Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: My New Favorite Fall Wool Coat

Hi- 

Hope all is well!  Well it’s that time of year again...fall wardrobe time!  Or shall I say “sewing up” your fall wardrobe time?  I have been busy sewing up as much as I can, before I miss out on the cooler temperatures coming our way in Las Vegas.  One "to sew" item on my list is a coat; therefore, when I saw this canary yellow wool melton coating (although I refer to this as "mustard-colored") from Fabric Mart, I jumped at the opportunity to get some of it.  Right away, I knew I wanted to make Simplicity 8469.  I like a few views of this pattern, but with this fabric I chose to make View A. I must say this is a relatively easy coat pattern to sew and I enjoyed making it.


This is my first time sewing with wool melton and the texture reminds me of felt.  I wasn’t sure how to pre-treat this fabric, so initially, I pressed and gave it a good steam.  As I was doing this, a lot of lint was coming off the fabric.



Then it occurred to me that if I put the fabric in the dryer on low to medium heat, perhaps I could get more lint to come off.  So I hung my fabric up and evenly sprayed it with water and threw it in the dryer with a couple of my lavender dryer sheets.  There was quite a bit of lint in the lint trap, but the fabric came out beautifully.  I read online that this fabric will continue to develop lint balls for awhile, but with more wear the amount of lint will decrease overtime.  In the meantime, I will just keep a lint shaver handy.



To sew this I used a size 80 or 90 universal needle and I switched to a size 60 or 70 microtex needle to sew my lining, because the lining fabric was a bit fragile.  Initially, I was going to use a neutral colored lining that I found in my stash.  Before pre-treating the lining, I cut the pocket lining out, so I could continue working while the lining was in the washing machine. 

 

Unfortunately, the rest of the neutral lining was ruined in the washing machine.  It developed some sort of stain pattern throughout that was very noticeable in person.  It may have been damaged by the detergent or it may have been a dry clean only fabric.  I think it was given to me, so I can’t say for certain what the proper care instructions should have been.  Therefore, I put my coat project on hold until I could figure out what lining to go with.  After thinking, thinking, and more thinking...one night as I was falling asleep, it’s like a voice in my head screamed LEOPARD PRINT!!!  Of course, this was the best way to go!  



The great news is I had about 4 to 5 yards of leopard print fabric that I picked up a few years ago.  I was never able to decide what I wanted to make with it.  I am a leopard print fanatic, seriously! I have so many items in leopard print, right down to my Snuggie!  So this fabric was special to me and I was saving it for just the right thing!  




Now I must say after sewing with this leopard print fabric, I feel that it is best suited for lining, but it didn’t stop me from making a quick blouse with the leftover.  I made it with Simplicity 8216, View C, which is a pattern I won’t make again, but it really did work for this look!  Go check out my blog to see the blouse without the coat on and read about my little mishap, that turned out okay.

While getting sewing tips for wool melton, I came across a tip that said you really don’t need to use interfacing with this fabric, because of its weight and stability.  I was a little skeptical, so I asked a sewing veteran, Carolyn from Diary of a Sewing Fanatic, for a little advice while chatting on Instagram DM.  She said that I should use interfacing in my facing or it would collapse, she recommended woven interfacing, silk organza, or cotton batiste/twill.  I went to my local fabric store and found a “cotton organdy” which I thought seemed similar to her suggestions after discussing with a couple of the ladies in the store.  It was my first time using sew-in interfacing and I am ADDICTED to using it for jacket/blazer/coat facings.  I have already used sew-in interfacing again in a blazer project that I completed.  I love not getting the shrinkage and bubbling from the fusible interfacing that I use normally.  I was confident that my local fabric store would carry the silk organza interfacing that Carolyn suggested, so I stalled on ordering it for this coat.  However, I still want to order some to have on hand for the next great fabric.




I used magnetic snaps for the closures and these snaps are so great, because they just "automatically" snap into place.  They are also very easy to un-snap to allow the coat to be worn open.  Most of the times I like to wear my coat open, unless it is really cold outside.





I have mentioned on my Instastories that I don’t split, open up, or trim down darts even if they are big, BUT this fabric was so thick that it was necessary for me to split the darts open on this coat.  (Okay pardon my lighting in some of these pictures coming up below, but hopefully you are able to see the details.)



I had a little fun with top stitching, which actually served two purposes...1) to keep the bulky seams in place and 2) to add a little extra detail to the design.







For the sleeve, I wanted to double-over the wool fabric to make the bell portion, but I did not have enough fabric to do it.  I wasn’t interested in lining it per the instructions, so I cut them as single pieces and finished it with neutral bias tape.




I want to make this coat again, but in View C.  It would be amazing to have the cap sleeve version of this coat to wear with long sleeve shirts and turtlenecks for a cool fall evening.

Well, that's all I have for this post, until next time take care. Don't forget to check out my blog for more details on the blouse!


Yours truly, Tee

Maggie Elaine Blog


Comments

  1. Stunning---and the leopard lining is fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you 365!!! I am so glad it worked out after my initial didn't.

      Delete
  2. Love the lining! Beautiful coat. You did an excellent job!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Anon! This was a really fun coat to make!

      Delete
  3. This was a great review and a lovely coat. Thank you for all the tips I purchased this fabric and I'm excited to use it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Morgan! I hope you enjoy your make with it

      Delete
  4. So adorable, and wearable! Great work with the top stitching!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the coat and the lining sets it off. The detail is beautiful, yet simple. I'm such a animal print person this is right up my alley.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Taaaa Daaaaa!!!!! Beautiful You.

    ReplyDelete
  7. One word needed to describe your coat.....Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this coat on you, which says alot because I did not care for it on pattern envelope. I also love this coal wool and agree it leans more to mustard than canary.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I agree, the pattern cover with the orange coat and bigger sleeves didn't win me over at all. Luckily, I saw the two views in the smaller illustrations before I passed on it. Those won me over.

      Delete
  9. Very pretty coat Maggie and you did an awesome job. I’m getting ready to make my version too and will definitely use your tips.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made by a Fabricista: Milo + Citrine

Hello sewing friends! It’s Andrea - @happy.things.here on IG and today I’m on the blog to share some sew inspo on one of my favorite kinds of garments to make – cardigans! I absolutely love making them and wearing them year-round, whether it’s an extra layer for around my house in the winter, as my outermost layer in Spring and Fall, or paired with a dress on a cooler summer evening. I love love love cardigans! And there are so many great cardigan patterns out there – chances are that each of your favorite pattern companies offers multiple cardigan patterns. Button-less cardigans are great beginner patterns, and a handmade cardigan is a lovely personalized gift since it’s more forgiving for fit and you don’t have to know someone’s exact measurements to make one. And you can make them in all sorts of knit fabrics too.  Today I chose two cardigan patterns to share with you that I think bring a little something extra to the table. They are the Seamwork Milo and the Made by Rae Citrine.

Week 4: Jeansmaking- What They Made

This is it, the final round! And we certainly did not go easy on our three remaining contestants this time. This round they had to make their own pair of well fitting jeans. I think they all did an absolutely outstanding job! Take a look what these ladies accomplished & be sure to vote for your favorite! (Link at bottom of post.) And, don't forget to show us your me-made jeans on Facebook or Instagram. Details at the bottom of this post. Danesha from  Classyfied Life So first I must say that this entire challenge has been just that...a challenge! Two weeks ago there was hurricane Irma and I was blessed enough to not lose power and then I went out into the aftermath to capture some photos of my submission. Then two weeks ago I had a big trip planned so I had to do EVERYTHING  in two days . Then the BIGGEST challenge of all...THIS week! I got the challenge and I was super excited to have an extra few days and then before I could even get started I ended up in the eme

Made by a Fabricista: Revving up your style in the Dana Marie Moto Jacket

Hey friends - I am so excited to have been invited to participate as a Fabric Mart Fabricista this month!  This year is the year I challenge my sewing skills.   I have wanted a moto jacket for some time.  Not just any moto jacket but one that has a classic and timeless style. I saw the Dana Marie Moto Jacket pattern on the Fabric Mart website and knew that was the one.  The fabric I used was a beautiful porcelain white/black/silver 100% polyester plaid weave boucle suiting.    Remember when I said I wanted to challenge my sewing skills?  😉 This fabric was beautiful but fragile to work with.  It was a great mental challenge that had me problem solving before sewing to avoid any potential problems.  I first traced out the pattern onto tissue paper to determine the fit.   I used scrap cotton fabric to sew up a “practice run” of the jacket.    I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the jacket comes together.   I sewed up the muslin in one evening.  It was time to cut into the beautifu