The Coat

So I made this coat from a Simplicity Project Runway pattern. The fabric is a very heavy, little bit stretchy wool jersey. The lining is a Joel Dewberry "Deer Valley" print (that I was previously using as a table-cloth). The wooden buttons are re-used from some hand-made curtains I had in long-term storage. I am happy with the collar and the back pleating at the top. I am not happy with the heavy, strange way it feels while I am wearing it. Also, the armholes are too slim for me to feel comfortable wearing even a light-weight sweater. I also dis-like the way it tends to drape funny in the front panel -- this being due to my choice to fore-go interfacing. (I always feel like it makes a garment too stiff especially when I chose this fabric for the way it seemed to swing and drape.) The sad thing is that I'm not sure if I will actually wear it when winter hits next year. But I did learn quite a bit sewing it, including re-learning how to make button-holes -- something I hadn't done since high school (and, then, always with my mom right there to help). I am still in some experimental stages with sewing some dresses for myself, so this coat is part of an over-all experiment to see if I can make clothing for myself that I will actually want to wear on a daily basis. So far I am not very impressed with my results. But I am not giving up yet either.

I had the most fun doing the hand-stitching. It was a whim and the end result is a little "much" but it would be easy enough to pull out the stitching. For now, it was too much work to not leave it for awhile.

  

This photo is the closest to the actual colors.