Victorian Cookbooks and Pirate Coats

Today's big find at work was a rare Confectioners Cookbook from the 1800s. One recipe started with "First scald the milk over the fire..."  How times have changed! For $100, some lucky customer will get to take it home. Less expensive but still notable were an oversize 1905 World Atlas, a koto from Japan, and a drop spindle made in New Zealand. But enough about work!

I am finally getting around to a sewing project that's been waiting for a couple months now. My sister's sewing circle got together and decided to all work on the same project: pirate coats. Then they wanted to get all dressed up and go out for tea, like a teetotaling Red Hats Society for 30-somethings. Only dressed like pirates, because- Just because. If you need to ask why-

I started with a McCall's George Washington pattern, men's size M. (Hey, it was $1.) Being a total shorty, I had to shorten the pattern by 3" overall and the sleeves by 4". I will probably have to take some tucks at the waist. I'm using a vintage blue velvet and it's shaping up rather nicely. It doesn't have cuffs (McCall's patterns are simplified to the point of uselessness) but I may add some. Let me first get past the challenge of attaching sleeves to coat....