A Coatigan and more…

Radio silence for months, then two posts in a row… As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a visit from the inspiration fairy, who doesn’t normally come calling in the Autumn and Winter. While I was planning  my sweatshirt dress I received an email from the Sew In Brighton School (I’m on their mailing list, they didn’t just spam me! They wouldn’t do anything of the sort) about the courses they were running. And one of them was to make a coatigan in a day. This was appealing enough with my Winter Sewjo in full flow, but then I realised there was a massive discount on the workshop price. That sealed the deal for me, it was the kind of discount that would be rude not take up!

My main difficulty was that I wasn’t sure about the sizing of the coat. The details on the website talked about the sizing going up to a generous Medium, but I’m definitely a large, and I’m even more large across the front. I emailed the Sew In Brighton team, and the lovely Kat (Sew in Brighton’s owner) was super-understanding, and was able to grade the pattern to a large size for me (and for future plus size sewers).

I didn’t have any fabric in my stash that was suitable, so I looked around for possible options. The information about the fabric needs suggested 2m80 of boiled wool or sweatshirting. I know that the first make of a pattern isn’t always my best version, so I wasn’t going to spend £25 per metre on boiled wool, just in case it was a disaster. So I searched for sweatshirting instead. But then I came across this gorgeous black and white fleece-backed knit from The Textile Centre, and I was hooked. I wasn’t sure if I’d need extra fabric, beyond what the course information said, what with the extra width of a larger pattern, and with the possible need to pattern-match, so I went ahead and ordered 4 metres, just in case. I figured that would be plenty, and if I was able to be frugal with my cutting, I could do something with the leftovers.

This is a mahoosive check – each square is 8cm x 8cm!

The workshop was on the Sunday after Lockdown 2.0 was announced, so I was really grateful that we had the chance for one nice thing before we all have to stay home for weeks on end! The studio was well set up for social distancing, and we wore masks whenever we were moving around. It all felt very safe. 

The teacher was Jo, who was great. She was able to explain really clearly the techniques we were using to get the shawl collar of the coatigan, so you knew what you were doing, but also why you were doing it. I was giving her an extra headache, with my pattern-matching. But again, she was able to explain it really well, and make it make total sense to me. I’m definitely going to be practising this more.

The morning part of the session was all about tracing off the pattern, and cutting and marking the pattern pieces. The afternoon part was for the sewing. Sure enough, we all had our brand new coatigans ready by the end of the afternoon. I wore mine on my way back to the car.

I managed to organise myself to take pictures while it was still daylight

This coatigan is SO COSY!!!!

I have to be honest, the effect of the cosiness, together with the big checks, and the unlikeliness of being out and about much this winter is leading me to think this might become more of a dressing gown than a coat!

I was thinking about how I could reuse this pattern, and I’m half thinking of adding a triangle side panel to make the shape a bit more swingy, get a slightly 40s vibe to it. 

 

… And as I intimated above, I did indeed cut frugally, and even with the pattern-matching, I was left with about 1m 20 of the fabric to make something else with. It wasn’t that much to play with (especially with the pattern-matching again), but I thought I could make some sort of boxy sweater. I turned to my trusty Simple Sew Shannon pattern. I’d drafted a sleeve pattern for it about a year ago, to make the top/dress winter-wearable. I gave my pattern pieces an extra centimetre of width, to make the top a bit looser, and take into account the thickness of the fabric. I created a wider neckband, and made the top slightly longer (because no-one wants a chill on their kidneys).

I practised my pattern-matching a bit,

And here’s my new favourite jumper:

It’s got a slightly sixties vibe, don’t you think?

I’m getting better at pattern matching – I’m shocked!

I’ve got quite a few scraps left over, I’m thinking I could maybe make some mittens…

A Blanket Coat, and a lot of overlocker love

With the hibernating sew-jo mentioned in my last post, I decided to kick-start my dressmaking for 2017 by booking myself on a couple of courses. I find that if I have paid good money for something, I will definitely do it.

So I made a coat…

I spotted Sew Me Something’s Blanket Coat workshop on Instagram, and I really liked the look of it. I couldn’t quite believe we could make a coat in just three little hours, but Jules assured me it was possible! Never mind that they’re based in Stratford-Upon-Avon, which is over a hundred miles away from Guildford! My trusty Nissan got me there in good time.

All you needed to bring with you was fabric (although if you didn’t have any, the Sew Me Something Emporium was open to us!). Since I am on a Stash diet, I pulled out the black & white wool-mix bouclé which I’d bought in November from the World Famous Man Outside Sainsburys, in Walthamstow. I’d originally thought I’d use it for a jacket, but when you are shopping from stash, you adapt your plans according to what you’ve got available. The wrong side is lovely and soft, as it’s brushed and smooth, compared to the more textured right side. I hope this photo captures the difference between the two sides.

Can you see the soft fleecy wrong side?

The cutting took a little while. I found that my fabric was ever so slightly shorter than I needed, but I shortened the length of the pattern by 5cm to be safe, and all was fine. I have to confess, I hadn’t thought about working with the nap of the wrong side of my fabric, but thankfully the pattern layout is all “one way”, and by merest chance, I managed to align my fabric so that the nap strokes downwards throughout. Next time, I would be more aware of that particular aspect.

The construction was done almost entirely on the overlocker. The collar is ingenious, and when the penny dropped about how it worked, it felt very satisfying. It was astonishing how quickly it all came together, but I guess that’s the joy of overlocking – it’s quick. Also, the edges are all finished on the overlocker and there are no fastenings. I’m toying with the idea of adding a great big statement button at the collar, but I think that would only be if I come across a suitably superb button.

I opted for red thread for the overlocking, as you can see. I do love a dramatic contrast. But also, it’s a kind of an homage to the Sherlock overcoat with its red buttonhole!

So warm and toasty!

Things I have learned from this workshop:

• The overlock stitch has a front and a back, so you need to think about which side you want to sew on. You consequently need to be aware of which side you are pinning on. As well as being very careful to pin well away from anywhere that might come into contact with the needles or the blade.
• I was feeling quite comfortable when using the overlocker. Obviously the small amount of use I had of the one on the dressmaking evening classes I did last year has given me some confidence.
• I don’t need an overlocker. I don’t need an overlocker. I don’t need an overlocker. I don’t need an overlocker. I really *want* an overlocker…

One of the reasons I was keen to take this workshop is that outerwear is one of my me-made wardrobe gaps. At last I will have a proper coat to take me into Me Made May. It’s also met one of my personal sewing tick-boxes, and it’s a good starting point to build towards sewing a more structured coat or jacket in the future.

Jules is a fab teacher – she walked the tightrope between making sure each of us knew what we were doing, and allowing us to get on with it. There were six of us and each of us came away with a beautiful coat/jacket. The workshop itself was extremely good value for money and I am more than happy to recommend it. Jules will be running the same workshop again on 22nd March and on 29th April. Go! You’ll have fun and make a well funky coat- what’s not to like?

Totally loving it!