outfit 1 – coat: self-made, pattern here* // dress: self-made, blogged here // shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

outfit 2 – same coat // jeans: self-made, pattern here // shoes: Minnetonka

*I received this pattern free of charge from Named and all thoughts, opinions, anecdotes, and sewing mishaps are my own.

Guys, I’m on a coat high here. This Yona is my second coat in two weeks and we’re only halfway through October.

I made this coat coming off a several-week Jamie Jeans streak (hah, who am I kidding? I’ve got two more in the works), during which I had my hand held gently through the entire process due to a highly detailed, highly helpful Flickr tutorial. I was entirely spoiled and not at all used to the coat-making process enough that I could just sort of figure things out as I went along. I pored over the written instructions with the few illustrations of steps and painstakingly did exactly as I was asked. There wasn’t even a sew along! Usually I am useless without a sew along. I only screwed up a few times (e.g. I forgot to include the collar in the neckline seam..) and one thing I could not for the life of me figure out was how to sew the bottom of the sleeve (the wrist area) to the lining. That kind of coat lining origami was beyond me so I just handstitched it and so far it’s holding up fine.

Anyway the point is, this is not a difficult project. It’s not the simplest thing ever but it’s easier to put together than the Anise and the instructions do a great job of telling you what to do. And I made it in a day. If you don’t count the 40min the next morning I spent doing the hem.

I knew when I saw this coat that I wanted it to be a mottled-ish charcoal colored wool and I wanted to wear it unbelted. I wanted it to be oversized and snuggly. I found the fabric and lining at Sewfisticated for cheap so I guess technically this is a very wearable muslin.

I’m SO happy with how it turned out. I sewed a size 34 but I think I might even go up a size next time, at least on the bottom half since the top fits great but the bottom is a bit snug when I pull it closed. I wasn’t sure how the length would be so I added 2″ but I ended up removing it since it’s actually a great length as it is. I guess since I ended up chopping off the extra length I made it pretty much exactly as instructed. The only thing I did add was I stitched a layer of muslin to the wool for an extra layer and for stretching-out-prevention. I only added it to the two front and two back pieces, omitting it from the front facing and the sleeve pieces.

Now if I could just find some huge adorable buttons to stick on.

Yay coats!