Wednesday, June 26, 2013

My next project - COATS!!!!

You will notice I said coats rather than a coat...

Because, thats right friends, I'm making two.... AT THE SAME TIME!!!

You may remember this coat:

You can read more about this coat here, here and here
And you must excuse my hair in the above photo - I must have been having a bad hair day...

And this one:


The black coat was THE FIRST THING I EVER MADE and it has many many issues, and I made adjustments to the pattern that I shouldn't have made, but, I was so proud of it that I wore it in a best dressed competition at a vintage fair.

12 months on I decided to make the red one to show myself (and you guys) just how far I'd come (which is a long way).  I love it and wear it regularly, and get many many compliments on it.

Now that its winter again, my head is turning to coats.  And whilst its not quite 12 months (my blogiversary is in August) I want to see what I can do with my new pattern drafting skills and this same gorgeous coat pattern.

I have two inspiration images:


I have always loved shawl collars, but have you seen how expensive these coats are!!!! 


And the cape collar is lovely too, and makes me think of Sherlock Holmes (god knows why!).

The shawl collar will be made out of this lilac wool blend, with a silk rayon lining (both impossible to photograph and get the colours right!):

Wool blend from Fabric.com (now sold out)
Lining from Mood Fabrics (thanks to Relynn!)

And the cape collar will be made from this black Amicale blazer-weight flannel (which is luxuriously soft!) and an acetate lining (unless I change my mind and can find something else)

Wool flannel from Gorgeous Fabrics (now sold out)
Swirly dotted acetate lining also from Gorgeous Fabrics (now sold out)

I have also purchased some AMAZING buttons, but that deserves a post of its own!

So now I need to adjust a few pattern pieces to make this work.  Wish me luck!

Beccie
xxx

16 comments:

  1. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh to die for!!!!! I love that you are making your own coats! I swear one day I hope you run your own retro clothing shop!!! I love what you are doing!!! xox

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    1. hahaha I'm working on it Bunny, though how anyone could afford to buy a coat from me I'm not sure - I think I'd have to charge $500... which is ridiculous!

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  2. So excited to see them! And it looks like Marianne bought that green coat! WOW!

    Seeing your pics always makes me crave a big sewing session. Do you ever feel when you're not getting enough sewing done - that you're like a junkie that needs a hit? Its like something is missing.





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    1. Oh, you know the person that bought that green coat!!! HOW AMAZING!!!! Does she love it???

      And yes, if I don't get to sew for a couple of weeks I get all fidgety and cranky - totally like a junkie that needs a hit! Well put!!

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    2. Marianne as in Esme and the Laneway! Have a look on her new Facebook page and its right there. I only saw it today too - and then you post the same coat!

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    3. I just did and oh my goodness it looked like she did - how amazing that two people post photos of the same coat on the same day!!!

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  3. Congratulations! I love that you are making a princess coat. Your first coat is amazing too!

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  4. Im so jealous of your natural talent! Love them all!

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  5. WHOA is that red coat a stunner... and I can't believe the first thing you made was the black coat. I think the first thing I made was an elastic-waist skirt.

    Love all of these and the inspiration, coats with fitted nipped-in waists are the best!

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    1. Agreed - I want to be warm, but I also want to show off my waist. Princess seamed coats are a win win for me!!!

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  6. The bottom one reminds me of Sherlock Holmes to! I think that's because it gives of a 'detective cape' look :)

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  7. i was remembering that striking black coat when you mentioned your upcoming proects. full circle and all :D
    id be curious to knowwhat the issues with that coat are? as a new sewist i think i could learn and progress a lot from an experienced and adept sewists look on a beginner sewists first project.
    i think it looks awesome and am really wondering what mods you made that you shouldnt have.
    the coats you are working on are going to be beautiful - cant waitto see them. though i dont know how you can top the black one or the red one. dont know how you could possibly top it, but knowyou will so impatiently waiting ;D

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    1. So there were two mods I made that I shouldn't have:
      1. I took the shoulders and the under arms back to be very fitted, when this coat has dolman-esque sleeves, which accentuate the nipped in waist; and
      2. when I sewed the sleeves in I had two inches of seam allowance on the sleeve piece, not 5/8", because I didn't know how to put the sleeves in properly.

      Also, I got the cuffs totally wrong, and I made the lining the same size as the coat so it has no give, and the seams have split. I now make the lining with just under 2" of play in the back to stop this from happening (I pleat it at the collar).

      But as a first project, I'm still very proud of it :) It taught me so much, and sewing it again 12 months later also taught me so much.

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