Hi, here is my latest make which is a coat just in time for the colder weather. I used Lady McElroy wool coating fabric which has a thin stripe running down it with gold metallic thread which is quite subtle – so subtle in fact, that I’ve found it hard to take a good picture of it to show you, but believe me it’s there!

I used the Vogue sewing pattern V9133 for this coat, which is actually an easy blazer but I knew I wanted to use the relaxed shape to make a warmer coat with a lining. I already had a silk panel in my fabric stash which I was able to use as a lining, which I had to draft myself. I have filmed a video of the making of this coat on my Youtube channel Hales Moore Sewing if you are interested in seeing the whole process of me making it.

The wool coating was easy to sew with and it has made the jacket really warm to wear, particularly when there is a cold wind outside. I used tailoring horsehair canvas to sew to the collar rather than use fusible interfacing as wanted to add a more structured layer so that the lapels could stand up. To prepare the fabric I steamed it with my iron as you can’t throw wool fabric into the washing machine like you would normally do with regular fabric. I then hung it over an airer to dry.

When it came to pressing the seams on this coat I didn’t want to risk scorching the fabric so I steamed it with my iron and used a wooden clapper to press them down. I still feel like this coat needs a ‘professional’ press, so may take it to the dry cleaners to see if they offer this service. If you’ve never made a coat before then I would use a simple pattern to start with but it’s definitely not something to be scared by, as this is only my second wool coat (the first I made earlier this year). Check out the gorgeous range of coating fabrics that Minerva stock as I’m sure you’ll find something you love.