Well.... sort of. If you're considering a 19th century style coat.
Depending on his size! If he's a teenager, these suggestions might
work. Depending on his size and the size of the garment you find. But
it's dicey.
You can alter the lines by inducing "princess" style back seams (hand
sewn from the front, described at the bottom).
But it won't be long enough. Frock coats were typically down to mid-
thigh. If you were lucky enough to find matching trowsers, you could
cut the "frock" (bottom half) from those.
For a Dickens-style coat, I have altered the front edges to the
correct shape and allowed the back of the coat to hang in tails--- but
it really wasn't right. However, for a stage production on a zero
budget, it did work mostly OK. The coats were being worn by teens, so
taking them in, altering the lines, and letting the tailoids hang was
enough.
What you really want to alter into a frock coat is a man's raincoat of
an appropriate suiting. That gives you the length you need. Then, all
you'd have to do is make it fit and induce those shaping seams in the
back (see below dotsig)**.
== Marjorie Wilser
=:=:=:Three Toad Press:=:=:=
"Learn to laugh at yourself and you will never lack for amusement." --MW
http://3toad.blogspot.com/
** Shaping seams. These go from about mid-armhole (back) and sweep in
a curve toward center back waist. Chalk the appropriate line (assuming
your own research). Then, using heavy thread, take a small stitch
parallel to the line and just to one side. Then take another small
stitch, this time parallel to the same line and beginning in the
middle of the opposite stitch. Alternate sides, always beginning the
next stitch opposite the middle of the first so they form two dashed
lines very close to the chalk line. When you pull up your stitches
(every 6 or so), it results in a tiny ridge on the underside of the
fabric, and looks like a seamline on the front. Especially on the
curve, take small alternating stitches very close to the line to avoid
puckering.
On Nov 4, 2011, at 5:35 AM, Angelique Carlson wrote:
My son loves frock style coats and I'd love to make him one for
Winter. Wool coating is fairly expensive, and I am hoping that it
would be possible to alter a sack style coat from a nearby thrift
store. Do you think it's possible?
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