Hallo you.

And hallo October.

I like autumn. I have it ranked at a respectable No 2. I like the crisp air and the brilliant foliage. Ermmm…I also love the food. Pumpkin, chard, squash, apples, grapes, pears….all of ’em. 

Another big plus about this season is that, for me, it’s prime me-made coat season.  I prefer sewing/wearing light to medium weight fabrications….my me-made coats are never super insulating. They’re cozy, but not usually cozy enough for winter cold.

Which brings me to my current make, my Libellule Coat.

This is my first time sewing an I Am Patterns pattern. It can be sewn either as a dress, top, jacket or coat. I was drawn to the pattern because I was specifically looking for a coat pattern that would work well with this bold striped blue and white fabric.  I wanted a fairly simple silhouette with single piece set in sleeves. I find two piece sleeves can make stripes matching difficult, if not impossible. The Libellule Coat ticks all the boxes. I made mine with 100% cotton medium weight fabric, lined with bemberg rayon. Both fabric and lining are from my dwindling….yes, that is a good thing…fabric stash.

Pattern instructions are more minimal than many Indie Pattern companies….six steps, including cutting fabric. That isn’t a reason to fear the pattern though…there aren’t a lot of pattern pieces and they all went together as they should. I had a bit of a snaggle with the sizing. It is suggested to make a size larger for the coat version, but my end result or…mid-way result…was a fit a bit too generous for comfort.  My quick fix was to make the right front bodice (collar too) an inch narrower than the pattern specs. And. It works. I can wear it with a t-shirt underneath, or an additional sweater layer.

The shoulders extend slightly past my natural shoulder and I used 1/2″ shoulder pads. Yes, shoulder pads….it is the nineties….isn’t it?

A breeze and a twirl fully ignited the volume on my coat.

The sleeves have a deep cuff and I intentionally mismatched the bands of blue and white. I wanted it to be apparent where the cuff attached to the sleeve. Cuffs can be turned up as an option.

The Libellule Coat is an A-Line shape and as a result, the hemline is slightly curved and it gave me some minor grief. I pinned the hem several ways…over several weeks {it was summer; I wasn’t in a hurry}. When I pinned the hem evenly along a stripe, the finished look was a bit like a handkerchief hem, drooping at the sides. When I pinned the hem along the original hemline, it looked uneven, even though it was even. In the end, I opted for a very slightly high-low hem and I think it works.

My coat has a full lining but please note that the pattern does not come with instructions or pattern pieces for either a lining or neckline facings….it’s a versatile dress/coat pattern so some construction techniques are simplified, ie; the front facings and button placket are extensions of the coat front pieces and folded into place.

I cut out the lining front using the main front pattern piece, taking into account the fold-over facing. I cut out the back lining using the back main pattern piece placed 1″ away from the fold. This gives the lining a bit of extra ease. I drafted a back neckline facing and a front neckline facing out of outer fabric using the front/back pattern pieces as guides.

I made one other small change in construction and that was to stitch together the buttonhole facing and the self-facing below the last buttonhole. That way I was able to trim away some of the bulk at the hemline.

I went with plain white buttons for the hidden button placket, and a vintage blue button at the collar. The collar buttonhole is a bound one, the others are regular.

I used a lightweight fusible interfacing on the front button plackets and self-facings, the collar, the neckline facings and on the sleeve cuffs.

So. To sum up. I didn’t make a lot of changes…not so much changes as additions; interfacing and lining. I will consider sewing this pattern again…I’d like to try it with either a plain fabric or an all-over print; that way I can easily do the intended straight hem. I’m thinking that I might change the collar to a flat collar instead of the stand-up collar…um….and welt pockets would be da bomb too, but I’m getting ahead of myself. 

This coat knocks off another of my 2019 Make Nine projects. I gotta tell ya….I. Am. Slow. I’ve completed just four of the nine so far. To date, I’ve only blogged this make and my London Backpack, which by the way is freakin’ fantastic. I use it all the time. Even though I haven’t fired through my list, I still feel that the #makenine challenge has been good for me. My primary intentions were to sew garments using stash fabrics and I’ve made a huge, huge, dent in my pile. But. I admit I’m getting close to a point of losing enthusiasm for sewing my remaining fabrics. It’s entirely possible that I may not finish my make nine and opt to keep my remaining small stash of fabric for pattern testing or for a future change of heart.

I’ve already begun musing on what direction to go in next.  I don’t want to rush out and buy a bunch of fabric….good thing dat.  As discussions about sustainability in sewing continue to dominate, I’m moving towards a more curated wardrobe. Does that mean less sewing? More involved projects? Techniques that require more time? More environmentally friendly fabrics? 

Sewing is my creative expression and I wear that badge proudly. Still…here I am in the early stages of trying to figure out how to retain my creative voice and still love my planet.  Are any of you thinking along the same lines…wanting to leave a smaller footprint but still needing to create? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, or feel free to send me an email privately.

Wearing : :

Libellule Coat : : I Am Patterns

Sasha Trousers : : Closet Case Patterns Also seen here and here

Jeanne T-shirt : : Ready To Sew Also seen here