I plan to construct a wool paletote and have a question. At the bottom of the paletote, is the lining attached directly to the coat or is it left separate, with the lining and body of the coat each hemmed separately?
Thanks for the help,
Bob Massella
Hi Bob,
If the lining goes all the way to the coat hem it should be felled to the coat. If left free it might hang down below the body. For best appearance, turn up as much lining as wool but set the hemmed edge of the lining about 1/4" above the finished edge of the wool. This also leaves a little slack in the lining to accomodate movement.
As you may know, Federal enlisted sack coats typically had a separately hemmed lining that ended 3 - 5 inches above the coat body, hanging free inside. Since this design didn't come out of thin air, I expect some cheaply made workman's coats of the era were made in a similar manner -- but I can't prove it.
Hope this is helpful,
Jim Ruley
