I’ve finally made a start on my goldstream peacoat. It’s going to be quite a long process so I’m breaking it down over the summer, to hopefully get it finished in time for autumn/ winter.

This coat is on my #makenine2017 list and part of my #MMMAY17 pledge is to make a start on it.

I took the main measurements and matched up to a medium on the shoulders and a small the rest of the way down. As I was at the smallest end of the medium-range on the shoulders, I checked the finished measurements and thought I’d try and get away without grading in between sizes, so I cut out a straight S.

There are a lot of pattern pieces. It took me about an hour to trace them all out. Thinking back, I should have only traced the pieces I was going to use for the toile, but I only just thought of that now! I am in possession of about 6 metres of upholstery weight fabric, in cream with purple and kind-of gold stripes on it. I suppose I must have bought it thinking I would use it to cover our sofa… but it’s not very nice looking. I do remember that it wasn’t much more than £1 a metre though, so I cut out the outer pieces, no pockets or lining, and hastily basted it all together…

#hastybaste

I very rarely make a muslin or toile… I’ll compare pattern pieces to patterns I know fit me well, but this is one of the first proper (i.e. No intention of wearing it) toiles I’ve ever done. Of course, without pockets or lining and using the basting stitch, the shell came together very quickly – It is very misleading in one sense, but it’s a great opportunity to ‘get to know’ the pattern pieces. For instance, I know I need to pay attention around the collar, I got some rippling on one side that didn’t appear in the other. Obviously I’ll take my time with the real thing, but it’s good to know.

It’s a close fit but a comfortable fit. This would be great for a mac style coat, something light, but I want this to be a warm coat. I tried it on with a tshirt, shirt and jumper underneath and it was starting to pull a little… once the coat is interlined and lined I may need to size-up if I want to fit anything other than a vest on underneath it!

I used the slimming darts on the front pieces, so the first thing I’ll do is unpick those and see if I prefer it. I also need to consider if I should simply widen the shoulder a little bit, or do I need a full size up…? I’m happy with the length of the sleeves and body… also I’m considering vents in the back… is this appropriate for this type of coat? … I’ll have to do some research.

I’m planning on making welt pockets, but I’m also considering two sets of outer pockets: higher up welt pockets and the regular patch or flapped pockets lower down… MrA has a very nice coat with this feature, so, maybe…? I bought myself the men’s edition of ‘Fashionary’ recently so I did a few sketches…

Then I did a few more (& coloured them in on my iPad…)

Then I asked Instagram and the consensus was for double pockets. I suppose I knew it should be all along… but I was being lazy.

I should say by the way, that the toile feels great on. I’ve read people making the collar smaller, but I think I like it as it is. I like the idea of the epaulets and cuff tabs. However I worry that bag straps will be a constant annoyance for epaulets…

While all this was going on MrA was visiting his mum and she gave him this lovely fabric for me…

… and I’ve decided to use it for the coat lining. Free fabric… lucky me!

So that’s phase one. More questions than answers, but I’ve got something to try on already! And I can proudly say that I’ve completed my #mmmay17 challenge!

Until next time, happy sewing!

Notes to self:

  • Remove darts. 
  • Add 1cm to each shoulder. 
  • Check position of pockets. 
  • Add tabs & epaulets to the toile. 
  • Scrap the epaulets. 
  • Possibly scrap the tabs too.