I really needed a new winter coat. I love those classic long black coats with (faux) fur collar, but apparently it is very much out of fashion, so I couldn’t find it in stores. (Current fashion favours straight forms, and the only way you can show a waistline in garments, is to tie them with a belt like a bath robe. 🙁) I found about two coats I liked online, but they were all too tight for me (I have rather broad shoulders and I really need wiggling room there and be able to lift my arms when I ride my bike to work!). So I did what I always do when I want something and cannot buy it: make it myself!
The summer period is, of course, not exactly ideal for finding mantle wool fabric and faux fur. Especially since most faux fur looks very fake. I wanted something that looked a bit more luxurious and, moreover, didn’t stand up too high and therefore become too bulky. Fortunately, it turned out I still had just enough beautiful faux fur in stock – a leftover from another project. Miraculously, I did find mantle wool, somewhere in a clearance pile, for only €5 per meter! Score!! That is, at least, the advantage of buying wool in the middle of summer.
I used Burda pattern 6387 as a base. Naturally, with some adjustments. I found the fur accents quite intense, so I narrowed the collar to shoulder width and roughly halved the sleeve cuffs. And although it looks like a nicely fitted coat in the sample picture, in practice it turned out to be quite a wide sack, so I also narrowed the sleeves and took it in significantly at the back to accommodate my hollow back. I moved the buttons to different positions. I also moved the pocket openings upwards (dear pattern designers: petite people have shorter arms, so for small pattern sizes, you should move those pockets up too!). Finally, I omitted the belt.
On second thought, I should have reduced the neckline as well. I feel that the collar extends too far down; I think it would have suited me better if it had closed a little higher. But unfortunately, that is something I should have considered during the pattern phase, because once you have cut the fabric, there is nothing more you can do about it. And although I had made a test model first, it wasn’t noticeable then. Moreover, the sample image on the pattern doesn’t seem to correspond entirely with reality here either… I tried to fix it by adding a hook on the inside that fastens it just a little bit higher.
I also sewed a hook and eye on the back of the collar so that I can fasten the collar high up when I get on the bike:
For as I said: as a real Dutchwoman, I will need a coat that can be worn during bike rides, so I need to be able to close up the front to my neck, to keep the chilly wind out, as only a scarf won’t do!
Time spent: 42,5 hours
Costs: €72 (Only €17,50 for the wool, €26 for the fleece interlining, €12 for the lining, and the fur came from my stock as mentioned. The rest of the costs consist of interfacing, thread, shoulder pads, buttons, and a hanging loop.)