The elves crept in softly through the cat flap...

     Silently the cat flap lifted, and a small elfin face appeared. He looked anxiously about the kitchen, hoping that neither of the household's cats were on patrol. Spotting a striped tail drapped over the edge of the basket, he held his breath, preparing himself for a quick get away. It didn't move.
   Letting out a sigh, the elf stepped to the side and let a smaller elf climb into the room. Together they crept around the edge of the kitchen, being careful to stay out of the moonlight which streamed through the window and pooled over the tiled floor. The kitchen door had been left slightly ajar; just wide enough for an elf. Squeezing through, the closed the door after them with a sigh of relief.
    "She should have those cats tied up," moaned the first elf, as he clambered up on the dining table. "Occupational hazard, I'd call it."

    "Comes with the job," said the second, sounding as he'd heard the complaint numerous times before. "You know its worth the effort. Look at that cake!"
    They both stared at the cake which had been left out on the middle of the dining table for a moment before tucking in. The icing was only just set, and as they bit in, it slowly oozed over the edges. Their hunger temporarily slated, they wiped their hands on the cloth thoughtfully provided, and looked across at the sewing left out for them

Quickly they began to sew the back of the upper collar to the undercollar. Stitch by stitch, feeling and shaping the fabric in their little hands.

Until finally, it was complete and they viewed it with the satisfaction of a job well done.
Cutting a length of thread, the other elf ran wax along it, protecting the thread with the hopes of preventing knots. Not that they weren't good at undoing knots, but they had a lot to do before daybreak.

They finished the front edging with tiny stitches a quarter of an inch from the edge, all the time assuring that the facing didn't show.

Little scraps of material littered the floor, and not wanting to be thought wasteful, the elves selected the biggest pieces and used them to make beautiful covered buttons.

     They stitched the upper and slower sleeves together and gathering the upper edge, the tacked the sleeves into position before machine sewing them in place.

Finally as the rising sun crept over the horizon, and the gentle sound of the bird's chorus filtered through into the house, the elves began to tack the lining into place, securing it around the arm holes, and along the facing ready to be handsewn.

Packing everything away, they crept back into the kitchen. The cats tail didn't even so much as flicker as they left the house.

The house was still again, waiting for the owners to wake up and for a little girl to toddle down the stairs, dolly in hand, eagerly looking forward to the day her new coat would be finished and she could twirl around to her heart's content.

Attaching the collar

I was expecting great things when I laid out one of these cookies last night. These are chocolate cookies with big chewy chunks of fudge. The biscuits are slightly soft, and melt in the mouth. Mmmmm...

And it seems that I wasn't to be disappointed.

 Here is the coat with the undercollar stitched in place and the facing added. It's definitely starting to look very 'coaty'.

This closeup shows the intersection of the undercollar (on the left) and the front and facing. The facing is sew up to the point where the rever and collar meet, and then snipped back.

Unfortunately while busy admiring their handiwork, I noticed a small cut in the fabric on the underside of the collar. I think it must have happened while the elves were clipping and grading the seams. I can't see any way of mending it, and for the effort I putting into the coat (or at least the elves are), I don't want it praying on my mind. Otherwise everytime I look it, I'll wish I'd redone it. And I am absolutely positive that the first time Ellie wears it to see her grandmother, my mother-in-law will unerringly home on it. Isn't that always the way?

So bravely, I have taken off the collar, and seperated the undercollar from the collar. I have enough material left to cut another one, so I'm going to do that today. The elves are going to have their work cut out for them as the coat has already been cut back, so the seam allowances are going to be very small now. It might not be a bad thing though as I think the neckline was a little bit tight when I tried it on Ellie. I might take the opportunity to redo the upper collar as well, and make it a bit wider. After all, I don't want to choke her when I do the buttons up.

Buttons. That's something to cheer me up. I think a coat like this deserves pretty amazing buttons. It's a 2cm buttonstand, so I think a 2cm button will look pretty grand. I was thinking of a bold colour, but what about having each button a different colour. What do you think?