Coats, Coats and More Coats

It was 87 degrees here today, so, of course, my thoughts turned to making coats. I have four in the queue and one on the wish list.

The first coat is not for me. Dickens Fair is fast approaching and I've decided to make a new gentleman's coat. I'm thinking cut away instead of a frock coat, using Butterick 3721. I'm making it in gray wool, which is loosely woven so I've decided to underline it with black cotton batiste to give it more body. I plan to start this coat soon--as in within the week.

Following that I plan to make a retro coat using Simplicity 4563, which appears to be from the early to mid-1940s. I have some retro looking plaid wool, which I plan to underline with white cotton flannel to add a layer of warmth. I decided to make the single breasted version because I didn't feel like buying four extra buttons.

Number three on the list is McCalls 6800. I bought some wool online for a purpose I can't recall, and when it came, it was no where near the color I'd thought it would be. It's a cheerful pink with traces of yellow and lavender--more spring than winter, but maybe that's what one needs in the winter. A cheerful coat. I like the fabric...I think. If I don't find a 1960s pattern I like before it rolls around to the number one spot in the queue, then I'll make version A or D of this pattern.

And then there's Vogue 1419 and my accidental linen. I decided to join the LLadybird Vogue 1419 sew along last week and was glad to see that one of the three suggested fabrics for this pattern was linen, because I mistakenly bought coat weight linen (online) last spring thinking it was dress weight. I assumed that the fabric would languish in my stash for years before I found a use for it, but I was wrong. The sew along starts at the end of the month and I'm excited to participate.

And finally the wish list...I saw this coat pattern, Vogue 8211, reviewed in a back issue of Threads magazine and fell in love. The 2006 out-of-print pattern wasn't on eBay at the time,but I kept checking. Eventually it showed up, but for some reason, only in sizes 6-8-10 and 18-20-22. I fall in the middle, unrepresented bracket. I bought the pattern in the smaller size and plan to grade it one of these days. Once that's done, I'm going to find the perfect fabric; however...I have a feeling that this project will not see the light of day in 2014. It looks more like a 2015 coat anyway.

And that's the plan. Yes, my ambition is greater than my allotted time (winter), but I'm hopeful that I can get at least three of these coats done before spring...just in time for the end-of-winter wool sales.