4 years ago
This post is loooonnnngggg overdue especially since Spring is starting to spring over here in Texas but I guess it’s never too early to prepare for next winter. Anywho, I made my first coat, ya’ll! And in true Christine fashion, I chose a directional pattern for my first time to really apply that pressure (hehe). However, I honestly couldn’t resist when I saw this sage wool coating on Minera’s site. It had to come home with me!
Although the color is sage, in some lighting it sort of leans towards lime green in my opinion with blue and orange plaid details in the design. This fabric is absolutely stunning! It has some weight to it but thin enough to work well with pants or skirt making. For my coat, I chose the VikiSews Martina coat pattern. It is an oversized coat with drop shoulders and waist straps. I purchased this coat pattern a couple of years ago before they started printing patterns in English so I was stuck with making the coat using its Russian instructions. Thankfully, their pictures are pretty descriptive and I was able to find Youtube tutorials by other Russian sewists who made the pattern.
It took me some time to cut out the pattern pieces for the jacket because I wanted to nail the pattern placement of the plaid along all the pieces. It really paid off because I was so proud to see how everything lined up. The pockets were the only areas I would make improvements on but it turned out really well still and a major improvement from when I cut out my linen plaid blazer (post on my Minerva blog). Once I got out of my head, sewing the coat wasn’t as difficult as I thought. I even took time to padstitch the lapels to help them lay nicely against the body of the coat. There were a few areas like the vent and sleeves that were a bit tricky to construct but that is where the Youtube tutorials came to my rescue.
I used this project also as a way to finally whip out my gravity feed iron after my husband surprised me with it on Mother’s Day almost two years ago. What a game changer and why on earth have I not whipped it out all this while?! The finish is a lot crisper and cleaner. Plus, I don’t have that fear of my fabric getting destroyed by the heat.
The fabric was a dream to sew, although, it does fray so I had to move quick with the ⅜” seam allowances used on VikiSews patterns. I almost added thinsulate (sort of like a quilted batting material) to the coat for warmth but felt it made the coat look way too big as it is already oversized and it made it really heavy which the coat doesn’t need as the fabric length and size already adds enough weight.
The star of this make really is this sage wool… really and truly. I’ve always kept it safe in terms of colors for my coats and jackets but I’ve wanted a coat that pops and this one is it. Even though it’s a different color than what I have in my wardrobe, the color and plaid detail has a subtlety about it that makes it pair well with a lot of items in my closet. This fabric would also work great for a blazer/skirt or blazer/pant suit combo. If I didn’t run out of this fabric, that would have been my next make.
Too bad I completed this coat as the winter was coming to an end but I am more than ready for next winter when it comes. See you all at my next make!
Christine
(@createandpray)
Although the color is sage, in some lighting it sort of leans towards lime green in my opinion with blue and orange plaid details in the design. This fabric is absolutely stunning! It has some weight to it but thin enough to work well with pants or skirt making. For my coat, I chose the VikiSews Martina coat pattern. It is an oversized coat with drop shoulders and waist straps. I purchased this coat pattern a couple of years ago before they started printing patterns in English so I was stuck with making the coat using its Russian instructions. Thankfully, their pictures are pretty descriptive and I was able to find Youtube tutorials by other Russian sewists who made the pattern.
It took me some time to cut out the pattern pieces for the jacket because I wanted to nail the pattern placement of the plaid along all the pieces. It really paid off because I was so proud to see how everything lined up. The pockets were the only areas I would make improvements on but it turned out really well still and a major improvement from when I cut out my linen plaid blazer (post on my Minerva blog). Once I got out of my head, sewing the coat wasn’t as difficult as I thought. I even took time to padstitch the lapels to help them lay nicely against the body of the coat. There were a few areas like the vent and sleeves that were a bit tricky to construct but that is where the Youtube tutorials came to my rescue.
I used this project also as a way to finally whip out my gravity feed iron after my husband surprised me with it on Mother’s Day almost two years ago. What a game changer and why on earth have I not whipped it out all this while?! The finish is a lot crisper and cleaner. Plus, I don’t have that fear of my fabric getting destroyed by the heat.
The fabric was a dream to sew, although, it does fray so I had to move quick with the ⅜” seam allowances used on VikiSews patterns. I almost added thinsulate (sort of like a quilted batting material) to the coat for warmth but felt it made the coat look way too big as it is already oversized and it made it really heavy which the coat doesn’t need as the fabric length and size already adds enough weight.
The star of this make really is this sage wool… really and truly. I’ve always kept it safe in terms of colors for my coats and jackets but I’ve wanted a coat that pops and this one is it. Even though it’s a different color than what I have in my wardrobe, the color and plaid detail has a subtlety about it that makes it pair well with a lot of items in my closet. This fabric would also work great for a blazer/skirt or blazer/pant suit combo. If I didn’t run out of this fabric, that would have been my next make.
Too bad I completed this coat as the winter was coming to an end but I am more than ready for next winter when it comes. See you all at my next make!
Christine
(@createandpray)