My poor Viking sewing machine. It was not designed to sew industrial felt. But being the true Viking that it is, it has held up well through all the abuse. So far, only 2 needles have broken but I think one more is about to give up the fight. The felt is very thick and barely fits beneath my special needle attachment for thick fabrics. Still, it works, so that’s good enough for me.
A tough Swedish sewing machine that lives up to its name!
I have a bit of hand sewing left for areas that cannot be put into the sewing machine but most of the machine work is done. I basically have attachment issues to work on now (no pun intended, although one of my dogs may not agree—see below). The collar is constructed but remains to be sewn on the coat by hand. The sleeves are continuing to present a challenge since they are so bulky. But I’ve devised a method of attaching them that should work well in the end. It will just require more hand sewing on-site when the coat is installed. It appears that I, and my installation buddies, will be gardening tailors during installation weekend!
I used quilter’s heavy-duty safety pins to pin the industrial felt prior to machine sewing. And in my usual accident-prone manner, poked myself several times in the process. I swear, all I have to do is look at a pin and it pokes me! Another one of those times to be grateful for having an up-to-date tetanus shot.
The installation process begins next week. It’s hard to believe that all of this production is soon coming to an end. I have to say, I’ll be glad to get the monster coat out of our house and into its rightful place at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It’s time to get our home life back to some normalcy again.
But dear Rose is going to be so sad to see the coat leave. She has been taking siestas on the cozy wool and burying her toys and bones around the coat edges. Wouldn’t it be great if her job is taken over by the wild creatures on the Arboretum grounds this summer? I am looking forward to seeing how the natural environment accepts this coat and transforms it during the next 5 months.
This girl says there’s no way she’s letting her lovely nap place leave the house! We girls love our woolies!
sagahill 