Like RTW?

I've been putting off doing anything more on my boiled wool coat. There isn't, strictly speaking, that much more to do; the only major thing is the pockets. But I want to add fusible interfacing to the hem, and that always feels like a big obstacle: I have to cut more out. Given that someone was coming to look at the apartment, I had another a reason not to want to make the whole cutting mess.

The reason I do want to interface is it's usually done in RTW,* and it seems to keep the hem looking decent (not ripply or stretched out) for a lot longer. I can see just from doing a light press-up of the hem that it'll be worth it on this fabric.

I've also just noticed that the flats for this pattern don't show any topstitching on the front edges below the collar. I haven't decided whether to respect that or not. I did understitch, so that may be enough, especially if I do attach the facing edges to the princess seams inside.

At any rate, I don't have that much more time to use my machine before it gets packed up, so if nothing else, I plan on trying to get all the machine sewing done in the next couple of days.

* For coats, at least; not for knits or shirts, say. Not that I do things purely because RTW does them; I often pick out more interesting non-plastic buttons, for example, though I'm now trying not to make them stand out too much as too-nice-for-the-fabric.

RTW bra parts salvage

If you sew bras, it can sometimes be useful to salvage parts from RTW that has seen better days.
This can be especially true for things that go with everything (underwires) and colors that are hard to find (here, light gray).
Here's what I personally think can be worth saving, in order of likeliness-to-be-useful:

• Underwires: in my experience at least, these are usually just about good as new. Cut a hole in one end of the channeling and take them out.
• Label: this can be useful as a reference, to keep track of the underwire size and the brand.
• Plastic boning at the sides, if any: if not too bent, again, it goes with any color.
• Bows or other small trims.
• Rings and sliders. Usually you get 2 pair, but this one had 4 because there was lace on the middle part of the straps that would have blocked adjustment. If they are metal, so much the better. Plastic ones, I suppose, might eventually break, and the older they are the more likely this would presumably be.
• Back closure: if it doesn't look too worn, it's a color you're likely to use, and you are obsessive enterprising, it might be worth ripping out the dense satin stitches. Since it's so color-specific, I tend to just cut it off and leave the stitch removal until later — that way I haven't wasted much time if I never end up using it. Here I've done the former on the right and the latter on the left.

Other parts are the first to go in my experience, but if you are careful to get each individual piece flat (e.g. stretch the elastic the right amount but not too much), you can also take a pattern.