UFO Fall Coat, Vogue 8307

Hot on the heels of finishing my UFO fall dress from last year the other week I finished a UFO fall coat, also from last year.  I had hopes to finish it to take with me to the UK for last Fall/Winter, but it didn’t happen.  A winter coat happened instead, which was probably for the best.

I used Vogue 8307:

I made a heavily altered view C.  I made it shorter, did a little colour-blocking on the bottom and made the skirt narrower all around.  Mostly, it was the collar I was going for.

The colour-blocking was done out of necessity.  I was determined to use this beautiful wool plaid for a fall coat and loved the collar of view C of this pattern, but didn’t have anywhere near enough fabric to make a full coat, especially with it being a plaid.  I was also determined to have a coat and not a jacket.  What to do!?  Turned out I had a small, less than a metre, piece of dark brown wool twill that co-ordinated nicely with the plaid and was plenty for adding a band around the bottom to get the length I needed.

Narrowing the A-line of the coat was also done to help fit the fabric to the pattern.

When I brought this project out of the UFO bin, it was all cut (apart from the interfacings) but nothing was assembled.  Looking at it all in pieces I wasn’t sure how the colour-blocking was going to look when it was all put together.  I figured it could turn out great, or obviously look like I was trying way to hard to make something work that didn’t really.  I’m sure many of you can imagine my relief when I had the outer layer all sewn together and I felt like I’d managed the former outcome!  Such a ‘Hooray!’ moment.

I was also very happy with how well it appears I matched up the plaid while cutting so that it went together really nicely.  It’s not all totally perfect, but more than close enough for me!

This coat was also my first time using toggles with the little leather bits on them.  Apart from the glue holding the cord to the leather pieces being crap and coming apart while I was taking them out of their packages and having to get my glue gun out these were a lot easier to use/apply than I anticipated.  I’m really glad they were available in a dark brown colour to match the lower portion of the coat, I think they really tie that whole aspect of the coat together.  Oh, and I think they add nicely to the vaguely 70s vibe this coat seems to have.  I’m pretty sure the plaid wool is from the 70s, I did get it at the thrift store after all!  What do you think?

The only thing I’m now wondering is whether I should add some snaps where the toggles are to help avoid the wrinkling you can see going on at the top toggle.  I also need to move the button on the inside of the coat so the collar edges sit together without a gap (I hate that gap, it’s driving me nuts!).

I lined the coat with a golden brown coat lining I know as ‘kasha’ lining.  It’s the rayon/cotton blend one that’s a satin weave on one side and flannel on the other.  Very upscale looking and very cozy!  I love that stuff.  I’m very disappointed that Fabricland has starting switching to a cheaper cotton/poly version that’s both thinner and has a cheaper-looking shiny-ness to it.  I’m tempted to just buy up whatever they have left of the old rayon/cotton kind, regardless of colour.  Of course, in Toronto I can get it at plenty of other stores, but I’m not there too often.  Anyhoo.  The colour I used in this coat would not have been my first choice, but the dark brown at Fabricland was the icky new cotton/poly type and I already had this piece that was also found at a thrift store.  I actually don’t mind it as much as I thought I would.  Or maybe the circumstances surrounding its use have made me less picky.

The lining is wrinkly because it turns out I finished this coat in perfect time for the weather to start taking chilly seriously, making a wool coat very welcome to start wearing!

Inside the coat is one button (which you can see in the first lining photo) and buttonhole to help keep it all together.  I made a bound buttonhole, but it’s practically invisible in the photos I took of it so am not bothering to add them here.  The bound buttonhole method I use is similar to this one Julia Bobbin blogged about here.  I also used the buttonhole backing/facing technique she shows and am NEVER going back to clipping and tucking under fiddly little bits of fabric that never ever end up looking even halfway decent on the underside of your beautifully executed bound buttonholes!  Seriously, TRY IT, you won’t regret it!

Next post should be my first “Tree” progress post – I’ve been working on the bodice foundation and the first layer of the skirt foundation.  And the main fabric for the dress arrived today – I’ll show it off soon, it’s SOOO gorgeous and a colour I’ve never worn before!