Made by a Fabricista: Mint Wool Jill Coatigan and Double Knit Rivermont Dress

Hello Fabricistas! It's Meg from Cookin' and Craftin' and I've got a two-for-one post for you today... a coat and a dress, perfect for the chilly weather.

First, the coat: this is the Jill Coatigan from Seamwork, which Seamwork describes as "an easy-to-sew, over-sized coatigan that can be made in chunky sweater knits and thick wool coatings."

Size-wise, I opted for a large. My measurements put me at the high end of large for the bust and the low end of XL at the hip. I'm happy with the fit, although, especially in this fabric, I'm finding Jill to be more coat than cardigan. If I wanted a cardigan or was planning to use a stretchier fabric, I would probably go down a size.

The fabric I used is a fun mint colored wool/poly blend boiled wool knit from Fabric Mart, of course. It's a low-stretch knit that I just treated like a woven, essentially. It has a cool nubby texture on the outside and more of a stable knit look on the wrong side. The mint is outside of my normal color palette, but it has a very pleasant ice-queen-y feel to it that I like!

The Jill coatigan is unlined, so to make the insides look nice, I bias bound all of the seams and edges with printed quilting cotton bias tape leftover from last summer. I hand sewed the sleeves and hem,which is very unlike me, but looks very nice. The thick, nubby wool absorbed my messy stitches very well and the final result looks pretty nice!

I love my mint boiled wool coat(igan)! It's quite cozy and warm. The angled patch pockets are perfect for keeping your hands warm and the shawl collar lays quite nicely. The mint color is just lovely and fun to wear, although I do worry about spilling coffee on it every morning!

Now, the dress: this is the Cashmerette Rivermont, which is designed for heavier knits like ponte, double knit or scuba, is described as "fitted sheath dress with slash pockets and optional kick pleat." 

The Rivermont has a lovely high neckline, lots of darts for shaping in the bust, back and skirt, and three sleeve lengths, and no closures (yas!). Of course it has Cashmerette's signature cup sizes.

For my dress, the fabric I chose from Fabric Mart is a cool crinkly double knit in a cotton/poly/lycra blend, which is sadly now sold out (but Fabric Mart has tons of other double knits and ponte fabrics perfect for the Rivermont). I love the matte crinkle texture of this fabric and the blend makes it a very wearable weight and feel.

This Rivermont is a size 16 C/D with the long sleeves. The fit is pretty great right out of the envelope. I especially like the fit and look of this dress in the back, which I don't often say!

Construction-wise, I stuck with Jenny's instructions, which were great, as usual. I did one additional step, which is to stitch-in-the-ditch at each dart to get the waist seam to stay pressed downwards. Speaking of pockets, next time I might use a thinner material for my pocket facing to reduce bulk.

I really like my final Rivermont dress, though! A little bit more conservative, style-wise, than I typically go for, but quite useful. I think I'll likely punch it up with a loud blazer or big necklace when I wear it to work. It will be a great dress for giving presentations or representing my department at big meetings, etc.

My Rivermont dress and Jill Coatigan are a great pairing! Thanks for the gorgeous fabrics, as usual, Fabric Mart!