Friday, October 23, 2009

La Fred - Olympia Coat


This is the second of two LaFred patterns I purchased at Artistry in Fashion last month. I had some striped novelty corduroy fabric that, once washed, "puckered" up along those stripes. Yep, a novelty corduroy seersucker. Fabrics are so interesting these days.

The corduroy sat around while I contemplated what to do with it. I am not a huge corduroy fan in general, but this one was so interesting. I knew I wanted a jacket with it, but nothing was grabbing me. I finally decided to use it to sew up the car length coat from this LaFred pattern. Because I was matching stripes and observing the nap, and this has some pretty large pattern pieces, I was grateful to have enough fabric. While this pattern may look pretty traditional, it has some interesting features:

  • The body of the jacket and the sleeve are cut in one piece. This means that the sleeves are on the bias. Because I was using a stripe, this caused the chevron pattern along the top of the sleeve.
  • There is another under sleeve piece cut on the straight of grain. This is attached to a triangular gusset. I found this to be a pretty easy gusset experience and is designed to give a wider range of movement to the shoulders/arms.
  • The pattern features two pocket styles. I opted for the interesting "window pane" pocket which is very easy to make, but looks very "high end." To reduce bulk, I lined the pocket with the lining fabric, but you could also use the fashion fabric.
  • There are two neck styles available - a round neckline and a petal collar. I opted for the round neckline which I wear folded back.
This straight jacket doesn't have a lot of shaping. Based on my high bust measurement, I cut an XL, which had enough ease so I didn't need an FBA. Once I had the outer shell constructed, I decided to remove about 3" from the CB at the hem, tapered to nothing – if I hadn't already constructed the pockets, I would have probably removed it from the side seams. I also shortened the sleeves about 1.5" and I inserted some smallish petal shoulder pads.


(The chevron design is caused by the stripes and bias cut sleeves.)


(I love these chunky black buttons, which I bought at Artistry in Fashion and intended them for another project. The lining is optional, but I lined it with a dark brown crinkled polka dot polyester.)


DD1 feels that this coat is a little oversized and underfitted. It might seem so, given the current more fitted styles, but it's a good use of this interesting fabric and I expect to get a lot of wear from this coat in my chilly, foggy climate.

I think I have now used everything I bought at Artistry in Fashion -- two LaFred patterns and 6 chunky black buttons. This might be a first! :)

9 comments:

  1. Love how you worked the sleeves.

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  2. Nice coat! Love the corduroy - where did you buy it? Also love your Salsa blouse, I think I'll have to add that pattern to my want-it list!

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  3. That is a terrific coat. Love the polka-dotty lining! That coat looks like it wants to go to a football game! Or a tail-gate party!

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  4. Thanks, Bunny, Gail and Gwen! Gail, I bought the fabric where I buy most of my fabrics, at Fabrix. They do not have a website and the store is truly hit or miss, but their prices are great when you do find something. This fabric was $2 a yard. This is a store you go in and root around to see what they have. This is not a store where you expect to find a particular fabric or a particular color. :)

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  5. Looks good, fits nice. Love the lining and the buttons. Give a rating of 10.5(out of 10). Great job. Love it.

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  6. Looks great; I enjoy your sewing adventures!

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  7. Great job! I like the chevrons on the sleeves.

    That fabric was a great find! Is it the store on Clement in SF? I think that Fabrix does have a website, but they don't do online sales as their inventory turns over very quickly. I had to be in the city today and I couldn't pass up on visiting (and shopping!) even though it was across town from my meeting.

    http://www.fabrixsanfrancisco.com/

    Rose in SV

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  8. Thanks, Karima, Linda and Rose!

    Wow, Rose, I had no idea they had a website! Yes, that's the place I visit most every week. ;) What did you find?? (Lately, pickin's have been a bit slim.)

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  9. Love the sleeves!! Great cozy jacket!

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