One sleeve on....

Once I had the fronts and backs attached together, the work seemed to go easier. The collar is in two sections, each comprised of two pieces seamed together. The sections are stitched together and turned inside out, then the entire collar is stitched to the coat. It was quite possibly one of the easiest parts of this project. The cuffs are put together similarly; once finished, they are attached to the sleeves. In this picture, the cuff on the left has been slipped over the appropriate sleeve, and the two are stitched together at the wrist opening. The cuff on the right has the bottom edge turned under and pressed. Later, when the lining is sewn, it will be sewn to that pressed under edge to neaten the garment.

Since I'd already done the Great Sleeve Battle of 2010 with the lining, this time I knew what to expect, and the first sleeve went in quickly and with no bobbles.  I of course forgot to take pictures; I'll take them when I do the second sleeve.  I pinned the sleeve to the coat, right sides together; I sewed around the bottom half of the sleeve.  The top have of the sleeve is about an inch larger in diameter than the armscye, so I put in a gathering stitch on the sleeve, pulled it to fit, and pinned it in place.  Once sewn, there are no wrinkles. I still think it's magic. : )

(The sleeve seams still need to be pressed, which will smooth them out... I was just excited to take pictures.) In this one, you can see the point at the back center of the collar. I LOVE how the collar is cut.

In this picture, you can see the cuff on the sleeve. I did do button holes on it using matching thread; I'm not liking how it turned out, so I will be overlaying black trim over the top of the buttonhole detail to give the coat some spiffy-ness.  The buttonholes on the chest will match.  Unfortunately, that is what makes this frock coat look like what it is; in the meantime, it's just a boring shiny coat cut in a weird style.  Trust me, it will look like a cool George Washington coat once the trim is on.

Oooh, look, I found this cool picture of a bunch of frock coat-wearing men. Look at all the colors! I love historical apparel.