Monday, June 2, 2008

The Great Coat Sew-along - part 1

I have also joined the Great Coat Sew-along that Marji so kindly started.

My criteria for my coat:

  • Stash fabric only.
  • I want it to look good with jeans.
  • It needs to be trendy (but not too trendy)
  • I want it to be fitted.
  • Would like to use a pattern I already have.
  • Needs to be gorgeous.......mmmm
I don't need a coat to go over suits as I drive to work and park in the same building. And really, in Melbourne it is not that cold except on those frosty mornings...brrr. So I would like a more fitted coat that works with tops and knitwear and looks great with jeans. I doubt I will need to under/interline it, but will take advice here.

The stash fabric selected is a maroon/burgandy wool cashmere blend and the lining is a patterned viscose.

They were bought together a couple of years ago at the Alannah Hill outlet called Clear It. I love all things Alannah but find her clothes are too over the top for me. So, I like to take elements from her designs and make them my own - i.e. tone them down a bit lol.

I only have 2 metres (150 cm wide) so the coat will be short. I am thinking something waisted with a fullish skirt. I have Vogue 8299 that I could use for the top half and draft a skirt to that.

The size of the skirt would be determined on how much I can get from the 2 metres!

View B (the red one) uses 1.4 metres which would only give me .6 to fashion a skirt. Perhaps it won't be so full!! Also this coat only has a one piece sleeve, but I think Marji is going to give instructions on how to convert to 2 piece.

To make it a bit more interesting, I would like to do some blue stitching on the outside to echo the blue lining and to give the maroon colour a bit of a lift. I think something like the stitching Tany did on her Orwell coat would be fantastic.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

well, i think that jacket is really cute, I don't think I've seen it made up as yet by anyone, so I will love to see your finished version

Gwen said...

Oh, that's going to be the perfect out-and-about coat! Love the fabric! :)

Sew-4-Fun said...

Vicki, I instantly recognised those two fabrics before you even mentioned Clear-it. I liked the short jacket you made with that same Vogue pattern. Looking forward to seeing what you make.

Personally I don't think you'll need to underline. Lining is plenty warm enough in all my wool jackets/coats (wool is so warm) when standing outside every Saturday morning. I only wear a knit top underneath. Poly linings give added warmth.

AllisonC said...

Your plans look great, can't wait to see how your coat turns out.

Birgitte said...

Wonderful choice- tres chic. Looking forward to watch the progress.

Claire said...

I love the fabrics. I saw them in the coat blog this morning. The lining is especially pretty. Tany's coat is stunning and I'm sure yours will be also.

Tany said...

It sounds like a great plan! Let the adventure begin!

Kristy Chan said...

oh you Melbourne girls must be tougher than us Sydneysiders - I find Melbourne in winter absolutely freezing and even wear gloves (I guess I must obviously look like an out of towner!). I think your jacket will look great, the overlapping collar is a nice feature and I love the colour combo of the fabrics

angie.a said...

I love that jacket pattern, and just ordered it from the Vogue online sale last week! It came Saturday. I was thinking of doing this one too, but wasn't sure it counted as a "coat". :D I also really like a BWOF one. I can't wait to get started! Sadly, I don't have such beautiful coat fabrics in stash.Love your choices!

a little sewing said...

Your fabrics are just gorgeous and I love the idea of contrasting top-stitching. Thanks for posting the link to Tany's Orwell coat. I got lost over there for a while! Maybe I should add piping to my coat. A new technique sounds fun to try.
I am sure your coat will be wonderful, as always!

kbenco said...

Marji's coat sew-a-long, and now your beautiful fabrics almost make me want to live in bitterly cold Melbourne. I think it is really, really cold down there. I would put in interlining, and wear thermals! On second thoughts, I will stay in my "do I really need to own a wool jacket" climate and enjoy these coats vicariously. I love the asymetrical collar idea.