The Improper Coat

This turned in to a way bigger project than I had originally anticipated.  It started with a funky fabric purchase.  Something called high performance waterproof pique-front fleece, whatever that is.  I ordered it on a whim, mainly because I liked the warm, grey color.  Also because I was trying to make it to the free shipping amount at fabric.com (they get me every time).  I knew I wanted to make myself a fleece jacket at some point this winter.

At first I thought I'd make a standard zip up fleece jacket.  I have a red ready-to-wear one that is pretty much my everyday jacket.  Winter here is mild, except for a few weeks in January/February.  But then I thought about how boring that would be to make.  It would be practical, but no fun to make.  So I made this instead.

This is Burda 7314, one of their envelope patterns.  I can't find a site to link this pattern to- is everything on Burdastyle now?  One of their pattern books just popped up recently at my local fabric store.  I like the over-sized swingy, a-line shape and the pleat at the back.  The jury is still out on the bubble sleeves, but all in all it's a very comfy coat.  But what does the "young" mean?  I didn't notice any difference in sizing.  In fact, it ended up very large.  There's a lot of ease built in to this pattern.

I didn't want to line the coat since one side of my fabric is soft while the other side is apparently waterproof pique (strange!).  I decided to try my hand at binding all the interior seams even though the fabric didn't fray.  I just figured it would look nice.  This is where the word "improper" comes in to play again.  I know I didn't bind everything correctly.  I cut my own bias bindings from scraps of a vintage cotton I had in my stash.  Holy cow, I had to make a lot of bias.  Miles and miles of it.  But it was a good learning experience.   Always fun to try something new.  I'll be able to do a proper Hong Kong seam finish next time.  Any way, this coat looks nice enough on the inside.  In hindsight, I should have cut the back piece like the lining piece in the pattern- on the fold- and eliminated the odd rectangle down the back.

Below you can see good close ups of the fabric- fleece-y on the inside and pique on the outside.  I like it because you can't really tell it's fleece when I'm wearing it, except for the drape.  Not exactly the same drape you'd get from wool.

Stripey buttons and welt (?) pockets.  The pockets really are even- just the weird angle of the photo.  Are these considered welt pockets?  There's no actual welts-  it's just the window and a bit of the pocket peeking through.

I'm pretty happy with it despite it's impropriety! I've already worn it everyday this week.  It will be my go-to coat this winter as I don't need anything much warmer.  It's big enough to fit a bulky sweater underneath  and light enough for fall days, too.  I can throw it in the wash, too.  Another perk of the improper fabric.

Wishing everyone a great week!

Happy sewing.