A winter coatigan

This coat is a quickie winter layering piece. It's somewhere in between a coat and a cardigan. I think because it is draped and has no structure (in this fabric) and it is not lined, it feels like a big warm fluffy cardigan. I do love it...nothing like a secret or not so secret, blanket to snuggle under in Canberra's super cold winter.

The pattern is the Tessuti Sydney Jacket.

I made a size small and I think I could probably have done with making the extra small! I am in no way extra small - I am generally an Australian 12 - this pattern just runs super large.

Lots of lovely ladies have made it up in beautiful coloured boiled wools. I haven't seen any other patterned ones yet. I chose this beautiful black and white checked/houndstooth-esque wool blend from Spotlight. They had a 40% sale on mothers day and this was my treat to myself. It is woven on the outside and snuggly fleecy on the inside. So its totally perfect for this unlined jacket.

Well.....hmmm...perfect?
The pattern says "Ideally made up in boiled wool knits, ponti knits, boiled felted wools and neoprene fabrics. IMPORTANT: Not suitable for woven fabrics that fray when cut." This is because the fabric pieces are overlapped and so one of the cut edges is visible. I decided to ignore this advice because I happen to love the look of frayed wool, it adds a bit of texture and interest to the garment. AND I am not very good at doing what I am told...I am stubborn..very at times.

So I sewed the pieces together using a triple stitch to make it extra secure and then purposely frayed all the edges to make it fluffy! This was pretty easy.

The hard bit was the cutting and the pattern matching in the beginning! Having to cut bearing in mind the pattern placement and the overlapping 3/8inch and also bearing in mind all the other pattern bits and where they fitted. In the end I managed to match the two front pieces, the size seams, the back and the two back yoke pieces. I am stoked with the matching quite frankly!

 

I didn't bother with the two back under-arm pieces as they are hardly visible and my brain might have exploded trying! Now its not all perfect. I wanted to conserve as much fabric as poss. I hate wastage, especially when I have actually bought the fabric retail. I usually buy second hand fabric to reduce my environmental impact, and for the cost factor. I had more fabric than I needed for the jacket and I want to make a little bolero or waist coat or similar with the remnants. I therefore decided that I didn't care that the pattern was one way. There is a little arrow shape in the pattern, and so some pattern bits have an arrow going up, and others down. Really its only obvious if you look closely. I didn't want to waste fabric getting everything the right way up!

I also changed-up the pockets. The original calls for a kinda welt pocket inserted into the front of the jacket. Which looks really lovely. This would have been lost with the pattern so I decided to just add inseam pockets. I just ignored pattern piece A and cut two pairs of piece B. Easy. I used the snuggly side of the fabric on the inside, so my fingers will be super warm and happy all winter long, yay!

This coat was pretty quick to make and was a nice change of pace after the craziness of study. It was also a total procrastination piece. Am supposed to be working on my final coat assessment for class. Its due Wednesday. I am also supposed to be sewing a dress for Frocktails in 3 weeks. I havent even started that! Will not be going at this rate!!!

I spent a beautiful afternoon with my family down at the Cotter River, only about 20mins from my house. It was a beautiful sunny but cool and windy day. This jacket was just perfect for keeping out the chill. I hate being cold and I get cold easily. I actually felt kinda stylish, although I was of course covered in kid scum very quickly! I am sure you will find me wearing it all winter long!