Floral Trench Coat (part 1): gathering supplies

Alright I'm locked in to doing this floral trench coat. I pulled this project from my 'Garment Grab Bag' a couple of weeks ago and have started to get all the supplies together. This is also an entry on my 2025 Make Nine grid.

I've been wanting a floral trench coat for a while after stumbling across some images on Pinterest. 

 

The second trench coat on the right has fabric that I know I saw on Mood. One day it was in my wishlist and then it was gone. I don't remember it being low on yardage and it wasn't a closeout. I was this 👉👈 close to buying it when it disappeared.

 

The first coat is from Burberry and the one from which I'm drawing the most inspiration. I searched for a while for a similar print, but couldn't find one. I also like the lighter coat with roses, but decided to go with dark fabric instead.

Fabric

 

 

The fabric is stretch cotton sateen from Mood and weighs 190 grams per square metre. It's a little on the light side for a coat, but with the interfacing and lining, I think the weight will be fine. The fabric I used for the first trench coat I made wasn't too heavy either, so I should be fine.

 

Lining

 

I'm still deciding on what lining to use. My eyes are drawn to pieces 4, 5, and 6 (flannel backed satins), but I think they would be too heavy for the coat. Pieces 3 and 2 are rayon Bemberg linings and a bit too light. 

 

Piece 1 is the perfect weight. It's a nice rayon satin that's heavier than Bemberg, but lighter than the flannel back satins. The problem is the color; it matches perfectly with the flowers, but it may be too dark overall. I'll keep searching for more lining. If I can't find what I'm looking for, the green will work.

 

Supplies

This picture shows some of the supplies I intend to use in making the coat (left to right):

• potential green lining
  
• off white piping to go between the lining and facings
• 1/8" cord and darker bias tape to make piping if I don't like the lighter color
• 3" x 11" bias-cut fleece for sleeve heads
• 2" interfacing for sleeve and back panel hems
  
• black buttons in two sizes for the front, front flap, epaulettes, sleeve tabs, and belt tabs
• scrap of muslin for back stay
• weft interfacing for facings, front, and side front panels

I'll probably construct the coat on both my semi-industrial and commercial sewing machines and finish the edges on my serger. For the shell, I'll use black thread for seaming and topstitching. 

 

I might be forgetting some supplies right now. I'll gather more as I need them.

 

Next up:  cutting out the main garment pieces, marking notches/important points, and fusing interfacing. I will try to remember to document this process as I go along.

 

Thanks for reading. 😊

L

 

 

 

Garment Grab Bag: Simplicity 4020

Sometimes indecision on what to sew stalls my progress. There are so many things I want to make, but I find it hard to settle on one item. So I am trying something new this year. I made a "garment grab bag" of a bunch of patterns that are on my very long "to-sew" list.

There is nothing high-tech of fancy going on here. It's a simple paper bag with folded slips of paper.

I will try to stick to whatever garment that gets selected, though I won't be too rigid. If I am truly not feeling like making that garment, I'll pick something else. Sewing brings me joy and the moment it turns into a chore, I lose motivation.

 

The first garment I selected was Simplicity 4020 - a pullover top that has been in and out of the queue for years. I don't know why I kept putting it off.

 

I made view A (red) in a green polyester-lycra sweater knit from the stash. I wanted to make view B (blue), but I didn't have enough fabric for both the collar and long cuffs.

 

I cut a straight size 16 and sewed it as is. I've yet to try it on, though I do intend to wear it to work tomorrow. It seems a little short, so we'll see how that goes. Hah!

 

The top is paired with my latest skirt:  Burda 1-2008-109.

 

 

This is another pattern that has long been in the sewing rotation.  I cut a straight size 44 and used 1.5 yards of stretch denim. I forgot to add the belt loops before putting on the waistband and my fly front is sewn opposite than what's shown in the line drawing.

 

The front angled seams also serve as integrated pockets which is a neat design. It makes the skirt puff out a bit in the front, but I don't mind it much. 

 

There was one part of the instructions that just did not make ANY sense despite my best attempt at trying to understand. After thinking about it for a couple of days, I gave up and skipped that part. Maybe those instructions are there to help control the poofiness? I have no idea. Everything seemed to piece together without them and the skirt fits fine. I doubt I'll sew this pattern again, so those instructions will remain a mystery.

***

I selected another garment from the grab bag; this time, I pulled floral trench coat. I seriously debated selecting something else because (a) this will be a very long project and (b) I'm in the lower arctic and a lightweight trench coat is not on my radar right now. Then again, I thought why not get started on spring wear now. Yes, it's minus degrees Fahrenheit and there's a crapton of snow and it's windy so the temperature feels even worse. But spring is a couple of months away and I want to be ready.

I want to blog the process of making the coat. If I can remember to take pictures of the progress along the way, I'll share them here.

 

L