The Japanese "Bog Coat"

I hoarded the yellow-background fabric shown at the top of the jacket for years. It pictures "Mons" or Japanese coats of arms.

I only found a small piece of it in cotton. But really, that was all I needed. Any more of that kind of busyness of pattern would have been too much.

The back of the jacket repeats the fabric arrangement like the front except the yolk with the Japanese pattern piece is higher up in the back--almost half the width as the front. More flattering and a better line. I can get away with the difference in size because the two pieces are separated by the stripe fabric and are not viewed at the same time.

The striped material that completes the sides and sleeves is a medium-weight raised ridge weave that matches the other colors perfectly. And the bottom half of the front and back panel is a navy and cream closely printed stripe.

I had to reinforce the 'mons' pattern and the narrow stripe piece to equal the weight of the body/arms fabric.

If anything, you would want the front and back center-body panel to carry a heaviness for the drape of the garment. The reverse of this would make the coat not hold it's shape well.

The jacket is made on the "Bog Coat" pattern, an ancient technique for making garments with narrow pieces of cloth.

Early weaving wasn't that wide, so this technique for making clothes makes the most of the fabric.

An excellent site for patterns and examples can be found as a PDF at http://www.mtnladyarns.com/weaving.pdf

The jacket is washable cotton and completely lined. It has wide, kimono style sleeves and handmade closings using oriental coins and a handmade bias tape.