Good morning! I hope you had a fantastic weekend, friends! I spent a good chunk of it making a puffy coat. Or at least attempted to.
After a hackneyed research process, I stumbled upon the Alpine Wonderland Puffy Coat pattern, and it was exactly what I wanted to make for K. But wouldn’t you know it, I didn’t have quite enough of the fabric that K picked out of my stash, so I nixed the hood and improvised with the collar a bit. It’s a take on the chinese collar, and I quilted the piece just for the heck of it, but the whole vibe is whispering “construction worker” to me. I was striving for Parisian chic, but missed the mark on this one.
I don’t love it. One of K’s all time favorite coat that I’ve made is the Cadette Coat, but she outgrew that one in a nanosecond so I went up a size for this pattern (I cut the 10). So yes, she’s drowning in pseudo-puffiness:
On the plus side, this is a seriously toasty coat. I used wool batting and thick fleece for the lining, and with so much room to spare, K can layer about seventeen articles of clothing and still button this coat on top of ’em all.
“Homeless…..I look homeless,” she started to sing while wearing the coat, which leads me to believe that she is not in love with the coat either, though she likes the snuggly blue lining:
We’re going to call this a muslin. The outer fabric is twill, I think, and it has some sheen to it. Though the screen makes it look a blah beige, it actually has more peachy undertones to it and I can see why K likes this color so much. The collar and sleeve cuffs are a taupe-y stretch polyester blend of some kind, and I think this wasn’t the best overall choice. The coat is quite easy to assemble, though it’s tricky to get all those layers through the sewing machine — I had to push and pull a lot while sewing. I am, however, pretty keen on the pockets and the vintage gold buttons (from my mom, of course — and you should ignore the pink chalk marks I used to quilt the pieces):
Ah well. At least she has a truly winter appropriate coat now, and winter is definitely here in Seattle….Plus, I flexed some sewing muscles and I’m confident that the next one will be awesome. More than anything, where in the world did K get the “homeless” reference from? So mysterious.
I really like it!
Thanks Tameka! It’s definitely a good coat to have around – brrr, it’s cold these days!
You are fearless. I like it, too. I hate tight coats.
Well…reckless, maybe but not exactly fearless 😉 Thanks, Greta! This one has ample room for sure!
It is a bit big, but I am impressed you made a coat. Soon, K. will have nothing but home made clothes to wear from underwear to coats!
I love making coats, but this is the first time I made one with some serious batting/thick lining, so that was a great learning experience! It’s true…even though she’s holding onto the very few ready-to-wear items she still has in her wardrobe, their days are numbered. 🙂
I love it! I like the slightly military feel.
You’re right! It does have a bit of a military feel, Justine — that makes me like the coat more since I’m a fan of the military look. 🙂
I’m longing to make coat for the kiddos but am still looking for right fabric. Is it true that K outgrew the Cadette Coat, it seems you just made it yesterday. If so, do not hesitate to pass it to JC. Haha…!!
I hear you on the fabric conundrum, Yeka! I swore to myself that I wouldn’t go out and buy fabric for the coat, so my choices were pretty limited. If we still had the Cadette Coat, I would totally send it to you, but sadly, K lost it at school (it was already too small but she insisted on wearing it until it vanished into thin air)….
If the colour is the issue could you risk dyeing it? Love the buttons!
Hmmmmmm…..I have to admit that I’m pretty scared of dyeing things. Mostly because I have visions of getting dye everywhere in the house. But good idea, Sarah! Maybe a less-beige-y color would endear the coat to me more!
has she been listening to a lot of Paul Simon’s Graceland album? we would sing “homeless, we are homeless…” wouldn’t think kids these days would know that one but hey, it’s a classic. 😉
I feel like it’s ALMOST really good, hmmmm…like what if you did some cool metallic gold fabric paint splatter effect or stamped stars or something on there, it might be less “Carhartt” and more playful?
Paul Simon! Now there’s an oldie but goodie. I’m pretty sure K is in the dark as far as Graceland goes, but she has been taking voice lessons so maybe her voice teacher shared it with her? I’ll have to ask!
And ohmygosh, it’s totally Carhartt – nailed it, Kristin! I love the idea of gold paint splatter or stamped start (again, I’m a wimp when it comes to messy projects) but maybe some artful and no-mess hand-painting….ideas to ponder….
If you do anything to it, be sure to update us! 😉
But of course 😉 Thanks, Kristin!
Tastes will differ, but I think this looks great! I really like the neutral stone color with the big gold buttons and cuddly, surprise blue lining. Jackets are suppose to be a bit roomy, right? Plus, no harm in having some room to grow!
So true, Ebony! Better ginormous than tragically small, I say. And Ebony, your Ginger jeans!!! So, so great – I’m inspired!
Nice basic piece, how about adding a bright blingy scarf? Good work! I am impressed – a warm coat with all those layers is def. impressive work. :o)
A blingy scarf is the savior of all bland garments! Thanks for the suggestion, Beccy!
This actually doesn’t read as “construction worker” to me at all. Rather, a good neutral basic with a fantastic collar (really like the close up of the stitching) with a fun surprise in the blue lining. And if you have err on one side of too small or too big, you picked the right side:) I’m so super impressed that you tackle outwear with such a fearless attitude. I haven’t moved beyond a hoodie jacket in fear of completely messing up. Plus, Michigan winters are nothing to mess around with – I don’t know that I could make something warm enough when North Face already does it so well:)
North Face does nice work, it’s true. And they’re jackets are so thin and lightweight, yet so warm…You’re definitely going the smart route, Lucinda! I’m already plotting Alpine #2, but with a hood this time, masochist that I am. We’ll see how that pans out 🙂