This fabric in all it’s buttery soft lushness arrived at Pitt Trading last year as one of the amazing pieces they get from Designers. It’s the kind of fabric that you just never see for sale in the sewing sphere unless you go somewhere like Pitt Trading which has access to incredible designers and their fabrics.
A double sided faux suede was always meant to be for a special project. Initially I had intended it for a Deer and Doe Lupin Jacket but I lost the paper pattern in the fire.
So this time round I wanted something that could utilise the double sided nature of the fabric. I’d seen a picture on Pinterest of a colour blocked coat that reminded me of the Grainline Studio Yates and thats when I decided to grab the pattern and go for it.
Once I had the pattern I did some adjustments before I got started. I shortened the coat, I did this above and below the horizontal seam. Because I’m only 5 foot tall I wanted to maintain the proportions of the style but ensure that the coat finished above the hemline of my dresses. This would prevent my dresses being tangled with my coat, and me either flashing my knickers or looking like a flasher.
I didn’t want any topstitching as the coat would not be lined in any way and the edges would be raw cut. So I modified the pocket to have a folded edge instead of a seam.
The arm length was also shortened though truthfully I should have shortened it even more and will no doubt end up cutting the ends of the sleeves shorter.
Cutting the pattern out was interesting as I couldn’t use pins, then I remembered I had a chalk tracing wheel from Prym and once I started using that it was brilliant. Left a chalk mark but no other marks so just perfect for the job.
Altering the pattern didn’t take too long but I felt like I spent about a day doing prep work on the coat. This meant once I was cut and started to sew the whole thing came together in under 2 hours so it was prep time well spent.
Suede is notorious for being a bit shifty to sew, to help me out I used these leather needles from Prym. They were fantastic and I didn’t have a single issue with any of the stitching for the whole coat.
When it came to the actual sewing it was all very straight forward. The other 2 places I had to do some differening techniques was the sleeve. I used a gathering stitch to pre curve the sleeve head like you would if you were easing it in. But I had to roll the sleeve head under in order to get it to curve enough. Am kicking myself for not taking more photos of this step as the sleeve head looked way over manipulated but as it was attached the pressure of the machine foot pushed it down and the sleeve went in with no problems. Some pegs were used to help hold things together on their way to the machine.
The second area of change was the collar, as it was going to be raw cut and only one layer the upper collar is attached upside down so the seam allowance is on the outside of the garment. This means I have a clean finish neckline and as the collar lies flat over the seam you’ll never see it from the outside. The way the collar edges roll bugs me a little so am considering hand stitching them in place with a few tiny invisible stitches?
I finished it off with a large oversize snap from Prym in a grey colour which blends in not too bad, am considering adding another snap further up to help hold in closed in cold weather. Without lining or interfacing it takes on a slouchy more relaxed silhouette which I’m quite enjoying.
Pattern: Yates Coat from Grainline Studios
Fabric: From stash purchased from Pitt Trading 2017, trims and sewing accessories from Prym
Changes: shortened body length and arm length, changed pocket and collar construction. For next time shorten arms further.