A first coat

I love coats. I find that they elevate a look easily when they have classic cut and the right fit. I always thought it was going to be a big and difficult project but I wanted accept the challenge and attempt to make one. To my surprise, it was more manageable than I thought it would be. I used the pattern B6720 from Butterick in digital version. I made the view B, medium length.

I did see the limits of my sewing machine with this project. It had a rough time passing all the layers sometimes required. This machine is not as Heavy Duty as I expected. I made sure to use a jeans needle to sew this project as I was working with a bulky corduroy fabric. Something else that was time consuming was the cutting part. The fabric used was thick with multiple layers so I decided to cut all the pieces one by one instead of two by two when the fabric is folded.

The most arduous part in the construction is to stitch the collar to the back. It’s counterintuitive to stitch two concave corners together, The hem was a bit tricky also, to understand only from the pattern instructions, I had to refer to a tutorial to fully grasp the technique to finish it properly. I joined the sleeves and sleeves linings with a discreet slipstich by hand.

I purchased the fabric in the deadstock section of Abakhan. It was such a nice find and it was the very last coupon left of this beautiful quilted corduroy. The lining is from the same section, some grey quilted polyester.

The total cost of this project is approximately 37 euros. The fabric costed 26 euros for the coupon, it was sold by weight and the lining also sold by weight was around 5 euros. The pattern was on sale for 5$US. The thread was 1.50 euros.

I did do a test wear in the Estonian winter. I went outiside for approximately 20 minutes by -9C and it was keeping me warm enough. I’m very happy with the result, such a unique addition to my handmade wardrobe!