Edo Period Coat Restoration: The Collar

Project 9, part 12 – Just in Time (Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11 here)

Welcome back to the Edo Coat restoration project! I DID IT, FRIENDS! I actually managed to finish this coat. Just in time for spring, lol… Look, if you’re here for timely completion of projects you’re definitely reading the wrong blog.  😀

The last bit was repairing the collar for duty, and I really waffled on it. Originally I was going to completely encase the original collar in another fabric (probably more dragonfly fabric) in order to protect it, but when I tried it on it looked…weird. The issue was that the golden silk was only in the collar and upper hem facings, and without the collar to anchor it, it looked like it didn’t belong. If I was going to go that route I really should have just pulled all the silk off and completely replaced it, but at this point that definitely wasn’t an option!

So I decided to instead replace the rice paper collar stiffener with some lightweight interfacing, and keep the collar as-is! The interfacing I just folded in half and steamed together, and it was a perfect replacement for the original in terms of stiffness and flexibility. I’m not a huge fan of having a hoard of unused hobby supplies just chilling in the house, but it is nice to have some basics on hand so I don’t have to always go out and buy “just one more thing” for a project!

Once I clipped the interfacing into the collar, I found some dark blue embroidery thread and whipstitched it across the top of the collar to repair it and secure the interfacing. The blue brings the blue of the dragonfly facing fabric up to the top of the coat, which helps tie everything together a bit more, and the tight whipstitching gives more structure and stability to the collar. Win-win!

It took me a couple of hours of sitting on the couch with a greyhound and carefully placing stitches, but at long last I was done! Even if I can’t wear this coat out and about for a few more months, I’m SO happy to be able to to check it off my project list. 🥰 I have a lot of fun things I want to get started on so this clears space for them – and clears space in my sewing room, lol.

I hope you’ve enjoyed going on this epic journey with me! 😂 Join me next time for a photoshoot with this fabulous coat, please do subscribe below if you haven’t already, and I’ll see you next Tuesday here on Mukashi no Sewing! ❤