I am a coat girl. I probably have more coats/jackets than dresses in my closet. So now the weather is going to get colder, I had been pushing to make a new coat for this year. I really wanted to make a coat that would go with my 50s inspired dresses, which means it would flare out to accommodate the large skirt. Also, I really wanted to follow Gertie’s lady grey sew-along, as the lady grey is so cute, special, and feminine. However, I wanted a longer length coat, and the pattern was a little too pricy for me for one that I cannot print to adjust for my height, and one that I still have to alter. So I took a pattern in my stash, basic McCall M5525, altered it quite a bit, experimented with the collar, and made this perfectly fitted coat:
It was finally turning cold today and I wore this to my parents. Mom wanted some photos with me and her new dress:
Isnt she a stylish mom? She also gave me two brooches to wear on the lapel:
I think I copied the lapels and collar pretty well. Don’t you think? I just had to enlarge the lapels by a lot, and experimented with a piece of felt to get the collar look right:
I also wanted to go for a grand minimalist feel for this coat, if you know what I mean. I did not use any buttons (gasp!) and just went for belts. The pockets are very subtle and just look like a seam from the outside:
This is how the collar looks from the back. I love the look so much! I used a pretty light weight wool for the outside. the drape was pretty beautiful, especially before I top stitched all the seams and hemmed the coat. With the top stitch, the coat falls a little awkwardly, but I have this OCD that all my coats needs to have its seams top stitched (I LOVE top stitching, I can do it ALL day), so I did it anyway, but only 1 top stitch instead of my usual two! I think it still looks quite nice.
I also found a perfect silky polyester with a vintage feel to it, dark luxurious thin satin with purple (with exact color matching!) flowers. I also proudly announce that after making 6 lined coats, I got my method of lining coats down (I cheat on the sleeves, but oh wells!). It is perfectly lined, with the bottom on the lining sewn to the bottom of the shell:
All in all, I think I captured the elements I loved about lady grey with my alterations, which was quite straightforward given that it also had a princess seam (but not as pronounced and statement-al as lady grey), and all I needed to do is to add volume on the bottoms of the pieces, enlarge the lapel, come up with a lapel, and shorten the sleeves to a 3/4 sleeve (btw, as usual, all my coat sleeves are made with sleeves from Talea coat). I am slightly torn about making a tutorial on how to alter this. On one hand, I want to share with my readers on how I made this coat. But on the other hand, I dont want to rob Collete Patterns of any potential customers, as this IS sort of a copy of their pattern and I am sure they worked hard on the design! What do you think is the right thing to do, readers? Should I make a tutorial? For your reference, this is the technical drawing of the pattern I used, vs Lady Grey:
Anyway, front of the coat with a beret that I knitted from the softest organic cotton yarn, I didnt know I was going to make this purple coat at the time, but the color is kind of perfect for it:
So what do you think? Do you like this coat? I really really love it, there’s just something elegant, and loud about it!
Your coat is lovely and fits beautifully.
It looks wonderful! Like a million bucks. Great job!
I love the 3/4 sleeves and the drapy-ness of it! And of course that it’s purple and ‘loud’ =)
super cute!! I love the purplely goodness. great job!
Love it! I’m hoping to make a coat like this someday…how long do you think it took you to make?
i should start keeping a clock in my room and make sure i punch in and punch out! lol 🙂 i know that this took me a full week, and on every weekday i work on it for 1-3 hours. if I was concentrating the whole time, i think i might be able to finish this in 10-20 hours? it took a while for me to alter the pattern, which was a pain on parchment paper as it was not wide enough and doesnt stick to eachother.
oops, i meant full 2 weeks 🙂
Cute purple coat. Now I want one! Very flattering on you.
wow! mind boggling that you can make such a cute, girly, feminine coat so quickly… wonderful! and who takes all your photos? excellent job… must be someone who adores you as you look great in every shot.
aww, thank you! and yes indeed! my husband takes all the photos for me. he’s a really talented photographer and i feel very happy and comfy with him, hence the nice pictures!
beautiful purple coat! and i love the beret that goes with it too.
your coat is just awesome. i’d love a tutorial!
I think you did a really fantastic job with it!
It’s beautiful (you, the coat, and your mom, of course)! The color is stunning and I love how you made it longer! Hehe… I’m so far behind in my Lady Grey………..
aww thanks! 😀 i did skip a lot of steps, like muslin, or doing those little stitches to interface the lapel!
Stunning!!
Lovely coat! If only I were skilled enough to make myself one. Very flattering style and fit.
Wow! The coat is wow:) You look great. Good job!