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Sunday 31 May 2015

Finished Ottobre trench


Last week I finished my spring coat. Lately we've been having lots of showers and some heavy winds and I'm happy to report my coat was just the right weight for walking the dog and cycling to the grocery store! Taking pictures was a bit of an ordeal, hair and coat either soaking wet or blown out of shape, but I finally took advantage of some dry spells. The joys of Dutch spring ;)

First some construction details. In the previous post I just finished the bound buttonholes. I continued by adding the collar and collar stand, cutting the lining and adding flat piping between front facing and lining.


On the left you see the outer shell and lining ready to be joined. I added some piping to the hanging loop because I love these little details that make a garment truly one of a kind. Not speeding things up, but it brings a smile to my face whenever I grab my coat. Fast forward six weeks and it's starting to look like a proper coat:


From leftover lining fabric and some fringe I made a matching scarf.


Why did it take so long? A mix of sewing time being scarce and a lot of time consuming details. The pattern (Ottobre 2/2014#20) was well drafted, the instructions were well written and very clear. My own decisions to add underlining and make bound buttonholes caused some delay but I would not have it any other way. 

Clockwise: ivory piping, epaulettes, bound buttonhole, collar detail






Told you it was raining! Some thoughts on the fit: I would have preferred this coat to be slightly longer. As I mentioned here I already added 1 cm above the waistline and 5 cm below and ran out of fabric. The upper bust and upper back regions are a bit roomy. Part of it is intentional because I want to be able to wear the coat over tailored jackets for work. When I'm wearing a jacket with shoulder pads on the coat all wrinkles disappear, when I'm wearing just a shirt underneath the coat it looks like I should have gone one size down. Well, you can't have it both ways and I tend to wear my coats open all the time anyway.


Edit: after test driving the coat for a few more days I think the length is just right for cycling.



What's next? Tempting as it is to pick up my Chanel jacket and finish it, I want to make some summer skirts and tops first. Quick results please, for a change!

Happy sewing!