckline seam again.) Trim any corners that need it and, if your second layer is bulky, you can also trim away some excess fabric from the seam allowances.

Sew around entire outside of jacket

Now for the fun part. Find that opening in the second layer or lining and pull the entire coat right side out through that hole. You now know why I said to leave it at least 8" long. There is a lot of stuff to come through that hole. Just keep pulling till everything comes through, sleeves and all. See, you have a jacket now.

Next is the sleeves. Push the lining or contrasting fabric sleeves through the first sleeves as they will be worn. This is the only part that is not sewn yet. I always try the coat on at this point, to be sure that the sleeves are not twisted. Pin the sleeve and its lining together at the underarm seam down at your wrist. Use a safety pin for this, as you may lose a straight pin in the next step.

Now reach in through that opening in the side seam (your hand will be between the two layers of the coat). Gently pull one sleeve out through the opening. You will get two sleeves coming out joined by the pin. They will appear twisted and messy. Don't worry - this is as it should be. Now, go to that pin. You have the sleeve and its lining pinned together where they should be sewn, but notice that you have the wrong sides next to each other. As we all know, we always sew fabric with right sides together, so can you see what you have to do? Take out that pin, but don't let the fabrics move. Turn the edge of the fabric over on both layers so that you can pin them right sides together. Just the one pin for now, but pin it securely.

Join sleeve to lining right sides together

Now pin the edge of the sleeves together, not worrying one bit about how twisted those sleeves look. Your sleeves will form a long tube at this point. And it will all work out, trust me. Sew that seam by machine.

Now pull the sleeve out to the right side and voila - it is lined to the bottom and all done by machine. Repeat for the other side. If you plan on top-stitching the bottom edge of the sleeve, think about where to place that line of stitching. If your sleeve is extra long and will be turned back to form a cuff, then top-stitch ¼" away from the edge. But if the sleeve will be worn as is, then place that line of stitching a little further away. Upon inspecting off-the-rack garments, I noticed that this stitching is ¾-1" away from the edge. It looks more professional when done at this spacing.

You're not finished yet! Back to the center front opening. In order to keep the fabric from catching in the zipper whenever you use it, you will need to top-stitch through all layers to keep them away from the teeth. I don't even iron at this step. Simply pull both the top layer and the lining layer away from the zipper tape, and stitch through the fabric. I use my regular foot again and, this time, put the needle into a far left position. I am aiming to get the line of stitching at least 1/8-1/4" away from the zipper seam. Do this on both sides of the jacket. Check to make sure that your stitching is equidistant from the zipper on both sides. Some presser feet are not the same width on both sides of the needle and this can make a difference to your top-stitching because on one side, you will be stitching from top to bottom and, on the other, from bottom to top. I hope this is clearer than mud!

Top-stitching beside the finished zipper

Can you see what comes next? You're right, close up that hole in the inner layer. This you will have to do by hand in order for it to be invisible. But it's only 8" and this is the only hand-sewing you have to do in this entire project.

Next lesson, I am going to show you how to make corded buttonholes. These are more durable than regular buttonholes and that's important on a coat. Also, I will give you some tips for sewing with faux fur. And there will be directions for adding a contrasting cuff to any jacket.

Questions? email me at mail@timmelfabrics.com

Copyright protected, December 2002, by Julie Culshaw