How much ease to a coat?

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Mon, 09/23/2013 - 11:00
dsaragosa
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Joined: 09/13/2013
Posts: 1

I want to use my block to make a coat, for the fall. How much ease should I add to the sides and how much to reduce the darts.  I read you can only add up to 4cm, no more. Does that mean on each side or divide by 4 for each seam?

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Tue, 10/01/2013 - 11:51
#1
Nehzat
User offline. Last seen 1 year 12 weeks ago. Offline
Instructor
Joined: 10/27/2007
Posts: 1026
Re: How much ease for coats

Dear dsaragosa,

The amount of ease for the side seams and darts depends on the style of the coat. You don't need to divide the 4 cm in four for each side seam, you can add the 4 cm to each seam line if you like. That means 16 cm of ease in total, around the bust, the waist and the upper and lower hip circumferences. This only applies to when the coat follows the contour of the body.

If the coat is A line shaped from the underarms down, then you obviously need to add much more to the waist and upper and lower hip circumferences. You will also be letting out all the intakes from the waist darts.

The dart intakes can vary depending on the persons body shape, you may let out about half of the intake for the test fitting. You can do a test fitting using cotton flannel, make sure to have extra seam allowances to let you make further adjustments if needed. You need to wear whatever garments you intend to wear under the coat during the test fitting, this way you will get a better idea of the fit. 

Happy sewing,

Nehzat

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