So I’m a little last minute, opening meet is Sunday and I still haven’t had my colours put on my coat yet. Does anyone have some directions or good close up pictures? Our colours are yellow and green, if it was only one colour I’m sure I could wing it but with the two colours I’m not sure that’s a great idea.
Your hunt will have its “colors” tradition . Is it the collar?
Surely if you have been awarded your colors you must know what to do. If you really don’t, then call your Master, hunt secretary or a senior member of your hunt.
You are in NZ or AUS?
I have been awarded my colors in 2 different hunts, and even though it’s only one color on the collar, I sent mine to a seamstress to have them done.
One coat the seamstress put the colors directly over the existing collar. The other seamstress deconstructed the collar and put the “colors” on as the new collar.
I felt like I would mess up the whole sewing on of colors if I had done it myself. I can ride a horse to hounds, but I AM NOT a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination.
For both hunts, the hunts buttons were awarded with the “color”.
Congratulations on earning your colors.
Hope you were able to sort it before opening meet! :yes:
If not, ask around if you don’t have a local tailor.
I am hopeless at sewing but have been usually been able to find somebody’s auntie or mom to help out in a pinch.
In Ontario, Canada.
So I managed to scramble through it, ended up just pinning them on then hand sewing to the collar, turned out not too bad. After looking closely at some others I felt a lot better about my 1 am sewing job!
There is actually a lady at our club who does sew colours and buttons on and whatever she charges go right back to the hounds. I will give her my coat to do at the end of spring season. I’m 5 months pregnant now and didn’t expect my new mount to be so exceptional so I hadn’t planned on hunting the spring season.
Thank you all for the replies! Wonderful opening meet 
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Great to hear that - let us now how it went!
Did you see the Coth advertising to the right of this forum advertising a riding coat company that sews different collars on your show coat? Tredstep - Ireland? Polo Pro?! Has multiple color choices! It’s a lighter weight, stretchy coat (not wool ). I thought prices super! Wonder if they’d do some kinda custom colors for ya! Contact them…I thought this was a GREAT offering!!
I am glad you got it sorted out!
I just whip stitch the colors on, after first pinning them in place. It isn’t hard, just tedious.
Just an FYI, you should always put the colors on directly overtop of the “regular” coat collar instead of deconstructing the entire collar to replace it with the colors, otherwise it will be very hard to sell the coat to someone outside your hunt or someone w/o colors, if you decide to purchase a new coat. It is almost impossible to match the material/color of new material to old, but it is very easy to take a seam-ripper to whip-stitched colors and remove them so they can be placed on a different coat.
SSR speaks wisely. I had to shop around for heavy weight black wool melton to replace collars on some meltons. The seamstresses will tell you the deconstructed sew on colors will lay flatter and look better. I rather agree but it’s at a price. The double layer collars may lay look odd depending on the nature of the materials involved. Heavy wool on wool looks odd. Velvet on wool looks fine IMHO. Lightweight wool/blends on wool looks decent depending on the sewing job. Often your melton will outlive your colors!! or you !!!
Good luck!
Dragging up a super old thread but my question is similar.
I guest hunt frequently. I want to attach my colors to a coat, but I’d like to be able to also remove the colors when I guest hunt. Has anyone successfully done this? I’ve heard of people doing this before and I would a photo to show my tailor. I envision buttons under the collar, and then sewing on a tab from the colors collar that would go under the existing coat coat and attach onto the button to keep it in place. I guess velcro under the existing coat collar would also be other option, but I’d think that’d tend towards creating wrinkles.
Is it a faux pas to wear your home hunt’s colors while you are guest hunting?
Technically, it’s only permitted if you’re at a joint meet and your hunt brought hounds, or the masters of the “guest/hosting” hunt allow you to wear colors from other hunts.
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Fascinating. The things I learn on COTH!
That is technically the rule. However, since many women only have one hunt coat it is often overlooked when they are capping in. For us guys, it would be a complete no-no to show up in a scarlet coat unless it is a true joint meet. When I travel to hunt, I do not even bring the scarlet with me.
This is not my experience.
A man’s scarlet coat is exactly the same as a woman’s coat with colors and buttons; they are not treated differently. I have capped around A LOT, and I have never been refused wearing my colors. Yes, I have always asked first, or the masters have asked on my behalf, but our request has never been denied. Actually, I’ve never heard of anyone’s request to wear their home hunt’s colors being denied.
When hunts host a hunt week, they routinely allow the visiting hunts to wear colors.
If I asked and was refused permission, I probably wouldn’t cap that day. I might pick a day when ratcatcher was appropriate.
I do not keep a separate plain black melton to cap; and I don’t know too many people who do.
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Most men I know have a plain Melton as I do. We probably had it before we were given colors and the right/need for a scarlet coat.
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Okay, that makes sense. Because you had a plain black melton, and you had to buy a new scarlet coat when you were awarded colors.
Most women just change out the buttons and the collar on their black melton when we’re awarded colors, and don’t keep a separate black melton just for capping.
So you’re right, women do have a slight advantage in that we’re not required to buy a new coat when awarded colors.
However, my experience while capping has always been that the masters of the hosting hunt are happy to grant permission to wear colors as long as asked appropriately beforehand. That has just been in VA, MD, NC and SC, maybe it’s different elsewhere.
I tried to explain this to my non-hunting friends and the best explanation I came up with is that it’s like gang colors - wearing your gang’s colors in another gang’s territory without their permission is a bad idea. 
ETA: I routinely travel to cap with gentleman members with colors. They may pack a plain black melton that I am unaware of, but they are also always allowed to wear their scarlet when the visiting hunt allows all of us to wear our colors. PS - we travel in a gang of 10 - 15, perhaps the gang metaphor is accurate and the hosting hunts are afraid to tell us no?
I think I would have my colors permanently attached to the coat then have a “black” collar made to put over the colors as needed.
My reasoning is two fold: you probably hunt at home hunt more so you want to look sharp. Second, if there a bobble/wrinkle with the black collar it won’t stand out as much as a colored collar would.
Allowing visitors to wear their colours tends to discourage any misbehavior, and allow for lack of knowledge in local customs.
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