A Nice Winter Coat!

I have lots of warm, weather proof jackets.  Waterproof parka, full length waterproof coat, all very utilitarian.  None of them are particularly dress or dress up friendly.  I looked at RTW and was uninspired.  I always have two problems, the fact that I am short altogether and the fact that my arms are of T. Rex proportions.  And I HATE sleeves that drape over my hands.  They make me feel awkward and somehow child like.  So, I scrapped the idea of instant gratification and embarked upon making my own coat.

I purchased the 100% Italian wool from Pacific Fabrics in Bellevue, WA.  It is a warm beige tweed with Forest green, deep red and other colored threads woven in.  It is soft and lush and just what I wanted:  neutral without being black (which makes me look very pale like a denizen of a Twilight movie) and without being boring.

I chose a very feminine coat style with princess seams and a wide skirt, McCalls 6800 Misses'/Miss Petite Lined Coats, Belt and Detachable Collar and Hood.  I liked the longer View A with the wide lapels, but did not care for the mullet hem.  This seemed like a very trendy style feature to me and I did not want a coat, made out of fine wool, to appear completely dated in only one or two years.  So I simply lengthened the front pieces to match the back, creating a knee length coat all around.

I used a weft insertion interfacing to fully interface the front pieces on the coat.  I also used it to interface the front facings.  I made a back stay out of sturdy cotton.  I started to add shoulder pads during the construction, but when I tried on the coat, it was too much.  I have very wide muscular shoulders, the pads made me look like I was trying to revive the 1980s!  I lined the coat with matching bemberg rayon lining.

Here is the finished result!

First on Lyntu, the hem is actually the same all around,  The folds make it look shorter in the front, but it is not.

A better look at the wide lapel.

On me!  OK, here is something new for this blog.  My sweet husband bought me a new camera for my birthday last October.  It is a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX50.  It is still a point and shoot but only just a smidge removed from a DSLR.  One of it's great features is that you can use your smart phone as a remote!  You connect the two via bluetooth and then you can see the picture on the screen of your phone and use the phone to activate the shutter.  So, I am not obsessed with my phone and unable to put it down even for these pictures, it is my picture remote!

Back view

Lovely wide skirt.

I am really happy with how this coat turned out!