Summer Coat

A one-off summer coat for a ball. After weaving a lot with wool, I longed for something lighter and more open in structure. In my yarn store I had this lovely fine white and an off-white linen yarn.

As perhaps you can see in the photographs there is a thicker line at regular intervals. The challenge here is to ensure keeping the exact same number of threads and the equal distance between each of these thicker lines, as otherwise the pattern will be off-set. The texture of this coat depends on this precision and great attention when weaving. The beat, which is the temper with which every single thread is to be beaten into place next to the one before it, must be with the same force, in the case of this coat a rather soft beat.

The coat is sewn up entirely by hand. It has an inside breast pocket as seen on the photo. The lining is a very fine smooth cotton with a pattern of small dots. I often think that it should have been left unlined but the lining does make it suitable to wear.

The coat is 35 1/2 inches long x 153/4 inches (90 cm x 40 cm) across the shoulder back. Size 38 (medium).