Recently, it’s has gotten very cold here in So Cal. Luckily, I already had a coat pattern, Butterick 6244 by Lisette, and fabric from a project I had shelved due to the all the warm weather we had been having.
This simple unlined coat was very easy to sew, and was the perfect choice to show off this double sided wool from kmy fabric sponsor, The Confident Stitch. The wool is so soft, it feels like I’m wearing a cozy throw. It’s an Italian Double faced wool. There are several of these double faced wools left on their site, but this color is sold out. They do have this color in a double faced boiled wool, which is also a gorgeous quality with a spongier feel. There are also double faced wool knits, which I’ve used on this sweater, one of my favorites.
Sewing this coat was very simple. However, I did make the mistake of clipping too far onto the shoulder darts when I was cutting out the pattern. There are only three pieces to the pattern and it’s unlined. I used the recommended flat fell seams for most of the coat, but there was no way I could flat fell the sleeves. I did finally jam my whole sleeve through the machine’s arm, but the result looked horrible and crooked, so I picked it out. I used my serger to finish those seams. I also serged the armholes instead of flat felling them. My wool was fraying a lot, and it was very difficult to make a flat fell stitch in those places where there were curves. I turned the hem toward the front at the collar so you could see the contrast.
I cut the coat one size smaller than than my usual size 12. After reading many other reviews, it seemed this coat ran a bit large. The fit is almost perfect, although I could have made a forward shoulder adjustment. I didn’t bother cutting a muslin for this project. Liesl’s drafting is usually precise enough that I don’t bother.
Isabelle has already tried to hijack this coat from me. I will have to either keep it secure in my closet or make her one, too! Sometimes she ‘borrows’ my handmade coats and I once found one in the trunk of her car. All bunched up, of course. Kids!
Hi Justine,
Good job persevering with the sleeves and the flat fell stitches in the curved places. That’s so nice that the fit wound up being so perfect. Isabelle must feel so fortunate that her mother is such an amazing seamstress. I’m smiling about the coat you found, bunched up, in the back of her car. My kids have done things very similar to this too.
Thanks, Justine. I’m always finding stuff of mine in there. It’s a good thing we don’t wear the same shoe size 🙂
This coat is divine! I don’t blame Isabelle for trying to hijack it – I would too! 😉
Thanks Sandy, and it was a very quick sew!