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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Pattern Review: New Look 6006: Hot Pink Coat

Finished Pink Coat #1

Finished Pink Coat #2

It really did seem like it was meant to be. I'd been eyeing off this hot pink wool coating fabric at Rathdowne Fabrics for months now, and finally got back to the shop with the hope of getting some in my hot little hands. But alas! Just as is always the way when you have left buying the fabric until too late, the pink was nowhere to be seen.

Morosely I cruised the aisles of the store, half-heartedly patting the other fabrics when I heard a squeal from my aunt who was rummaging around the remnant bin at the back of the store. She had found the very last piece of the pink fabric for me. It was coming in at a scant 1.6m, which was a bit smaller a length than I wanted, but we both decided that I'd be able to squeeze the shorter coat out of the length.

Happily I trotted over to the counter, where the woman proceeded to charge me $22.50 for it. "Er, I'm pretty sure the tag said $36", I said (I'm nothing if not honest.) "Don't sweat it, dahl!", she replied. "My mistake, your piece of good luck!"

So there I was, the proud owner of the pink fabric, and I'd paid far less for it than I'd anticipated. I was thrilled, especially since the original price came in at $45 a metre. With visions of pink coats dancing in my head, I got swiftly to work.

Ahhh, it seemed to be going so well. The pattern was easy to follow, the fabric was a dream to sew with, and it came together fairly quickly. It all appeared to be smooth sailing, until after I'd put the lining in. I don't know what the heck went wrong, but that lining was just too darn small. I double-checked my pattern, but it didn't appear that I'd done anything wrong, but when the lining was in the coat it made the back outside of the coat buckle up in the most atrocious manner. I consulted with my aunt, who is quite a sewing gun, and she recalled reading in a BurdaStyle magazine years ago that if the lining is of a tighter weave than the outside fabric, then the aforementioned bunching may occur, as both fabrics cannot find a happy medium in which to relax with each other. For that reason the magazine recommended actually cutting a longer hem on the lining, so you could take it up afterwards if need be on the inside of the garment, without resorting to any drastic measures.

As you may have read, drastic measures were what I took, as I had no intention of unpicking the whole coat, and buying new lining fabric since my lining was obviously too small. Instead I slashed open the lining from the side seam to side seam in the back of the garment so the lining could relax and the garment would hang properly. Once I was satisfied with that fit, I created a patch which I inserted into the lining slash, and carefully hand stitched the original lining onto the patch. It's not pretty, but it did the job. It was, however, rather disappointing to have to make such an alteration.

Other issues I have with this coat: It's nowhere near as fitted as I'd like it to be. I'd made the size 8, but I really needed to grade it down to about a 4 to get the snug, fitted look I prefer in a coat. Also the arms are way too wide and long. And the pockets are far too big - they actually hang down right onto the hem of the coat.

So all in all, you could say I'm not exactly thrilled with how this coat turned out. However, in my opinion, coats are like jeans - you can spend years looking for the perfect one, so I shouldn't have been surprised that this one didn't turn out to my expectations on the first go. By rights I really should have made a muslin, and tweaked away until I was satisfied, but like a fool I rushed right in.

You know how in the Harry Potter books our three intrepid heroes need to tap the Marauder's Map with their wands and announce "Mischief Managed!" in order to make the map look like a blank piece of parchment again? I feel like banging my head against my ill-fitting coat and declaring "Lesson Learnt! Make a bloody muslin!" Oh well, we live to learn again.

Project Details
Pattern: New Look 6006, View C (shorter style)
Fabric: 1.6m hot pink wool coating from Rathdowne Fabrics, 1.6m stretch satin for lining from GJ's Discount Fabrics.
Notions: 1m jacket fusing, 4 buttons from Duttons For Buttons, Harrogate, England.

Verdict: I don't mind this coat (after all, it IS hot pink!) but with the fit issues it'll never be my number one. Sorry coat!

15 comments:

  1. I'm just wondering if you added ease to the lining both in the width and length. From memory, you need at least 1 inch ease in the lining along the CB. I can't remember how much at the hemline, but the lining and shell should not be the same length. The lining should be longer.

    Here's a link to a coat I made. You can see the lining in the photos. Even though my lining is longer, it still isn't long enough. The lining should be hanging over the hem a tad.
    http://raindropsandbellyflops.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/my-winter-coat-finished.html


    The pink does look fabulous though. You could always save it for a really really cold day when you need lots of layers.

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  2. Erk. No ease added. Darn pattern didn't tell me to, and I completely forgot about doing so.

    Thanks for the advice, Bernice. I'll be remembering that in future!

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  3. Oh poor coat, it is a fabulous color on you though. I can't say I'm a fan of new look patterns though and yes definitely a muslin in the future. I did that a while ago with a dress pattern, vintage no less and just made the dress not doing a muslin. I did my typical length a couple inches in the bodice and etc but the dart placement was not ideal and reminded me why muslins are indeed so important!

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  4. My coat pattern (Simplicity - Project Runway) didn't mention adding ease in the instructions either which seems ridiculous given that it is absolutely necessary. It was only that Mary Nana mentioned it in a comment she left for me when I'd posted about my toile. Craziness I tell you!

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  5. Absolute craziness, Bernice!

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  6. I like the color and the coat, only the sleeves are indeed to wide and too long. It still looks great on you.

    I'm always too impatient to make a muslin so I often realize too late that a garment is not such a good fit as I'd want it to be. :/ But I haven't learnt my lesson yet.

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  7. Oh I love it! And the black buttons are the perfect touch. :)

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  8. every single time i tell myself I SHALL MAKE A MUSLIN NEXT TIME, and every single time i do not. i'd like to outsource my muslin-making needs...any takers?

    ps perfect fit or no, the coat is all sorts of lovely. i'm actually finding the wide, bunchy sleeves super cute...so know that when you are traipsing through town, the rest of humanity is gazing at you with nothing but admiration.

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  9. but... but... it is perfect.... please tell me you'll wear this at least five times a week....

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  10. I'm inspired by the color. We have very few fabric stores where I live, so would have to shop online...At least your mistake didn't cost an arm and a leg. I still like it, and it's a wonderful color!

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  11. Great color, sad that it didn't turn out as you would hope. When making a coat/jacket I always make a muslin, it really is essential in getting the fit one wants.I'm glad that you figure out a fix so you could get to wear it!

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  12. That is the PERFECT colour for you! Such a shame the fit was not right.

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  13. Anonymous12:35 pm

    It actually looks fine when worn, wear it with a chunky scarf maybe?

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  14. Clare UK12:14 am

    Girl, I love the colour and the fit round the neck and shoulders.
    But those sleeves.............!
    Oh and the buttons are fab (but I would say that coz I live about twenty minutes from Duttons)

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  15. Ermahgerd I LOVE it!!! Pink is soo cute. Can't wait to go to Melbourne soon to go to Rathdowne Fabrics!!

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