Riding Habit - Continental Army Colors

Patterns: J.P Ryan Riding Jacket & Waistcoat.
Fabrics: Linen/cotton blend, blue and red. White silk taffeta for waistcoat. The coat is lined in cotton bemberg, and interfaced in various areas with linen/jute interfacing.

Measurements:
Chest: 32"
Waist: 29"
Hem: 35"

Here we have a recent commissioned pieced, a ladies' riding habit and waistcoat done in linen and following the general color scheme of the American Continental Army uniform. 

Pattern

The J.P. Ryan Riding Habit pattern is an amazing piece to work with...once you've gotten used to it. As much as I love the pattern, the instructions can be confusing and the photo images aren't really much help.

The smallest the pattern comes is a 34 chest, so I had to do some altering there to get it a bit smaller here. I also had to increase the waist by 3 inches. Otherwise, there really isn't much deviation from the pattern. 

Inside:

(above) The armhole, showing the sleeve lining slip-stitched in by hand. No raw or exposed edges inside.
(below) showing what the skirt pleats look like on the inside, after the decorative buttons have been applied.

Waistcoat:
(below) The belt portion of the waistcoat buttons on both sides and on to one of those center front buttons. It can be completely removed if desired.

(below) The hooks and eyes. When assembling this jacket, it's important to remember to attach the hooks and eyes before you attach the buttons on the lapels. This way the lapels are still swinging free and you can stitching you hooks and eyes straight through to the other side. The lapels will then be fixed over this stitching, so it won't matter if the thread doesn't match your outer fabric.

(below) Ugh. I really should have used a thicker petticoat before taking these pics. The outline of the bumroll is really visible =/

Coat:

The buttonholes, all of which are non-function on this coat, are a serious pain in the a$&. Averaging 15 minutes each, doing all by hand is 7.5 hours alone...or more like 8.5 in reality. Phew! And this is just the coat. The waistcoat has another 8 buttonholes.