Whilst I was making this coat I started to worry that by the time I finished it, the weather would have warmed up, and I wouldn’t need to wear it. Most people would make a coat at the start of the winter. Nah! I’m gonna make my coat at the end of the winter and then not be able to wear it! Well I needn’t have worried. The weather remains resolutely chilly, with blustery, bitingly cold winds. Perfect!
I could have made this coat months ago. I had the fabric. A beautiful mouflon felt wool from Dragonfly fabrics, like, 4 months ago. Truth be told, the delay was in no small way, down to the fabric being so lush that I was a tad intimidated about cutting into it until I had it clear in my head exactly what I was going  to do with it. I originally had loose plans for a self drafted kimono style coat with big cuffs. And actually that would have been easy enough to do. But the fear got me! I’d never made a lined coat before. (I’ll come onto the delicious lining in a bit!). I knew the lining and shell fabric combo I’d selected had the potential to be super lovely. And I didn’t want to squander that on an experiment. So I played it safe and opted to use a pattern. Enter the snappily titled “Three Quarter Sleeve Coat 08/2014 #102” from Burda. Originally from a 2014 issue of the magazine I believe, but now available in pdf format…
I really liked the simplicity of the design and it was very similar to a raft of coat images I’d been pinning for inspiration. The proportions were fun too. Huge oversized pockets and 3/4 length bell sleeves. It’s just about the right side of oversized for me, without feeling like I’m drowning in coat…
And yeah…I lined this puppy, and I did a pretty good job!!
So here it is in close up…
The neckline was one of the things that appealed to me about this coat. Â I don’t like fussy collars. And this is the perfect shape to wear as is, or pop a cowl over the top on super cold days without it getting all caught up on a collar. This part did require a little fitting. There was some annoying gaping at the back neckline, which I resolved by adding 2 x 1″ Â neck darts (about 4″ long) either side of the CB on the shell, then taking the equivalent amount out of the back neck facing at the CB.
I also really liked the clean finish on the outside….
Achieved by virtue of these giant snaps in a gunmetal grey!  Not visible when the coat is done up. This is a good time to mention the front overlap on this pattern. I took an inch off the entire length of the opening on either side. The overlap was mightily excessive in my view and I could probably still have gotten away with  a bit more; and shaving that much off also takes the proportions down a notch; as this pattern has much roomier proportions than the photo on the site might suggest. It looks much neater and more compact in the pattern image than it is in reality. 
It’s fine, because I love my new coat! But I had to make a few tweaks to get it there, ya know? The original “straight from the pattern” coat swamped me and I am by no means tiny. The fit in the armhole was right so I knew it wasn’t just a case of cutting it too big. Apart from the fit adjustments at the neck and overlap I also shaved a good 4″ off the length.
So the snaps  I used in the end are these gunmetal grey ones. Purchased on Ebay at £5.50 for 10. Which is pretty good value I think.  At 25mm in diameter they are a decent size and fit well with the colour and oversized proportions of the coat. Originally I really, really, REALLY wanted to use these larger poppers (below left and at the back in the image above). At 30mm they are roughly the size of a 50p coin and would have looked crazy in a good way. Sadly for the colour of the coat they just looked a little too shiny and contrasty and I couldn’t get that size in the gunmetal or black. But I’m sure I’ll use them at some point!
Talking of oversized! Another favourite feature of this coat for me are the huuuuuuge pockets! I didn’t face these as the pattern called for. Nor did I turn the edges under. Reasoning that my machine may struggle with the bulk and that this was a felt wool so wouldn’t fray. So I simply top stitched my pocket in place like so…
I juuuuust about got away with this. Despite the name of this fabric it’s not quite like felt in the fraying stakes. There is a slight tendency for fraying. You can just about see some “whiskers” at the base of my pocket. Call me weird but this doesn’t bother me one jot. It’s not the kind of fraying that is going to affect the integrity of your seams, I trimmed away the worst offenders and I am a fan of slightly “unfinished” finishes. So I’m good. But worth a mention. Also worth a mention is the pocket placement on the pattern. Just ignore it! It’s waaaaay to low! I placed mine according to where my sleeve finished with my arms at my side; so that the pockets take up the slack of the shorter sleeves and keep my wrists warm!
Also a good opportunity, with this picture and the one above, to talk about the surface texture of this fabric. One side is felt like and softly bristled. The other side (which I think is technically the wrong side, lol) is super hairy and kinda like a sparse mohair, and that is the side that I used. Just because! I figure if it’s already fluffy, then any fluff it picks up will just look like it was meant to be there, right? In any case….look at that texture. Love!
So also featured above is a close up of the seaming detail at the neck/shoulder which is another nice feature of this pattern. The shoulder and sleeves are split up into sections and seamed together which gives an interesting point of interest to an otherwise plain coat. I topstitched either side of all of those seams to accentuate and bring them out even more.
In terms of pressing this wool. Some steam and a satisfying “thwack” with a chunky wooden object will give you a satisfactorily crisp edge 😉
As can be seen below. The bulkiest part where the facing meets the hem and the lining….just gave that a ruddy good bashing and the job was a goodun…
Which of course brings me nicely onto the lining and how beautifully it goes with the mouflon wool!
It’s this dotty black and grey viscose lining from The Splendid Stitch. What I love about it, apart from how silky it feels, is the fact that the dots are random and irregularly placed and shaped. Which lends a kind of cheeky rebelliousness to a traditionally  girly fabric….
If we can all take a moment to admire that sheen….and that well inserted lining….and the fact that I even took the time to purchase and sew on a hanging loop…
Which might lead you to conclude that I consider this coat to be a success and a keeper…
Well, you’d be right! And just for the record when it comes to these photos…I did brush my hair before I left the house….it was just really, REALLY windy that day. But that’s ok. Cos mama’s got a brand new coat 😉