On February 2nd, Punxsutawaney Phil, the friendly groundhog, declared six more weeks of winter. That was good news for me because I was almost finished with a new winter coat and six more weeks of winter meant I would actually be able to wear it! I got started on this project a bit late in the season, but was inspired to make a mid-length wool coat by the many cold and windy mornings I stood on the BART platform this winter. Yes, even here in California, we have cold weather too!
I decided to use Burda 7296. I didn't have anything as extravagant in mind as this pattern shows with the faux fur, but I was attached to the lines of the coat. I made version B and eliminated the contrast color sleeve cuffs. Initially, I was concerned that the pattern flared out at the bottom more than I wanted. But once I cut out the pieces I could see that the coat lines are not flared at all and I didn't need to make any adjustments. I decided to reduce the over sized collar and pockets for two reasons. First, I wanted a more tailored look that would be work appropriate. Second, at 5'3" I felt the exaggerated size of the collar and pockets would make the finished coat look too big for me. I took about 1 inch off the collar and two inches out of the length of the pockets. One more note on the pattern itself, I made a size 12 which is my usual size, but beware- this coat has a lot of ease. I had the shell of the cost sewn together before I realized that the coat had too much ease for my taste. Unfortunantely, at this point in construction, and due to the yoke in the back of the cost - I was limited in what I could change about the width. I did my best through the side seams to adjust the width of the coat. Everything from under the arms fits perfectly, but if you look closely you can see that the shoulders and neckline are a bit wide.
The fabric is a charcoal gray wool coating from Fabricmart. When I started this project it was the beginning of Jan and I knew I didn't have much longer to wear a wool coat, so time was of the essence. I cut out everything and started construction when I realized in step one that I cut the nap of the fabric going one direction on the front of the sleeve and a different direction on the back of the sleeve! What is going on? Upon closer inspection I realized that I cut out every piece except the sleeve back with the nap running upwards instead of downwards! The good news was that I had enough extra fabric to cut out the back side of the sleeve again. The bad was (is) that I have a beautiful wool coat with the nap running upwards instead of downward. Huge bummer! At this point I had to make an important decision - was I going to let this silly mistake ruin my enjoyment of this coat? No way! So, I plunged ahead and didn't think about it again.
A couple of tips I found on making cool jackets.
Click here for a link to Britex's blog on professional tips for making wool coats - it includes great advice on how to interface a wool coat.
Here are some additional tips I love from Peggy Sagers - Silhouette patterns.
1. Use tie interfacing to help ease in sleeves
2. Let your sleeve hang overnight before doing a final press
3. Any of her jacket pattens have a great method for attaching the lining to the sleeve - buy a pattern and learn this trick!
And finally here are some pictures on my winter coat before I have to put it away for next year!
I decided to use Burda 7296. I didn't have anything as extravagant in mind as this pattern shows with the faux fur, but I was attached to the lines of the coat. I made version B and eliminated the contrast color sleeve cuffs. Initially, I was concerned that the pattern flared out at the bottom more than I wanted. But once I cut out the pieces I could see that the coat lines are not flared at all and I didn't need to make any adjustments. I decided to reduce the over sized collar and pockets for two reasons. First, I wanted a more tailored look that would be work appropriate. Second, at 5'3" I felt the exaggerated size of the collar and pockets would make the finished coat look too big for me. I took about 1 inch off the collar and two inches out of the length of the pockets. One more note on the pattern itself, I made a size 12 which is my usual size, but beware- this coat has a lot of ease. I had the shell of the cost sewn together before I realized that the coat had too much ease for my taste. Unfortunantely, at this point in construction, and due to the yoke in the back of the cost - I was limited in what I could change about the width. I did my best through the side seams to adjust the width of the coat. Everything from under the arms fits perfectly, but if you look closely you can see that the shoulders and neckline are a bit wide.
The fabric is a charcoal gray wool coating from Fabricmart. When I started this project it was the beginning of Jan and I knew I didn't have much longer to wear a wool coat, so time was of the essence. I cut out everything and started construction when I realized in step one that I cut the nap of the fabric going one direction on the front of the sleeve and a different direction on the back of the sleeve! What is going on? Upon closer inspection I realized that I cut out every piece except the sleeve back with the nap running upwards instead of downwards! The good news was that I had enough extra fabric to cut out the back side of the sleeve again. The bad was (is) that I have a beautiful wool coat with the nap running upwards instead of downward. Huge bummer! At this point I had to make an important decision - was I going to let this silly mistake ruin my enjoyment of this coat? No way! So, I plunged ahead and didn't think about it again.
A couple of tips I found on making cool jackets.
Click here for a link to Britex's blog on professional tips for making wool coats - it includes great advice on how to interface a wool coat.
Here are some additional tips I love from Peggy Sagers - Silhouette patterns.
1. Use tie interfacing to help ease in sleeves
2. Let your sleeve hang overnight before doing a final press
3. Any of her jacket pattens have a great method for attaching the lining to the sleeve - buy a pattern and learn this trick!
And finally here are some pictures on my winter coat before I have to put it away for next year!
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| Close up of the fun buttons I found at Joann's |
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| Fun pink lining, also used inside of pockets |
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