Just as Spring is around the corner, I’m sharing a cosy coat. It’s actually not as thick as it looks so I’ve be wearing it during all these randomly chilly days without overheating. This is my almost neon coral Burda 5855 coat, view C. It’s a swingy coat with shoulder darts and patch pockets that has two length options. Don’t forget, Burda paper patterns include seam allowances as standard.
I whipped up a toile of the size 38 and only needed to do a narrow shoulder adjustment! You can see I’m wearing it more like a notch collar open and flat, then fully buttoned up. That makes it feel a bit more vintage to me. I’m not happy with the pockets. I wish I’d made them welt pockets instead but this wool doesn’t unpick well so I’ve left them on.
This Wool Melton is the most fun colour! I found it in the remnant section of Abakhan Preston. It’s 60% wool and 40% poly which is an acceptable amount of poly for me as it’ll help prevent wrinkles. I also bought an amazing pink Ginham wool for another jacket on the same trip. I managed to avoid buying anything else other coordinating linings for the two coats. Crazy amounts of self-restraint!
As it’s not very fitted it’s an easy-to-wear coat. The fit around the shoulder is great, then the hem is quite wide so doesn’t need a hem vent. The patch pocket included in the pattern was too small for a phone so I upgraded it. Though like I say, they look quite bulky and less polished than I prefer. And something is looking a little lumpy at the right hand side hem in these photos that doesn’t seem visible in the mirror. Oh well… might need another good press.
The pattern doesn’t include a lining, so I added my own using the outer pieces, then altering the the necklines and fronts to join to the facing pieces. The lining is a stretch satin which is my preferred fabric for linings as the bit of stretch reduces strain on the seams during all the getting in and out of the coat you do. I was tempted to do a contrast lining but found the lovely matching satin so went with that.
Randomly I have wanted to add flat piping to coat or jacket lining for ages and found enough leftover Liberty print bias binding from an ancient project to add to this coat. You basically press the bias in half and sandwich it into the seam, peeking out a few mm for some stylish contrast. I added a velvet hanging loop to the neckline seam too so had to factor that in during stitching. It was quite tricky to keep even all the way around so a new skill acquired.
All my body pieces were interfaced with a medium-weight interfacing and the facings with a slightly heavier interfacing. I found the perfect matching thread on the Gütermann stand at my local Boyes, and the sparkly buttons are from my stash. They actually belonged to my husband’s late Auntie when I inherited her sewing supplies and it makes us both really happy to see them in use. I can’t wait to show my father-in-law.
Overall it’s a fun coat/jacket with some cute details that will keep the chill away and make me smile with the colour! I prefer it to my Vogue Olive green coat because of the happy pink.
Well done! I love the piping, it adds that very special touch. I think the pockets are fine. They look really nice. The color is one that I would wear and make me ‘happy’ when I put it on. Congrats on a job well done.