Stash Busting plans: A New Coat for Winter

I have been busy making a dress for a client, and haven't really felt like thinking about what I was going to sew next. I finished off the dress I was making last week, so now it's time to move on to the next project. (Check out my photos on my Facebook page if you're interested).

I've been wanting to make myself a new winter coat for a few years. I have an old woolen winter coat that I made quite a few years ago now, out of (my favourite colour) blue wool. It did the job while I was working a 9 - 5 desk job, and I even had to replace the lining after it wore out, but I'll be the first to admit that it's pretty boring.

I've been keeping the odd picture of long jackets and coats that I like, hoping that inspiration will strike and I'll come up with an idea of what I want to make. I want to do the whole works, make the pattern and sew the coat, complete with all the tailoring techniques I can throw at it. Well, inspiration hasn't struck yet, but I did get inspired to use up some of my fabric stash, and leave the new woolen coat for another year. Since I'm leaving the inspiration for another jacket, I also decided that rather than make a pattern from scratch, I would alter a pattern that I already have. I made a jacket a while ago from McCall's 9012 (from 1997, which I believe classes that as a vintage pattern!), and I thought that would make a good starting point.

The Pattern

Unfortunately for me the pattern I have is in size 6, 8, 10. Since having children, my waist measurement isn't what it used to be, so as you can probably guess, I don't wear this jacket anymore because it is too tight. Not just across the waist either, but the shoulders are really tight too. I want to make something that has a more professional finish to it, hence the desire to use actual tailoring techniques instead of just throwing it together. It might take me a bit of time to do, but while I have nothing else pressing to do, I'm more than happy to spend the time on it. And I get to do some actual stash busting, which was one of my goals for this year.

The old jacket (if only I was as skinny as my dressmaker's dummy!)

So, armed with a pattern that needs grading (outwards at least) and a few other alterations, some fabric that I have actually pre-washed (yay for me!), and a book on tailoring, I'm ready to start!

The tailoring book