Pattern Crushes: Fall/Winter Coats Edition

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015 Dani Malloy5 Comments

I’m torn about planning a seasonal wardrobe. I tried it for the first time this past March, when I posted what I considered to be a reasonable spring/summer sewing plan. “I can finish this in a few months, easy!” Not so easy it turns out, especially when you live in Chicago, a city that kicks any other city’s ass during the summer. Those sweet, sweet months between May and August begot more frequent late nights, beach volleyball, and patio drinkin’—and quite a bit less sewing.

My seasonal sewing plan wasn’t a complete bust, though. Here’s how I fared:

Sleeveless Button Up: I finally blew out the elbow on my favorite pink Levi’s shirt, so I lopped off the sleeves, took in the sides a bit to compensate for the deeper armhole, and bound the raw armscye with self-made bias tape. Cheating? Possibly. But I’m all for upcycling, so this one’s still a win in my book.

Solid Knit Tee: I made a knit Scout with some super-stretchy blue knit from my stash, but the ribbing I used for the neck band turned out a little gapey. I still wear this T-shirt, but it will probably be replaced by the arsenal of Lark Tees I’m planning on making. One down, at least five to go.

Floral Shift Dress: Colette’s Laurel in a floral cotton did the trick.

Printed Shorts: Nope. Next year: Maritime shorts. I hope.

Full Skirt: How did I not make this one happen?! A daggum SKIRT???!! I’m embarrassed, y’alls.

Woven Straight-Leg Pants: You can’t say I didn’t try. Try, and fail somewhat miserably.

The overall outcome could’ve been worse, but I still don’t feel great about failing to meet my goal. This season, I’ve decided to play it by ear, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been ruminating. Let’s get real: people who sew also love to plan. I already bought some deep-red herringbone flannel for another Archer (view A this time), and I’m trying to drum up the courage to finally sew some Ginger Jeans.

But the number-one-must-absolutely-try-to-attempt item on my list is a winter coat. I know it’s early, but if I don’t get started soon it simply won’t get done. I’m not trying to make a coat to withstand the 0º F days of a Chicago winter; those days are for my Michelin-man Eddie Bauer down parka. I would, however, love to sew a heavyweight coat that’s not only warm enough to get me through most of the winter unscathed, but also cute enough that I’m not embarrassed to wear it in public.

I’ve been scouring the web for intermediate-level patterns (sometimes in vain), since the only coats I’ve sewn thus far are the Willy Wonka corduroy monstrosities that I made for Halloween last year. I’ve narrowed it down to the following patterns:

Cascade Duffel Coat, Grainline Studio

Difficulty: advanced

Design details: slightly A-line toggle coat with optional hood

Pros: Made up in a nice wool, this would be insanely warm. And it’s got a hood!

Cons: It’s pretty sporty, and I find myself drawn to more feminine coats lately. I also already own a coat with toggles, albeit in a much lighter fabric.

Andy Coat, Named Patterns

Difficulty: advanced

Design details: collarless belted coat with welt pockets and asymmetrical button stand

Pros: Who doesn’t love a good waist-cinching belt? And no collar means all the scarves.

Cons: No collar also means it runs the risk of looking homespun?

Simplicty 1254 by Leanne Marshall

Difficulty: easy (I’m skeptical)

Design details: fitted coat with an oversize collar that doubles as a hood

Pros: I love the look of the concealed zipper band and in-seam pockets.

Cons: That collar looks like it might swallow my head. Reviews note that the instructions are lacking, which might be a problem for me.

Paneled Coat #126, Burda

Difficulty: intermediate

Design details: fitted coat with panels, hidden pockets, and a lapel-free collar

Pros: The lines on this look modern and incredibly flattering. And, maybe it’s just the styling, but d-d-dayum this thing looks sexy for a winter coat.

Cons: While the neckline screams for a scarf, it might be a little too open to be practical for cold weather.

Long Wool Coat #104, Burda

Difficulty: intermediate

Design details: Long, semifitted coat with passants (shoulder straps) and one asymmetrical row of military-style buttons.

Pros: According to Burda, this coat is “the ideal accompaniment for a quiet walk.” Burda, go home, you’re drunk. But for reals, this coat looks polished and timeless.

Cons: I haven’t gone the military-style route before, and I’m a little afraid this will look too preppy on me.

There are several more jackets on my Sewing Pattern Crushes Pinterest board, but I find myself consistently navigating back to these five coats. Please comment if you’ve tried one of the patterns before!

I’m still pretty intimidated by the thought of making a heavy-duty garment like this, but I’m determined to give it a go. Have you ever sewn your own winter coat?

Inari Tee Dress in Tencel Denim

September 10, 2015September 10, 2015 Dani Malloy13 Comments

After last week’s unfortunate pants episode, I’m happy to say that I love this dress. It’s my second version of the Inari Tee Dress from Named Patterns. instead of a knit, this time I sewed it up in a soft, lightweight tencel-denim blend. Have you ever felt tencel? I first laid hands on a tencel shirt in my one of my favorite Chicago boutiques, Study Hall. (If that shirt wasn’t a gnarly shade of Barney purple, I’d probably be wearing it right now.) It was incredibly soft and had such a pretty, fluid drape. Bonus points that tencel turns out to be biodegradable and sustainable! Sweet.

This fabric was so easy to work with—aside from the fierce fraying—that I’m letting it dictate my next make. Fabric.com is out of yardage in this color, but I’m planning on picking up some similar tencel chambray in a darker color to make another Archer. (Maybe with cuffs and a pocket made from remnants of the lighter fabric?! The wheels are a turnin’!)

As I said, the innards were fraying like a beast after finishing them with a zigzag stitch, so I experimented with some binding for the side seams. Plus, the vented hem just cries out for a little extra something on the inside.

Experimenting is the key word here. I made some double-fold bias tape from leftover floral cotton and used it to create bias-bound side seams on one side (top image) and a Hong Kong bound seam on the other (bottom image). Honestly, I can’t remember my thought process or the steps I took when it came to the finish at the vent, but it necessitated a different treatment than the side seam. As you can see, things got a little wonky at both vent openings, especially on the Honk Kong side. I zigzagged any raw edges to prevent any further unraveling. Any tips for finishing a vented hem? I’m wondering if a simple zigzag finish (or overlocked edge if you have a serger) is the best option.

As if some janky floral bias tape wasn’t enough, I also added decorative stitches at the vent. I seriously felt like a kid discovering Doritos for the first time when I started playing around with the decorative stitches on my machine. I settled on these loops, which are inconspicuous because of the near-matching thread. It’s all about those little details, amirite?!

The Nitty Gritty

Fit: Again, I sewed a US size 8. Since my knit garment was so large at first (like, large even for a fabric with lots of stretch), I sewed the side seams at a 5/8″ seam allowance. I should’ve stuck with the pattern’s recommended 3/8″ SA, though, since I could use a teensy bit more room at the upper thigh. I thought about letting it out, but the dress was still comfy after two full days of wear. Just no sumo squats in this!

Neckline: I forwent the facing pieces and finished the neckline with a self bias facing. As always, I used the method outlined in this Grainline tutorial to get that sucker lying flat.

Sleeves: I did a shoddy job setting the sleeves the first time around (I guess I’m rusty sewing them in the round?!), so I unpicked them and took my time pinning and easing. Unfortunately, the stitches from the previous seam are visible. Any tips for fixing that? I have enough fabric to sew new sleeves, but the marks don’t bother me too much right now.

Sleeve detail: Again with the decorative stitches—I can’t stop myself! Instead of sewing the sleeve detail to the sleeve by hand, I used this pointed-oval stitch. It turned into a fish since I didn’t stop quickly enough. Kinda cute?

This dress is seriously so fun to wear. I’d say that after sewing two Inaris within a month, I should give the pattern a rest for awhile, but I can see making this up in a slightly heavier weight wool jersey to pair with tights this fall.

That gets me thinking: Are you geared up for fall sewing? I’m going to go with the flow this season and work on things as inspiration (or a new pattern!) comes along. And then there’s Halloween! But that holiday deserves its own post. Soon enough, my costume-loving friends, soon enough. 😀

Knit Inari Tee Dress

August 21, 2015 Dani Malloy8 Comments

Some sewing projects are a labor of love. Maybe you take extra care cutting a slippery fabric (rayon spandex: I’m lookin’ at you), or maybe you take the time to hand sew an invisible hem. For me, button-up shirts and silly, time-consuming Halloween costumes fall into the Labor of Love category. If you’re Morgan from Crab & Bee, your sister’s insanely gorgeous wedding dress falls into that category. If there’s an award for Sewing Goddess of the Year, Morgan deserves it. I don’t even want to know how many hours she put into conceptualizing, pattern hacking, and sewing that two-piece gown. All I know is that It. Paid. Off.

But, life is full of ebbs and flows. Sometimes literally: This week, my apartment flooded during a flash flood, but then I got a haircut I really like. See?! For every action there’s a reaction. Yin and Yang. Fire and Water. Easy and Hard. For every painstaking sewing project we put ourselves through, there is another satisfying, easy-peasy one waiting in the wings.

And that’s where the Inari Tee Dress dress comes in. I spotted this loose-fitting dress over on Heather’s blog and immediately fell in love. I’d been meaning to try a Named Patterns garment for awhile now, and their take on the tee dress is just so chic. It’s got a cocoon silhouette that just skims the body, a split hem (cue googly eyes) that’s slightly longer in back, and sleeves with a permanently rolled up effect. Basically, this thing is crying out for Madewell-style knockoffs from the sewing world. (It’s our DUTY, people.)

The Inari Tee Dress, which is a 2-for-1 pattern that also includes a crop tee option, calls for woven fabric or knit fabric with “slight stretch.” Since I wanted to do a test version before I cut into my precious tencel denim, I decided to do some serious stash-busting. The gray fabric is leftover from my Sallie romper, and the blue knit is leftover from a tank top I made for Marc and a knit Scout. It definitely has more than some “slight” stretch. To accommodate for this, I sewed the US size 8 with 1″ side seam allowances (grading to 1/2″ at the armhole) instead of the prescribed 3/8″. Anything more fitted might be venturing into bodycon, which would not be in keeping with the pattern’s slouchy, effortless style.

inari tee dress

Even now, the material clings a LOT, especially when you’re in the midst of a wind gust. Despite its clinginess, I love this dress and have already worn it a few times. The drafting of the knit neckband is pretty spot on (no gaping to speak of!) and construction was a breeze. I used my walking foot, a lightning bolt stitch, and ballpoint needle to sew everything together. To hem the bottom, I just used a simple zigzag stitch, flipping to a longer straight stitch at the side vents. Next time, I’ll understitch the rolled-up accent on the sleeve to keep the seam on the inside, and I’ll probably use a facing instead of a knit neckband when I sew this up in a woven.

Have you tried any patterns from Named? I’ve had my eye on the Alexandria Peg Trousers and Kielo Wrap Dress for awhile now. After Inari, I might not be able to help myself…

Sewing & Cocktails

Come for the drinks. Stay for the clothes.

Tag: named patterns