"A Summer Coat for only £1:00" (Woman & Beauty, July 1956)

Do any of my readers enjoy vintage sewing?  Then perhaps you'd like to try your hand at this pattern for a light summer coat.  It was originally published in Woman & Beauty in 1956.

... to make from our diagram

 MATTRESS TICKING and the easiest diagram in the world to copy combine to help you give yourself  the luxury of a purely summer coat which is wonderfully smart and costs practically nothing.  It's straight, neat, crisp and slimming.  All the material needed is two yards of 56-inch-wide striped mattress ticking which is obtainable from the Household Fabrics department of almost any large store, price 9s 11d a yard.

Cut the ticking according to the diagram which allows a ¹/₂-inch on all seams.  Make a dart at each front shoulder and then mark the positions of the three buttonholes 1 inch from the edge of the coat, the centre button being on the waistline, and make bound buttonholes.  To make the mock pockets fold each strap in half, sew the ends and turn before attaching to the coat.  Join the shoulder seams.  To make the collar, fold the piece in half, stitch the two ends and turn, then tack it firmly to the right side of the coat, working from the centre back to the fronts.  Join the shoulder seams of the facing and put the right side of the facing carefully around the neck.  Stitch and trim the edges, clipping around the neck edge.  Turn the facing to the wrong side of the coat and press well.  Finish off the buttonholes.  Then stitch the side seams from the sleeves to the top of the vent; turn in each vent edge level with the seam and sew in its place.  Stitch the bands to the sleeve edge, hem to the required length, sew on the buttons and your coat is complete.