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You are here: Home / All blog posts / (Re)designing the Celtic Braid Coat
Previous post: Joining panels
Next post: Buttons and buttonholes

July 21, 2012 by Tien Chiu

(Re)designing the Celtic Braid Coat

I finished joining panels of fabric and cutting out the cape yesterday, so I just had to do another draped simulation.  Then I got to messing with the buttonhole design…

Here’s what I tried first – black vest with bound buttonholes made of red-and-black leather (a red lambskin imprinted with snakeskin patterns):

draped simulation with "snakeskin" buttonholes
draped simulation with “snakeskin” buttonholes

And here is a closeup:

"snakeskin" buttonholes closeup
“snakeskin” buttonholes closeup

I didn’t like this.  The “snakeskin” is a little too pale and a little too orangey to match, and the pattern doesn’t relate back to the overall piece.  (A pity, because I paid way too much for that scrap of leather.)

So I went back to the Celtic braid fabric, and tried it for buttonholes:

draped simulation, with Celtic Braid buttonholes
draped simulation, with Celtic Braid buttonholes

I liked this better, but still felt unsatisfied.  Also, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do a bound buttonhole in a fabric that heavy.

But what if I made an entire strip of the Celtic braid fabric, and ran it straight down the middle, with black leather buttonholes?

draped simulation, stripe of Celtic braid fabric with black buttonholes
draped simulation, stripe of Celtic braid fabric with black buttonholes

Aha!  Much better.  But not much black was left, so I peeled back the edges of the cape by one stripe on either side:

draped simulation with a strip of Celtic braid fabric, and more black
draped simulation with a strip of Celtic braid fabric, and more black

I am not quite sure which I prefer, but I do know that I like both!  What remains to be seen is how to handle the buttons – which, of course, do not sit nicely and tamely in the center of the buttonhole but pull to one side.  Off-center buttons would be a disaster.  I think I will make up a sample buttonhole/button to see how it works, or else consult with Sharon.

Off to the farmer’s market!  and then to haul an astonishing amount of asbestos tile (left over from when we had the hardwood floors put in) to the hazardous waste dump.  After that, back to work on the coat!

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Filed Under: All blog posts, textiles, sewing Tagged With: celtic braid coat

Previous post: Joining panels
Next post: Buttons and buttonholes

Comments

  1. Laura says

    July 21, 2012 at 9:34 am

    How would vertical slits look rather than horizontal?
    cheers,
    Laura
    my code is 8 HUH 😉

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