Hibiscus Coat: Tailoring in 100+ Heat

Triple-digit heat, wool coating and hand tailoring techniques are not a good combination. It has been hot in my neck of the woods these past few days -- some of my hibiscus blooms appear to be wilting and even the cat has been stretching out on the wood floors rather than in his comfy chair. Despite the heat (and thanks to air conditioning), I've made quite a bit of progress on my Hibiscus Coat.

I underlined the coat with hand-basted silk organza. Unfortunately, I hand-basted to the wrong side for half of the pieces, so I had to re-do -- ugh!

I pad-stitched hair canvas to the undercollar and collar stand, steamed it into shape on my trusty little ham and let is dry overnight.

Practice makes perfect, so I practiced sewing bound buttonholes. I'm not sure which size I'll choose -- I like the drama of the longer length, but perhaps it is too much pink?

I also played around with flat bias trims for the collar -- thinking about putting the trim all around the collar and center fronts. The 1/2-inch trim seems a bit too wide -- I may either narrow it to 1/4-inch or delete it.

Finally, I finished the weekend with hand-basting the center fronts and roll lines, as well as marking buttonhole placements. Making progress!