Cascade Much.
And, since I'm sitting in the middle of this…
Welcome to the photos of my hallway I took on Friday. And some of my drowning.
Along that line, after waiting a year--or so--Grainline finally released her duffle coat. Indeed. I won't lie, I was near about to give up and start drafting Colette's Albion for a girl. Then, I stopped . . . remembered that every single Grainline pattern has met me with happiness and such. Yea, I get endless happiness from good architectural lines and silhouettes that look like an adult on me.
The Instagram pic, that let it all out . . .
So, Cascade came out and in a hot minute I scooped up the printed copy. We all know how I hate taping, so seriously I can wait a week for a pattern over PDF anyday. I'd only been hoarding fabric for it for months, and . . . I went and got the zipper and black wool. Away, away, away I went.
First, I got a yard of the black. I searched Paron and HM, but no one had a saturated black. So, Mood it was. Pared with Bemberg lining and a cashmere wool from HM I dreamed in plaid and black. Yea, I said cashmere. Note, I also said HM. HM always be going out of business. Ha.
My black . . . the outside hood, the pockets, the cuffs, the yoke, and the facings. Jen has facings on the inside, the hem, AND the sleeves. Seriously, those and the details in the book are so worth the wait. When I opened the pattern I first thought: Damn, this is thick. Then . . . all those facings. Then . . . I started sewing and said, more than once, this is beautiful. The lines, the facings . . . As I said on Instagram, I've never been so happy to have waited. . .
I cut a 14 top and graded to 18 hip. Then, I sewed everything on a 5/8ths seam (which she calls for a 1/2) and then I graded the sides to a whopping 1 inch. Soooooo . . . Yea, I sewed a 14 with 18 sleeves (sleeves are on a 1/4 seam, since we already know that deal). Made the whole thing two inches shorter, and I didn't adjust the center panels, which is why mine match even. I had a vision people.
Notice my cuffs are two pieces of black. Well, as I noted I was short on black, and since I'm a po' person these days I refused to buy more. So, I double cuffed my coat to get the right length. Added a little top stitching, and called it a day. I am really happy with the outcome. Tremendously so.
Oh, and since my tripod hates me…we have, what we call, a bad angle.
For half a second I was going to add side pockets. Then I did, saw the disturbed architectural lines, took them off, and realized I don't really need them with those front pockets.
Those toggles . . . they were the ones my Dad picked for his coat, but since I swapped his for ones that went better I used them. Since I had four, I put four and not three on the coat, and I was sans cording but had two extra long shoe laces. Yup, those cords are shoe laces. Wooden toggles, shoe laces, and leather patches.
The black contrast . . . well, I was hoarding fabric and plotting a semi-copy of this:
There's no tailoring, per se, on this one. So . . . I spent four or so hours cutting it out (as I only had one yard of 63" wide black and needed to make it all fit and that plaid matching). The next day I sewed it in about eight hours. Really.
And, the best part: it's bagged. Until now I'd never grasped the bagging tutorials. Jen's booklet, well let's just say it holds your hand and does everything but push the petal for ya.
I really love this coat. So much that I do believe it is my best yet. The hood narrows to stay on your head, and I lined mine with flannel. The shape, the curves, the whole kit and caboodle . . .
And, in case you were wondering, from earlier last week: '90s child I am.
Along that line, after waiting a year--or so--Grainline finally released her duffle coat. Indeed. I won't lie, I was near about to give up and start drafting Colette's Albion for a girl. Then, I stopped . . . remembered that every single Grainline pattern has met me with happiness and such. Yea, I get endless happiness from good architectural lines and silhouettes that look like an adult on me.
And since it's winter and all, I haven't been able to get a photo outside ...welcome to my hallway.
The Instagram pic, that let it all out . . .
So, Cascade came out and in a hot minute I scooped up the printed copy. We all know how I hate taping, so seriously I can wait a week for a pattern over PDF anyday. I'd only been hoarding fabric for it for months, and . . . I went and got the zipper and black wool. Away, away, away I went.
First, I got a yard of the black. I searched Paron and HM, but no one had a saturated black. So, Mood it was. Pared with Bemberg lining and a cashmere wool from HM I dreamed in plaid and black. Yea, I said cashmere. Note, I also said HM. HM always be going out of business. Ha.
Natural light + cashmere + fuzz when there really isn't any.
My black . . . the outside hood, the pockets, the cuffs, the yoke, and the facings. Jen has facings on the inside, the hem, AND the sleeves. Seriously, those and the details in the book are so worth the wait. When I opened the pattern I first thought: Damn, this is thick. Then . . . all those facings. Then . . . I started sewing and said, more than once, this is beautiful. The lines, the facings . . . As I said on Instagram, I've never been so happy to have waited. . .
I cut a 14 top and graded to 18 hip. Then, I sewed everything on a 5/8ths seam (which she calls for a 1/2) and then I graded the sides to a whopping 1 inch. Soooooo . . . Yea, I sewed a 14 with 18 sleeves (sleeves are on a 1/4 seam, since we already know that deal). Made the whole thing two inches shorter, and I didn't adjust the center panels, which is why mine match even. I had a vision people.
Notice my cuffs are two pieces of black. Well, as I noted I was short on black, and since I'm a po' person these days I refused to buy more. So, I double cuffed my coat to get the right length. Added a little top stitching, and called it a day. I am really happy with the outcome. Tremendously so.
For half a second I was going to add side pockets. Then I did, saw the disturbed architectural lines, took them off, and realized I don't really need them with those front pockets.
Those toggles . . . they were the ones my Dad picked for his coat, but since I swapped his for ones that went better I used them. Since I had four, I put four and not three on the coat, and I was sans cording but had two extra long shoe laces. Yup, those cords are shoe laces. Wooden toggles, shoe laces, and leather patches.
The black contrast . . . well, I was hoarding fabric and plotting a semi-copy of this:
I didn't have enough black to do black on the front panels, but I did have enough plaid to plaid match like a boss. Odds are 99.99 percent I'll make another one of these next year. I'll but more solid fabric and line it, or at least underline it, with flannel. Deep winter delight.
There's no tailoring, per se, on this one. So . . . I spent four or so hours cutting it out (as I only had one yard of 63" wide black and needed to make it all fit and that plaid matching). The next day I sewed it in about eight hours. Really.
And, the best part: it's bagged. Until now I'd never grasped the bagging tutorials. Jen's booklet, well let's just say it holds your hand and does everything but push the petal for ya.
I really love this coat. So much that I do believe it is my best yet. The hood narrows to stay on your head, and I lined mine with flannel. The shape, the curves, the whole kit and caboodle . . .
And, in case you were wondering, from earlier last week: '90s child I am.
And maybe I'll dig out of this New Egland winter and make it back to NYC soon.
Comments
I've been trying to find toggles online but I think I'm just going to have to but it and make some. Sigh.