I used Very Easy Vogue 8860 for this coat and it is indeed a very easy pattern. That is, before I made a lot of extra work for myself. You see, I wanted to make an actual warm winter coat, so this project became kind of involved. I quilted cotton flannel to the entire lining, interlined the body with lambswool and quilted that too, made sleeve heads from the lambswool & made welt pockets. I had to make my own buttonholes. Some people are so lucky. The buttons required a trip across town.
I am really pleased with how this coat came out. Its really very warm and roomy enough to layer, although the sleeves are a bit drafty. Since the color so neutral, I can wear a lot of furry accessories with it.
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| Please don't hate me. They are vintage. So am I. |
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| Fake. |
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| Vintage mouton. Also fake. |
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| No animal this color exists in nature! |
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| The quilted lining. I lined the inside of the collar. That is some super scratchy tweed!! |
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| I used 2 spools of thread to make the buttonholes (grey and taupe), it makes them blend in better. |
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| The fabric close up and classic leather buttons. |
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| Patch/welt pockets copied from a RTW coat |
Since this is a swing coat, the pattern did not require many adjustments. I cut a size 14 and shortened the body and the sleeves 3 inches and made the shoulders a half inch narrower. I thought those big patch pockets would look droopy so I changed them. I also made the collar just meet in front instead of overlapping.
The biggest change I made was to the lining. The pattern calls for the front and lining to be cut from the same pattern piece, then folded over together and treated as one piece. There is also no back facing. That seems like a crappy way to do it, especially on the collarless version. When I saw that, I stopped using the instructions, drew up a separate lining piece and constructed the coat like I normally would.
The lambswool interlining on his coat is what really makes it a real coat. Its a pity its so had to find. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the photos of that part. I will be starting another coat soon and will also interline with the lambswool, so I'll show you later. This is the pattern I'll be using:
Isn't it adorable!!
Merry Coatmas!
Nice coat! You did such a great job.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI'm in love with this coat and your accent pieces are adorable.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteOh, my, seeing your coat and Peter's is exactly the motivation Ineed to even attempt this project. I am so curious about the lambswool underling so I will enjoy watching your next coat progress. In the meantime, Merry Coatmas to you!
ReplyDeleteThe lambswool is hard to find but so worth it. Its lightweight and warm. I also put a layer of flannel in--i'm in Michigan. The next one should be even warmer since the wool itself is heavier.
DeleteI'm in mad pursuit of just the right coat pattern myself. Yours is beautifully! You must of put quite a bit of tailoring into it as it hangs perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThanks, but actually not much tailoring. Since its a swing coat it really just hangs from the shoulders. I chose this pattern for my first go at a coat since its really not complicated fitting-wise.
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