My First Coat

Ok I must admit that 2018 has been a year of new sewing skills' learning. A lot! Shirt dress: check, jersey: check, more jersey: check, new jackets: check. And nooooow: A COAT!

Yes, it is true, I have sewed a coat for myself and it did not even hurt. I started thinking about coat sewing last year when I made my cape which made me realize that coat wools are actually a great pleasure to sew and that a coat might probably not be such a hurdle. I bought some black thick wool which I am still squirrelling for a new winter coat, but I also found this aubergine wool blend last year during the 50% off days at Marché St. Pierre. The main reason this coupon was there is that there was only 1.5m of fabric, so probably not enough for most people. Not me though: I figured that could work if I go for some simple pattern and I was totally right.

In addition, I have this old blue coat bought years ago at Mango, mostly polyester, the wrong colour and way too large for me which I was keeping for one simple reason, I did not have anything to replace it. Now, I am soo happy that now I can donate it because I have just created a great the replacement.

My main inspiration were these two coats worn by Kate Middleton.

In particular, the bordeaux one ;o) Of course, it does not make much sense for me to have a coat as adjusted as Kate, contrary to her, I may wear thick sweaters or jackets under it and also, I do not have her slim figure either. But I loved the simplicity and the collar, oh yes, the collar!

I could not find any pattern which would be an exact copy, but quite liked Burda 109-09/2016, so I fugerd out I could just extend the collar, sew a muslin and just go for it. And it worked perfectly.

The sewing itself took some time for several reasons:
- I took time to interface all the pieces, including the sleeves; I also made sleeve heads and inserted the shoulder pads and I certainly do not regret this effort
- I was totally stressed by the one-side welt pockets, as I did not have any fabric left once everything was cut out, so no space for errors. Once again, teh sewing community came to the rescue, I read like 4 different tutos, sewed one practice welt pocket to make sure I understood everything, then just took a deep breath and sewed both pockets at once. Nailed it!

- originally I wanted to use some black silk as lining, but once I saw how good the coat looked, I wanted to make the effort and have something different. So the coat waited for a week till I had time to go fabric shopping and bought this lining.

- since the welt pockets were a success, I decided I wanted all the details which were not planned initially: piping between the shell and the lining and an etiquette embroidered with my name in Japanese; something most people will never see but I just love them

Anyhow, this is becoming a rather long story, so for a short summary, the coat cost me around 45 euros and 18 hours of work.
I love the result and the fun I had sewing it. Had I not have an order for a special x-mas present, I would probably be sewing a second one already.