Winter Coat
Fully lined!
This coat brightens up my winter days, and has been worn constantly: I didn’t bother with a toile so it was just lucky that I needed to make very few adjustments to the original pattern. Instead of a button at the front I made a belt - using one from a bathrobe as a guide to get the length right - and attached a couple of loops on the back to keep it in place. The trickiest part was getting the lining to hang correctly under the coat, without pulling it down or warping the line of the hem, which I ended up doing by lining things up from the outside in and then reversing, tacking, checking, adjusting, and finally sewing immediately on top of the tacking stitches. I went back in and tidied the edges a couple of weeks after finishing, as the corners were a little bulky and pockets immediately split, teaching me always to edge my lining even if it’s not going to be seen :). I fixed them with some overstitching and a double row of straight stitches. Excitingly, this was my first garment to get one of my labels!
Wear: At least once a week in the winter, and it gives me a little mood boost every time. It’s a good length for swishing around, and it feels like being wrapped in a warm blanket whilst still looking smart.