January Garment Complete! The fleece coat…

 

Well, in the end I didn’t wear my fleece coat to Charlotte over the weekend – it was cold! in the 20’s the whole time. So I took something warmer. But I did finish it before the end of the month. Major accomplishment!

In an earlier post, I talked about my inspiration for this project, pretty maxi coats from Sundance and BurdaStyle. And deciding to draft my own pattern using the liesl+co Late Lunch Tunic.

 

Late Lunch Tunic

Fleece Coat

Using fleece was a practical way to make a wearable muslin. I would love to do this coat in a kilim or tapestry fabric. Now that I have the kinks out, I can start thinking about the more expensive fabric.

Little touches…

The back of the coat is straight from the tunic pattern, just elongated.

The sleeve is two pieces. The first is the original tunic sleeve. The second piece completes the length, with topstitching to accent the joining seam.

 

Originally I put in side seam pockets – and took them out in favor of patch pockets. I like the look and they are easier to reach!

I also left off the buttons. This is a great grab-or-hang-open coat. In a heavier fabric I’ll probably put some form of closure, buttons or coat hooks/eyes.

And I didn’t put in a lining. I made one, but it was so bulky under the arms, I think because they are cut on, not set in. Had fun with the facings instead!

 

 

I’m really pleased with how this worked out. Now I’m thinking about my February garment of the month. It’s my birthday, so I have to come up with something special 🙂

Ciao! Coco