Snug. Not sexy

Chunky ribbed cuffs

To tell you the truth, I am not the world's best bargain hunter. I am the person who goes to a sale and only wants the stuff that hasn't been marked down. Hello Fabric Store. I am talking to you. But I am pretty chuffed with this $20 four metre piece of pale pink polka dot wool coating I scored at the Clear It factory outlet a couple of months ago.

At first I was worried this fabric was a little froufrou for my tastes and I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Until I spotted Marilla Walker's Freemantle Coat pattern and I thought to myself, YES! The result? A comfy cosy coat that has been helping me through one long cold Melbourne winter.

I think the relaxed cut of the coat takes away from the potentially tizzy aspect of the pink wool. I used a black cashmere coating from Clegs for the raglan sleeves and collar and I ended up buying the ribbing from ebay as I really wanted a chunky silver rib for the cuffs and I couldn't find what I wanted anywhere in real-life Melbourne. When it came to button holes there was no way my poor old Janome was going to get through all the thick woolly layers so I went to an awesome Vietnamese tailor on Sydney road and they did them for me right there on the spot for $10.

I admit when I first tried this coat on during the sewing process my heart sank and I had an epic fail moment. There I stood, the coat ballooning out like a giant pink marshmallow, and not in a good way. But the fabric draped right into place over night and while this may not be the most figure-flattering garment, sometimes you just want to be snug, not sexy. I am particularly proud of my first ever welt pockets. Well, the first ones that have ever worked out for me anyways. I've tried the dreaded welts before, but with no success. This time I was determined. You simply cannot have a coat without big, deep pockets. And not to blow my own trumpet, but they turned out pretty good. Whoohoo.

The inside

Rather than go for a traditional lining, Marilla recommends underlining your fabric. I think this approach makes sense considering Freemantle's voluminous cocoon silhouette. I used a Spotlight cotton for the underlining, finishing the seams with a pre-made silver bias binding that was a bit of a bitch to work with actually. Here are some somewhat dodgy pics so you can get an idea of my coat looks internally.

Front

and back...

Confession: I hand stitched the hem in place and some of it is coming undone - I conveniently didn't photograph that section.

Bonus

As I was feeling particularly crafty yesterday afternoon I used a scrap of my leftover coating fabric to make myself a cute Hello Birdy cushion. You can't see it in the photo, but one of the fabric feathers says, 'Poo candy.' Never gets old.