I’ve wanted to work with soft shell since the first time I had heard of such a magical material. It’s wind and water repellent, warm, yet breathable and comes with a slight stretch. It really is an all-rounder as far as fabrics go, and is ideal for making outerwear.

And this may just be the prettiest soft shell fabric that I have ever seen. Bold claim, and I’m standing by it. Not only does in come in a funky umbrella print that is just the right scale, I loved that the reverse comes in a bright pink/coral fleece. I couldn’t resist but make a little raincoat for Freya. Actually, it’s more all weather coat than raincoat, as it’s lovely and warm, and would make a wardrobe staple!

Isn’t it just adorable? It’s a bit big for Freya right now (which is something that you’ll hear me say almost daily), but will hopefully serve her well for the months to come.

I absolutely love it, which is good, as this project did take a bit of effort!

I wanted to use the Ollie Bomber free 2T pattern, but as it turned out, my little 13-month old was a bit too chubby to wear the 2T size in a fabric with little stretch. But I did like the hood add-on for the Ollie, so decided to use that for the hood.

I should say that whenever a toddler coat is mentioned, the first pattern that automatically comes to mind is the Grand’ourse pattern by Ikatee. I have used countless times both for Freya and as gifts (have you seen the ears?!), and it holds quite a special place in my heart. Although I am rather partial to those ears, I wanted a slightly tighter fitting hood, with minimal non-water-repellent part for a functional raincoat, so the Ollie add-on did the trick.

I used size 18-24m (with a 2T hood), and cut the longer length. Although I really wanted to show off the beautiful reverse side of the soft shell, I opted to make a lined version, because my skin comes out in a rash when I touch fleece, and as a paranoid mum, I did not wish to take any chances on Freya’s brand new soft baby skin.

I also made a few modifications:

Firstly, I replaced the double breasted button front with a central zipper, to complete that raincoat look. I did that by finding the centre front, adding 1cm seam allowance to both sides, and softening the top and bottom corners. I liked how professional the zipper finish looks sandwiched between the soft shell and lining.

I also raised the neckline by 1cm, so that the hood fits nicely around it and the front meets near the zipper.

Finally, I topstitched around the zipper and the bottom, as soft shell does not like to be pressed. I wanted that nice, crisp finish! My edgestitching foot came to the rescue again!

Oh, and soft shell was pretty easy to work with, in case you were wondering. I invested in microtex needles, and they did the trick nicely. Sew carefully and surely, clip rather than pin, and you will be just fine!

Until next time,

Alice from Queen of Darts

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