The Anna Mac Coat – pattern by Sew Over It

When Sew Over It released their second e-book I was playing all hard to get and was telling myself that I do not need it. How long do you think I was able to stick with it? I think it was for about a week. Bravo Ana!

But seriously, when you have a pattern like this mac in it AND it is called Anna (for those who do not know me my name is Ana!), what else do I need to say? Now I just need to work on making more patterns form the book because there are some lovely ones in there.

P1070732

I love a good collar and this mac really does have it. It is the right amount of statement yet not too much. Well, for me at least. The one thing I am not too excited about is a side seam pocket so I decided to skip them and put on patch pockets. And I love how they look and the vibe they give. I feel either safari chick or 70s detective cool. I think I prefer the second one more. The second change I did is shorten it to the hip level. Originally it was supposed to be a mid-calf length but boy did that look bad. So chop, chop to save what I could.

P1070737-03

I had to make the sway back adjustment. I make this adjustment on most top patterns so I should have guessed I would need it with this one as well. But I was in a hurry to have this jacket done and skipped that step. So, of course, I had a lot of gaping in the lower back. Since the whole thing was already cut and sewed I made the adjustment directly on the garment. I simply pinned the excess fabric where the gaping was and took in about 4 cm in the middle of the back going to 0 cm at side seams. Good, this is that I have the belt which covers it up because the seam is visible.

P1070819
On-site sway back adjustment

Remember how I said I was in a hurry to have this jacket finished? Well, by the time I got to the finishing touches it all just sat there a few weeks. I am sure it had to do with the weather turning colder so I knew I would not be wearing it out any time soon. But I can’t wait for Spring! Anyhow, I finished the hems at one point and now it is ready for a walk in the park. Or city. Or safari excursion in a 70’s detective show!

P1070745-01

P1070733

The fabric is a home decor fabric. It is a bit on the lighter side but it is so satisfying how crisp it is after ironing. I liked the oatmeal colour and knew right there it would be a perfect mac.

P1070761-01

Thank you for reading,

Ana

P1070730

 

Halla Coat by Named Patterns – Breaking the Pattern book

Do you ever dream of THE coat? And in that dream, do you have the perfect coat that is right amount different than its peers on the street? Does it catch the eye with details and pops of colour, yet is somehow elegantly subdued with its crisp lines and simple silhouette? I think I may have made myself that coat from my dreams. I kid you not.

___________

Sanjate li ikada o savršenom kaputu? I u tom snu, je li taj kaput drugačiji točno onoliko koliko treba od svojih vršnjaka na ulici? Je li upadljiv s detaljima i bojom, ali istovremeno elegantno nenapadan sa svojim jasnim linijama i jednostavnom siluetom? Mislim da sam uspjela napraviti taj savršeni kaput iz svojih snova. Bez zezanja.

The pattern is by Named Clothing from their book Breaking the Pattern they released last year. The book has ten sewing patterns and I went straight for the coat. I am not yet the most experienced out there but I have already two coats under my belt so I knew I could make this one as well.
Be prepared – the coat has 20 pattern pieces! I knew that before I started but did not really give it much thought. But when I started tracing it out I was tired after the first 5 pieces…I did not even manage to trace them all out in one day. So only tracing out took two days. Then another day for cutting out the main fabric and lining. Then another day for cutting out the interfacing and ironing it on the corresponding pieces. This is now already 4 days without even touching the sewing machine. But soon the fun part started and it was fun assembling the pieces together one by one. More so because I used two different fabrics.

___________

Kroj je od Named Patterns iz njihove knjige Breaking the Pattern koja je izašla krajem prošle godine.  Knjiga ima deset krojeva razne težine, a ja sam išla ravno na kaput. Još uvijek nisam najiskusnija, ali do sada sam napravila već dva kaputa tako da sam znala da ću moći bez problema napraviti i ovaj.
Budite spremni – kroj ima 20 krojnih komada! To sam znala prije nego sam počela raditi na njemu, ali nisam se baš zamarala s tim. Ali kada sam počela precrtavati krojne dijelove bila sam umorna već nakon prvih 5 komada…..nisam ih čak uspjela precrtati sve u istom danu. Tako da je samo iscrtavanje uzelo dva dana. Dodatan dan mi je trebao za izrezivanje vune i postave. Još jedan dan je otišao na izrezivanje flizelina i peglanja tog flizelina na određene komade vune. To je sada već 4 dana bez ijednog šava. Ali brzo nakon toga je došao zabavni dio šivanja i slaganja dijelova u cjelinu. Bilo je dodatno zabavno zbog dvije boje vune koje sam koristila.

The blue wool fabric is double sided – one side with different shades of blue and grey which I used on the coat bodice and sleeves and plain dark blue side I used for the belt. The fabric is thicker because there is also an extra layer between these two sides onto which both fabrics are glued. The faux collar, real collar and belt loops are made in light red wool I had left over from a cape my mom made me years ago. This red wool is much thinner so I interfaced it to make it work better in combination with the thicker wool fabric. And I can not tell you how satisfying it was working with both of these fabrics. They pressed like a dream and sewed up so easily, I was  – and I am still – impressed. I was struggling a bit with the belt and belt loops since the fabric is a bit thicker, but that was expected.

___________

Plava vuna je dvostrana – jedna strana je napravljena iz više plavih i sivih niti vune koju sam iskoristila za glavni dio kaputa i tamno plave strane koju sam iskoristila za remen. Tkanina je deblja jer je između ta dva sloja vune umetnut dodatan sloj na koji je ta vuna nalijepljena s obje strane. Revere i držače za remen sam napravila iz tanje crvene vune preostale od pelerine koju mi je mama sašila prije nekoliko godina. Ova vuna je dosta tanja pa sam ju dodatno učvrstila s flizelinom da bi bolje izgledala i da bi lakše radila s njom u kombinaciji s debljom plavom vunom. I ne mogu vam opisati koliko je super bilo raditi s obje vune. Odlično su reagirale na peglanje i bilo je tako lako šivati s njima da sam baš bila – i još jesam – impresionirana.  Malo sam se mučila s remenom i držačima za remen jer je tkanina tu deblja, ali to je bilo očekivano.

The idea for colour blocking came from my boyfriend. I had this blue wool fabric since last winter, it was a present from his parents. I wanted to make a coat from it then but never knew what pattern would work for it, so it lingered until the very last days of this winter. I went through a few patterns before settling on this one. With others, I feared it would easily end up looking like a blanket with this fabric (and I really wanted to avoid that). Then my boyfriend mentioned colour blocking and it all came into place.

_____________

Ideja o kombinaciji boja je dečkova ideja. Plavu vunu sam imala od prošle zime kada sam ju dobila na poklon od njegovih roditelja. Već sam ju tada htjela pretvoriti u kaput, ali nikako nisam znala koji kroj koristiti. I tako je tkanina sjedila na polici sve do zadnjih dana ove zime. Razmišljala sam o više krojeva prije nego sam se odlučila za ovaj. S drugima mi se činilo da bi kaput na kraju lako mogao izgledati kao dekica (a to sam se trudila izbjeći). Onda je dečko dao ideju o kombiniranju boja i sve je sjelo na svoje mjesto.

The pattern originally has two belt loops that are sewn in the side seams. I did not like that and also wanted to make them shorter so they would hug the belt. In the original, they are a bit longer and stick out a bit. I made them as the original at first but then removed them, shortened them and sewed back on. I also added two extra belt loops in the back so they cross over (again, an idea from my boyfriend/in house designer).

__________

Kroj originalno ima dva držača za remen na bočnim stranama koji su ušiveni u bočni šav. To mi se nije sviđalo i htjela sam ih napraviti kraćima tako da budu uži uz remen. U originalu su duže i više strše van od kaputa. Iz prve sam ih napravila prema originalu, ali sam ih onda maknula, skratila i takve ponovo našila na kaput. Dodala sam i dva dodatna držača na leđima koji se križaju u X (opet, dečkova ideja).  

The lining came together really fast. I used two lining fabrics – red for the bodice to add the extra colour accent and greyish one from my stash left over from other projects for the sleeves. The facings are fully interfaced and as I used canvas interfacing it really makes it firm and crisp which works really well with this pattern and fabric. I mean the whole thing is a true love story.

___________

Postava je bila lagana i brza za izraditi. Koristila sam dvije postave – crvenu za tijelo radi dodatnog naglaska crvene i sivkastu za rukave koju sam već imala doma. Naličje kaputa oko revera i duž prednje strane je ojačano flizelinom i za to sam koristila kanvas flizelin. On je deblji i čvršći i odlično paše na ovu tkaninu i kroj i zbog njega kaput bolje drži formu. Mislim, cijeli kaput je jedna velika ljubavna priča.

The first Named coat I made was their Gaia coat and I already blogged about it here. I got that one directly as a PDF from their website and the instructions are really detailed and made the whole process very easy. I must say that I struggled a bit more with the book instructions for the Halla coat, as they are shorter. Maybe an editing decision for the book. But if this was my first coat, it would be a bit less encouraging. Rachel from Stitched up from YouTube saved me with some info. I watched her video on the book review for parts that I was missing in the instructions and went back to Gaia coat instructions for parts that are the same in the construction process of both coats. Overall, I’m glad I have the book and I’m looking forward to all other patterns I will make from it.

__________

Prvi kaput od Named koji sam napravila je Gaia kaput o kojem sam ranije pisala ovdje. Taj kroj sam kupila kao PDF direktno s njihove stranice i njegove upute su bile detaljne i zbog toga je cijeli proces izrade kaputa bio jednostavan. Moram priznati da sam se s ovim kaputom više namučila jer su upute u knjizi skraćene. Možda je to odluka izdavača, ali da mi je ovo bio prvi kaput to bi bilo malo obeshrabrujuće. Rachel sa Stitched Up YouTube kanala me spasila s par informacija. Pogledala sam njen video u kojem priča o knjizi za pomoć u pronalasku nekih informacija, a za određene korake koji su isti kod oba kaputa gledala sam upute Gaia kaputa. Sve u svemu, drago mi je da imam knjigu i veselim se isprobati i druge krojeve iz nje.

 

Thank you for reading!

Hvala na čitanju!

Ana

Gaia Quilted Coat by Named Clothing

I made a new coat and I am so pumped about it! The pattern I used is the Gaia Quilted coat by Named Patterns. I am surprised that I lean toward coat patterns that are not fitted, because when I was buying RTW ones before, I always looked at them being more cinched in the waist. Funny how that changes.

 

This pattern has some details I never saw on a coat before and it just drew me in. Shoulder detail is here no. 1 for me and I just love that. Lapel is the very second and it maybe the thing that draws the eye in more. I was in!

The pattern is oriented towards advanced sewers. It would be useful if you already made a coat before you take this project on, but maybe with time and patience even an advanced beginner could make it. Maybe? I made my first coat last winter so had already the experience of bagging out the lining and working with wool. That was the Chloe coat by Sew Over It from the Intro to Sewing Coats course and I blogged about it here. I am a visual person so working on my first coat with video support was really helpful.

———

Napravila sam novi kaput i oduševljena sam! Koristila sam Gaia Quilted kroj od Named Patterns. Iznenađena sam kako posežem za krojevima kaputa koji nisu uski u struku. Još dok sam kupovala kapute uvijek sam gledala da imaju neku formu u tom dijelu. Zanimljivo kako se to mijenja.

Ovaj kroj ima neke odlične detalje koje ranije nisam vidjela na kaputima i to me privuklo. Najbolji detalj mi je svakako detalj na ramenima, a drugi je rever koji možda i više privlači pogled.  I to je ono s čime me ovaj kroj kupio (iako sam naravno ja kupila njega). 

Kroj je namijenjen naprednijim krojačicama. Po mojem mišljenju je korisno da već imate iskustvo šivanja kaputa prije ovog projekta, ali možda uz dovoljno vremena i strpljenja bi ga čak i naprednija manje iskusna krojačica mogla svladati. Možda? Svoj prvi kaput sam napravila prošle zime tako da imam iskustvo izvlačenja postave i šivanja s vunom. Za njega sam koristila kroj Chloe od Sew Over It iz njihovog online tečaja Intro to Sewing Coats i o njemu sam pisala ranije ovdje. Vizualno bolje učim, pa lakše korake shvaćam iz videa nego iz pisanih uputa i to mi je tada puno pomoglo.

Shoulder detail / detalj na ramenu

I did encounter few glitches along the way. Maybe that was just me, maybe it was the fabric I choose. I made my coat from boiled wool I got at a local store in Zagreb. This fabric is thicker that the fabric Named girls used in their sample garment. It looks great in the end, but it did mean more pressing and more volume on the seams where more fabric layers were on top of each other. But hey, that is coat making…..

———

Imala sam na neke probleme u koracima kod konstrukcije. Možda sam to samo ja, možda je to samo odabir tkanine. Kaput sam izradila iz kuhane vune koju sam nabavila u lokalnom dućanu Svijet tkanine u Zagrebu. Ova tkanina je deblja od tkanine koju su Named cure koristile za svoj pokazni primjerak. Na kraju kaput izgleda super, samo sam morala puno više koristiti peglu i imala sam puno deblji sloj materijala koji je morao proći kroz mašinu. Al čuj, to je izrada kaputa…..

And let’s talk about the colour! I am feeling a bigger need for colourful clothes than ever before. I used to dress in black, gray and brown all my teenage years and it probably remains my base palette now. I did make more colourful garments but overall I am craving it more and more. That is why I am happy to have a coloured coat now! The first one was camel and although it is not black it still felt „too safe“. Not that I am screaming colour with a rust coat but I am closer to that. It really cheers me up to put it on and whenever I look down or in the mirror I smile. So I guess I did it right.

———

Sad malo o boji! Imam veću potrebu za šarenom odjećom nego ikad prije. U tinejdžerskim godinama sam se uglavnom oblačila u sivu, crnu i smeđu i to se zadržalo kao neka baza u mojoj garderobi. Izradila sam već neke šarenije komade, ali sada ih želim još više. Upravo zato sam sretna što sad imam kaput u boji! Prvi kaput koji sam izradila bio je bež i iako bež nije crna svejedno je nekako „presigurna“. Nije da sad vrištim u tamno narančastom kaputu, ali svakako sam bliže tome. Svaki put se nasmiješim kada pogledam dolje ili se vidim u ogledalu dok nosim kaput tako da sam svakako napravila nešto dobro.

COAT CONSTRUCTION

I made a muslin to check the fit before cutting into my precious wool. I made my coat in the smallest size offered in the pattern. After I saw this size would work I made up the lining and then started assembling the coat shell. It takes longer because of all the pressing and I used a wood “tool” for better results. Usually a tailor’s wood clapper is used for this, but I do not have one and just used a leftover piece from the floor moulding. But any flat piece of wood in the right size works. I used a gauze between the iron and wool not to leave any marks on the fabric and pressed (not ironed) the wool. Ironing it might stretch the fabric. Then I removed the iron and the gauze and pressed the seam surface with wood until it completely cooled down. This way wood takes the heat from the fabric and wool keeps the shape. I had to repeat it few times with bulkier seams at the pockets.
I avoid pressing from the right side of the fabric to avoid any possible marks on the fabric, especially if the fabric has a nap.

———

IZRADA KAPUTA

Izradila sam probnu test verziju da provjerim veličinu prije nego zarežem u svoju dragocjenu vunu. Kaput sam izradila u najmanjoj veličini ponuđenoj u kroju. Kada sam utvrdila da je veličina dobra sašila sam postavu i počela sastavljati vanjski dio (ljusku?) kaputa. Ovaj dio traje duže zbog konstantnog peglanja šavova i za to sam koristila drvo za bolji rezultat. Za to se u pravilu koristi konkretan krojački drveni predmet (težak i ima dršku s donjom ravnom površinom za pritiskanje podloge; eng tailor’s wood clapper) ali kako ga nemam koristila sam preostali komad drva od lajsni. Bilo koji komad drva ravne površine i odgovarajuće veličine može poslužiti za ovu svrhu. Nisam peglala direktno vunu nego sam između uvijek stavljala gazu (to je bitno da pegla ne ostavi tragove na tkanini). Pritiskala sam toplom peglom preko gaze na mjestu gdje su šavovi. Kod peglanja je bitno da se pegla ne pomiče,  već podiže i spušta da ne bi rastegnula tkaninu. Kad maknem peglu i gazu na to mjesto stavim komad drva i pritićem dok se tkanina ne ohladi. Na ovaj način drvo preuzme toplinu iz tkanine i vuna tako zadrži oblik. To sam trebala ponoviti više puta na mjestima gdje su šavovi bili deblji, kao kod džepova. Izbjegavam peglati vunu s prednje strane materijala da izbjegnem ostavljanje tragova od peglanja, pogotovo ako tkanina ima dubinu (ako je 3D) kao što ju ima kuhana vuna.

 

This is how I feel every time I wear this coat / ovako se osjećam svaki put kad nosim kaput

I made the mistake of making entire pockets out of wool. I could have used lining fabric for the inside of the pockets. I went with wool because I wanted it to be warmer. Now when the whole thing is finished and pressed and pressed (and pressed) it looks good and is warm but I had to work on it way longer than needed if I had one less layer of wool there. Just something to keep in mind for next time.

———

Napravila sam tu grešku da sam cijeli džep izradila iz vune. Moja greška je što nisam koristila postavu za unutrašnjost džepa. Za to sam isto koristila vunu jer sam htjela da džep bude topliji. Sad kad je sve gotovo i ispeglano, ispeglano (i još jednom ispeglano) izgleda dobro i toplo je, ali sam morala potrošiti više vremena za te korake nego što bi trebala da sam koristila postavu i radila s tanjim slojem. Nije velika greška, ali nešto o čemu ću bolje drugi put razmisliti.

A slap in the face was when I constructed the shell and tried it on. This is the first moment you get to see how it will look on you. I was a bit disappointed because I looked lost in it. I looked like a 12 year old girl in mom’s big coat. It was just too big and this is the smallest size in the pattern. It really made me feel all different kinds of feelings and I realised that in my experience there are pattern companies that stop with a bottom pattern size that is apparently above my size. So I let it sit for that day and picked it up again the day after. Then I took the sides in from the middle of the sleeve all the way to the pockets. I took it in for about 2 centimetres which sums up to a total of about 8 cm in the overall width of the coat! This helped a lot with the fit on the back as there was too much fabric there that just looked funny. I also had to take in the same amount on the lining so they would fit together.

———

Kada sam sašila ljusku kaputa probala sam ga i osjećaj je bio kao pljuska po licu. To je prvi trenutak u kojem se može probati kaput i dobiti dojam kako će izgledati. Bila sam razočarana jer sam izgledala izgubljeno u njemu. Izgledala samo kao dvanaestogodišnja djevojčica u maminom prevelikom kaputu. Jednostavno je bio prevelik, a to je najmanja veličina koja se nudi u kroju. To je pokrenulo cijelu paletu osjećaja, ali i realizaciju da ima više firmi koje svoje krojeve izrađuju s najmanjom veličinom koja je meni prevelika. Odlučila sam za taj dan sve ostaviti po strani i vratila mu se opet idući dan. Onda sam suzila kaput na stranama od sredine rukava sve do džepova. Suzila sam ga za otprilike 2 centimetra, što je ukupno 8 centimetara na cijeloj širini kaputa! To je puno pomoglo za izgled leđa jer je prethodno tu bilo previše materijala što je izgledalo smiješno. Istu količinu sam trebala suziti i na postavi da bi odgovarala kaputu. 

 

When facings were attached it started looking like a proper coat and I fell back in love with it. Then the problem was figuring out how to get the lapels to sit flat without doing topstitching. I posted a question about it in my Instagram stories and got some great advice. Thank you to everyone who wrote, I really appreciate it and I did learn something new! Read bellow.

———

Kad sam sašila revere počeo je ličiti na kaput i opet sam se zaljubila. Onda se javio problem kako dobiti da rever sjedne lijepo bez šivanja s vanjske strane. Postavila sam pitanje vezano za to na Instagram storyu i dobila sam odlične savjete. Hvala svima koji su odgovorili, puno ste mi pomogli i naučila sam nešto novo! Čitaj u nastavku.

 

Advice I got:

  1. Topstitch
  2. Understitch bottom side of the fabric (bottom side being the side you can not see. You change understitching from the facing on the bottom to the shell on the lapels).
  3. Hand stitch from the inside – invisible from outside and would anchor the facing down
  4. Use fuse tape
  5. Press and lay something heavy on it until it cools down

———

Savjeti koje sa dobila:

  1. Prošiti površinski vidljivi šav duž revera
  2. Prošiti nevidljivi šav na licu revera – nevidljivo s gornje strane
  3. Ručno prošiti rever s unutarnje strane – nevidljivo s gornje i donje strane
  4. Koristiti ljepljivu traku
  5. Ispeglati i na vrh postaviti nešto teško dok se ne ohladi

I tried to avoid no. 1, because I just did not want to do it on this particular coat.

I tried no. 2 on the lower part of the front understitching the facing, but that did not make much change at all. I ironed it and it did sit flat but when moving the facing kept poking out and the seam turned to the outside.

I also tried to avoid no. 3 because I am lazy and as I did not have any fuse tape at hand no. 4 was also not an option.

I tried no. 5 several times, and it worked well only when I used a wet gauze. I was afraid it would shrink my wool as I did not pretreat it (preshrink it), but it did not do any of that. It flattened the wool so beautifully. I tested it on a scarp first of course to make sure I don’t cry when it is too late. That was my mom’s advice, so thank you mom!

———

Pokušala sam izbjeći br. 1, jer nisam htjela taj detalj na ovom kaputu.

Br. 2 sam probala na donjem dijelu prednjice kaputa, ali nije bilo nikakve razlike. Ispeglala sam taj dio i bolje je izgledalo, ali kada bi se kretala šav bi se počeo izvrtati.

Također sam probala izbjeći br. 3 jer sam lijena, a pošto nisam imala ljepljivu traku doma br. 4 nije bio opcija.  

Br. 5 sam probala nekoliko puta i najveći pomak je bio kada sam smočila gazu. Bojala sam se da će para skupiti vunu. Nisam ju prije šivanja pripremila u tom smislu, parila ju peglom da se stisne, pa nisam htjela da se to desi u trenutku kad su svi krojni komadi već izrezani po mjeri. Ali to se nije desilo i vuna se ispeglala tako lijepo. To sam prvo naravno testirala na viška vune da nebi u suprotnom plakala kad je prekasno. To je bio mamin savjet, pa hvala mama!

From all the great advice received I went with no. 3 in the end and hand-stitched both front seams from the inside with a ladder stitch. I saw Cotton & Curls on Instagram repairing clothes that way recently and I thought that would be a good option. And it was, it worked like a charm! I think that might be my go-to method from now on. What I will do better next time is not pull so strong on the thread because you can see a bit of pulling if you look closely. But not something that bothers me too much.

———

Od svih dobivenih savjeta odlučila sam se za br. 3 i ručno sam prošila unutrašnjost prednjeg šava s tzv. ladder stitch (u slobodnom prijevodu ljestvičasti šav). Vidjela sam da je nedavno Cotton & Curls na Instagramu objavila video kako s tim šavom popravlja rupe na odjeći i činilo mi se da bi to super funkcioniralo ovdje. I je, odlučno je odradilo točno ono što sam htjela! Mislim da bi to od sad nadalje mogla biti moja najdraža metoda završavanja kragni kod kaputa. Drugi put ću pripaziti da ne vučem tako jako konac jer se na mjestima vidi zatezanje. To nije nešto što me previše smeta, ali je bila dobra škola za ubuduće.

After that it was a breeze. I sewed the lining to the facing, finished sleeve and bottom seams and bagged out the lining.

———

Nakon toga je bilo jednostavno. Spojila sam postavu i ljusku kaputa, završila šavove na rukavima i na dnu kaputa i izvukla postavu (metoda koja se koristi za strojno završavanje rubova umjesto ručnog završavanja koje duže traje – eng. bagging out the lining).

In the end I hand stitched the best label in and that is basically all I could have said about this coat because it truly was made with love and swear words!

———

Na  kraju sam ručno našila etiketu i te riječi s etikete su upravo ono što mogu reći o ovom kaputu jer je stvarno napravljen s ljubavlju i psovkama!

I love my new coat and I have been wearing it non stop since I made it. And that is what it’s all about folks! I also caught the coat making bug and really want to make another coat this winter. Let’s see if that happens.

———

Obožavam svoj novi kaput i nosila sam ga svaki dan otkad sam ga napravila. I to je poanta svega ovoga! A dodatno sam se i zarazila sa šivanjem kaputa i želim napraviti još jedan prije kraja zime. Ajmo vidjeti hoće li se to i dogoditi.

Can you see how much I love this coat / možete vidjeti koliko volim ovaj kaput?

Thank you for reading,

Hvala na čitanju,

Ana

Sew Over It Chloe coat – my very first coat!

Hrvatski

I ended 2017 by cutting out the Chloe coat pattern by Sew Over It. By this point I am sewing for 6ish years but I never made an outer garment before. I always thought I couldn’t get there by just trying, but I would need to first get a certain skill, attend a class or get a hold of a magic wand. But with time and with following other fellow sewists online I discovered you don’t need any of that, but you do need some experience and do what we all do best – try.

Entering 2018 I had my coat cut out, partially assembled, iron on stand by and one week into the new year I finished my first coat.

dav
Me being awkward in front of the camera in my Chole coat

This pattern comes as part of the online class Intro to Sewing Coats: Chloe Coat. I wanted to make a coat for some time now but always struggled with the idea of doing it on my own with all the head scratching as part of the package. I also could not make it to local classes so online was the only way to go. And I love it! I bought the class, sat on it for few months (because that is what I do best) and at the end of December got around to it. It was time.

I like the ease of an online class because you can ‘attend’ it when ever you want and you can be in your pajamas if you like. So I first went through all classes in one go and then started doing it step by step replaying each video if necessary.

The fabric I used is some sort of wool blend I had in my stash for years, so do not really know the content. I am sure it has some percentage of poly in it, but since it did press well I still think it was not too much. All in all, perfect for a first coat project. The lining was a similar colored one since I thought that was about right for the first try and it was very affordable to get it from a local store (but as I do not have a picture of it you will just have to believe me).

IMG-20180109-WA0005
A bad hair day and good coat day go so well together, don’t you think?

The online class was very helpful and Lisa takes you through all the stages. There are few camera angles for you to get the best look at what she is doing in each video. I read some reviews of the class before making the coat and some mentioned they could not see some of the steps Lisa was doing as her hands got in the way. There is some of that, but I did not have a problem with it and I clearly understood what I need to do. That might be one negative about the online class, but I did not have a problem with it so cannot really say it bothered me.

The assembly of a coat is straightforward and manageable for all sewists with some experience. It is meant to be a class and a pattern for first time coat sewers and if you made few things before you will be fine with making this coat. The tricky part came when I needed to some final stitches since I had a big wool coat at that point and it took some time getting the seam under the needle with the space a sewing machine can offer.

dav
Sewing traffic jam

I used Ice wool for the shoulders, bagged out the lining and these were a first timers for me (I do not know if that is a word but I think it fits so well). Getting your heard around bagging out the lining is a process but you do get to the end and with few extra finishing touches you have a coat! And that is exactly why I wanted to do the class because I tend to be impatient when I need to do things all on my own and having someone to hold your hand takes some of the stress away.

The coat has two options for closure – zip and poppers. At first I decided to go with press studs but when I got to having a coat but still having to do all the hand sewing I changed my mind (and how great is that for us sewists!). I decided to leave any closures out and use just the brown leather belt I already had. I will go with the zip next time, but for now I am really enjoying it this way. And if I ever change my mind I can always add the press studs later.

I am maybe done with coat making for this season, but you never know what February can bring. I do have some hacks in mind for this pattern though so when the time comes for a second coat I have all the hack ideas and fabrics ready and steady to go.

dav
Crispness of a back center seam

 

IMG-20180109-WA0002
Side view without the belt

 

Did you make a coat yet and if yes, what was your first pattern to use?

Thanks for stopping by,

Ana