Three Coats in 2021...

I have managed to make no less than three coats so far in 2021. My first Eden Coat by Tilly and the Buttons was such an enjoyable sew and a truly brilliant coat to wear but I had no real intention of making another one. I ended up making another one however when I let my mum try on my Gustav Klimt patterned coat. I was happy to make her one too knowing it would be successful with all that I had learnt from the first project.

I did order a bit less of the waterproof fabric this second time because I had quite a bit left over on the first coat but I still seemed to have a sizeable remnant left over; more than just a matching shopping bags worth. My youngest started to swoop in with subtle subliminal messages about how her current mac was not long enough to sit on and keep her bottom dry....

Call me a sucker but I knocked out another coat! This time I had to find a child version. A trawl through my vintage patterns found this retro mac which was a little big but allows room for growth. Megan can be a very tricky customer, the kind you might find on Saville Row - lots of requests for tiny details to either be added or removed - the brief was tight but I am a capricorn!

There was a panic in the back of her eyes when I showed her the pattern - maybe she thought I would make her wear orange tights or something - but after lots of encouragement to help her see the design lines rather than the artistic pattern cover illustration, I got the go ahead.

The vintage pattern was not lined but I used all the transferable skills I had learnt making the Eden coat to line hers with some slinky jersey I had from my Pound a Metre jersey bundle.

While the children remain at home, sewing is happening with earnest as I try to find alternative things to do which do not involve me using the PC or laptop but are fleeting enough for them to stop me and ask about mathematical ratios, help annotate the wordsworth poem 'Daffodils' or to join in with a PE workout! 

Hope you are staying safe and enjoying some sunshine. 

Love Jo xx

Eden Raincoat

 Hurrah! I finished the Eden Coat by Tilly and the Buttons which I started making at the start of January. I won't give you a blow by blow account here but suffice to say it is a thing of beauty. Enjoy the pictures from our back garden.

This coat malarky is an investment in time and money but I thought in lockdown, what else should I spend my time doing? The pattern is only available as a digital download and I couldn't face sticking together a mahoosive amount of A4 paper, not when we need the paper and ink supplies for home-schooling so I tried something new. I emailed the A0 copysheets to a pattern printer called sew pattern printing that I saw on facebook. I had them sent through the door. I highly recommend this(£2 an A0 sheet)as a way to print out large or complex patterns.

The waterproof fabric is from flamingo fabrics this one is called Gustav Klimt. I cut a size 5 from the size chart. If I am honest, I had already over reached myself budget wise with the pattern and outer fabric so I simply used up a piece of Ponte Roma for the hood and body lining and a piece of skirt lining for the sleeves to make them slippy, both which I already had. The only mod I made was to lengthen the sleeves and add a piece of ponte roma to the end of the sleeve lining. In the words of the late great Victoria wood: I like something to wipe my nose on!

This is the full features version with storm flaps, zip and poppers and pleated pockets but you could try a simpler version to gain confidence.

It is a triumph and one of the best things I have ever made. A 'home and dry' start to my 2021 crafting resolutions. 

Thanks for dropping by. Stay Safe, and dry wherever you are. Jo x