Hello everyone!
Recently I finished my Lola Coat from Sew Over It! My first ever coat! Yay! I'm very pround of this make! That is the project I refferenced to at my "Getting to know me ft seamstress tag" , on the "what is your proudest make?" question!
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| Wearing Erin skirt and Lola coat, both from SOI |
The pattern is from SOI ebook CITY BREAK "my capsule wardrobe". This was the second pattern of the book that I made! First, I made Erin skirt which I reviewed in a previous post!
Lola coat is an unlined and relaxed, loose fitting coat without any closure in the front. However you can easily tight a belt if you prefer but I actually love that loose fitting of it. It has waterfalls in the front with which I like hugging my baby boy in order to protect him from wind. The sewing level of the pattern is intermediate. I chose to line it in order to avoid the coat being itchy.
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| Lining flash / Back view (the centre back seam needs a bit of a press..oops!) |
The pattern requires a lot of fabric. For the long version and the size small which I made, you need 4,6 meters of 1.5 meters width of fabric (or 5.2 meters of 1.15 width of fabric). So I bought 5 meters (1.5meters wide) of a plaid wool mix fabric in brown just to be sure! I know it sounds like a lot but I didn't want the patterns on the plaids of the fabric to be mismatched.
Considering the cost of the fabric was 4euros/meter and was bought locally. I did such a long research in order to find the right fabric and at the same time get the better price. I was a bit afraid of using more pricey fabric just in case of something goes wrong. Like I said that was my first attempt of making outwear/coat. Furthermore, I lined the coat because the fabric is wool which means it was a bit itchy to let it alone. That way I purchased 3 meters of lining fabric in dusty pink (also 4 euros per meter).
CONSTRUCTION
The pattern is in pdf so I had to print it and stuck it together. The truth is that it took me some time..the pattern is a bit huge! Haha! I would say that if you don't like sticking pdfs together, for that pattern I suggest you go and print it in a copy shop just because it's big.
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| It looks like a sheet right? |
As far as the construction of the garment is concerned, I didn't have any problem at all. The instructions which are in step-by-step phases were very clear.
Regarding the lining, I cut the front sleeve panel (B) and the back sleeve panel (C). Secondly, I cut the upper side panel (D) and the lower side panel (E) as one, from the actual coat piece that I sewed up first. The waterfalls are already lined with the main fabric.
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| Working on the lining |
In order to join the sleeves, I did some alterations. I shorten the lining by 3.5cm and then I turned the main fabric by 5cm. Moreover, I joined the lining to the wool fabric using 1.5cm seam allowances. At the side joint, I used 1cm seam allowances in order to avoid the lining being too tight. Concerning the hem, I turned the hem of the coat by 4cm, I shorten the lining by 10cm and I joined them together using 1,5cm seam allowances. Finally, at the centre back I used slip stitch to attach the lining there. I hope all these make sense! All the inside seams are finished using zic-zac stitch.
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| Close look of the right sleeve / The right waterfall panel |
Using patterned fabric for this project was a bit of a challenge! It was difficult to pattern match everything. However, I tried my best. At the pockets I decided to put the fabric on the bias because I thought that I would definitely mismatch the pattern there!
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| I think it's quite pattern matched, isn't it? |
FINAL THOUGHTS
I'm reeeaaally happy with how it turned out! It is a versatile piece which I wore a lot since I made it! It is my go to coat since then. If you are a beginner coat maker I definitely recommend it to you, you gonna love it!
SUMMARY
Sewing Pattern: Lola coat by SOI ebook, CITY BREAK - my capsule wardrobe. The long version.
Size: Small
Alterations: I put lining.
Fabric that I used: Wool mix & lining fabric
Total cost: 32 euros. However I have a lot of leftover fabric for another project! (Actual cost / what I actual used: 25euros).
Until next time,
Happy sewing everyone!!
xoxo,
