It's cold in London and these days I think only about warm things: hot tea, mulled wine, a warm coat...
This coat is based on one of the Named patterns', Andy coat, which I won in Starcross Sewing blog's giveaway in September. I won't hide from you that as much as I like Named patterns' designs, I don't like to work with their patterns. All of the pattern pieces are overlaid and you have to trace them on separate pattern paper. It's probably not a big deal when you work with simple garments like skirts, because they have very few pattern pieces. But when I taped and looked at the Andy coat, I felt sea-sick.
I also decided to modify the pattern a little bit and to create a cocoon shape because this is the trend of this season. Besides, the word "cocoon" sound very funny to my foreign ears :)
Another modification to the pattern was the creation of the back darts to accommodate my rounded shoulders.
The fabric came all the way from Australia. I bought three metres of this cashmere wool, called Rosewater coating, from Tessuti Fabrics but used only 2.5 metres for the coat. For the lining, I used a piece of polyester bought from JoAnn's last year. Do I have to tell you how happy I was to use fabric from my stash?
An interesting point about this coat is that I used five different types of interfacing: horse hair canvas for the inner front panels, fusible interfacing for the outer front and back, and three types of tape interfacing for the armscyes, neck and shoulder seams. At the same time as learning how to sew coats, I leant why we use so many different types of interfacing :)
Last but not least, a story about buttonholes. I had finished the coat before my move to London. My old sewing machine was not known to make the best buttonholes in the world, and I did not want to compromise the look of the coat with average-looking buttonholes. Although I bought a new sewing machine in London, I still was not sure whether I should make buttonholes by myself and for the first two weeks here I wore the coat without buttons, holding it closed with one hand. I felt grumpy to make bound or hand-sewn buttonholes and so in then end I outsourced the work to DM Buttonholes, located in the heart of London near Oxford Circus.
All seven buttonholes look great and very neat. I would definitely recommend them if you would like to get a clean, professional look for your outerwear!
Overall, my first experience with sewing a coat was so rewarding: I ended up with the brightest coat in London. Believe it or not, most people here wear black, grey or brown and my coat clearly stands out in the crowd. So when I meet with friends, they don't miss me ;-)
Needless to say that I enjoyed working with wool: this fabric is the most stable and nicest to work with. Now I'd love to sew more outerwear!
What about your experience of sewing outerwear? Have you tried it? Do you like it?
This coat is based on one of the Named patterns', Andy coat, which I won in Starcross Sewing blog's giveaway in September. I won't hide from you that as much as I like Named patterns' designs, I don't like to work with their patterns. All of the pattern pieces are overlaid and you have to trace them on separate pattern paper. It's probably not a big deal when you work with simple garments like skirts, because they have very few pattern pieces. But when I taped and looked at the Andy coat, I felt sea-sick.
I also decided to modify the pattern a little bit and to create a cocoon shape because this is the trend of this season. Besides, the word "cocoon" sound very funny to my foreign ears :)
Another modification to the pattern was the creation of the back darts to accommodate my rounded shoulders.
The fabric came all the way from Australia. I bought three metres of this cashmere wool, called Rosewater coating, from Tessuti Fabrics but used only 2.5 metres for the coat. For the lining, I used a piece of polyester bought from JoAnn's last year. Do I have to tell you how happy I was to use fabric from my stash?
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| Brand new me-made scarf |
All seven buttonholes look great and very neat. I would definitely recommend them if you would like to get a clean, professional look for your outerwear!
Overall, my first experience with sewing a coat was so rewarding: I ended up with the brightest coat in London. Believe it or not, most people here wear black, grey or brown and my coat clearly stands out in the crowd. So when I meet with friends, they don't miss me ;-)
Needless to say that I enjoyed working with wool: this fabric is the most stable and nicest to work with. Now I'd love to sew more outerwear!
What about your experience of sewing outerwear? Have you tried it? Do you like it?
