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Holy Brenna

18.3.15

Ohhh god, I can´t even. I.MADE.A.COAT. A real coat, fully lined, inseam pockets, a little yoke. I´ve made some coat wannabes in the past, from japanese patterns and Burda, but these were quite simple and had no lining, just simple facings, and I´ve been longing to do some serious sewing with a good pattern and instructions. I choose the lovely and trendy Brenna from Cali Faye Collection. This pattern designer is off the charts with style, it´s definitely my kind of wardrobe.

 https://califayecollection.refersion.com/c/36c2c

Construction wise, I was quite fearful my brain would tangle somewhere along the way, especially adding the lining, but fear not: it´s a lazy, beginner, fast friendly pattern.
I don´t know how she did it, but am quite jealous of the architecture of the coat. There are not to many pieces, so you won´t spend two days cutting fabric. There is no interfacing. The yoke and pockets are optional and if you dismiss these it´s even faster. There are no turn-and-loop-fabric-and-main-and-loop-again-and-turn-to-wrong-side-lost-me-at-loop tricks to add lining: the pattern pieces are very well constructed and, with no fancy high couture sewing, you´ll get fantastic results and a designer-look coat.
IF, and this is the tricky part, IF you can read and follow instructions bit by bit, you´ll get through it with no pain. I followed all the instructions like a bible, but when adding the base liner I complicated more than I should: inexperience and a little misinterpretation that I only fully understood by the time I finished it.
So, I´ll give you a quick glimpse of all steps involved should you decide to give it a go, which you should!

The pdf pattern assembly is easy and fast and I used the paper sheets since there is no overlaping pieces, just cut your size and it´s ready. Really go through the tutorial and mark doubts or things that are unclear; this will help you not stumble on some unexpected construction errors and make the sewing go faster.
Light weight wovens are recommended, but I wanted a mid season coat (also, it´s still cold here in Portugal!), so I used a linen wool blend I already had (and now know I committed a jewish sacrilege - ohh internet, the things you learn!) and for the lining I used a... well, it´s polyester for sure because it frayed like mad.
All pattern pieces have notches to match and I must tell you: i never ever made anything that matched so well at all of them (i never tried that hard anyway). For the lining yoke I used real leather from an upcycled old bag I had, and I wish it could have been better: the curve is not perfect as well as the topstitching, but it will do, I just wanted to add a little something special.

https://califayecollection.refersion.com/l/993.42199

The inseam pockets were not that hard, the steps are fully explained and easy to follow; just added a little under stitching to the lining because it is very light weight and I wanted it to stay where it belonged.

https://califayecollection.refersion.com/l/993.42199

Now, the lining attachment at the bottom is constructed in a very simple way: there are three pieces at the bottom (which are the same fabric as your main coat), you join them and sew them to the bottom of your lining, right sides together. And then I wondered, but what about the sides of it, where do they attach to the inner coat? It´s quite simple, you just fold the seam allowance in and topstitch, ha! By the time I understood it was this simple, I had already close them a more harder way (with no seams at sight).

https://califayecollection.refersion.com/l/993.42199

https://califayecollection.refersion.com/l/993.42199

Obviously I cheated at the end and did some edge stitching to close the sleeves; since I did the topstitch, I thought it would be ok at the sleeves as well and I´m fine with it. I don´t do hand sewing. I just don´t. (EDIT: forgot to mention the tutorial includes instructions for herringbone hand stitch)

https://califayecollection.refersion.com/l/993.42199

https://califayecollection.refersion.com/l/993.42199

Now, you must think I have a fancy modern sewing machine to make things like this, wrong: I have a very modest and simple Alfa next 20 and though I now feel I need more features, she still pulls it off. It has no stitch lenght option, just twelve stitches but has a great motor, as all Alfa have. That engine rocks and she has endured my stubborness on wanting to sew 4 layers of fabric plus filling plus bias plus whatever. With the right needle, with the right pedal control, she sews through everything. I have to work a little magic sometimes to get the desired effect, especially with topstitching, but I learned a lot from just learning to work with it (it comes with a great instruction manual and some online videos that guide you through all those beginner steps).

 

The fit is obviously great and there is an optional button mark for closure, but I left it open because those front flaps have a gorgeous draping and should be honoured. I finished it in two days, from pattern assembly ´till sleeve closing, and did not work in a hurry. Prepare your work in advance, needles, threads, iron always on, and you´ll do it in a breeze. I thought I was too lazy to do such a multiple step project, but I was wrong. And so are you, if you think that too. I think sewing is also a matter of the heart, and nothing can go wrong when love is around.

This blog post contains affiliate links but all opinions are my own.

12 comentários

  1. Está fabuloso! Adoro esse molde, acho que no próximo inverno vou fazer um para mim... 😉

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    1. Obrigada Patrícia! Acho que deves mesmo, bjs!

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  2. It looks amazing! I LOVE making lined coats. I always get such a sewing high. :)
    Digo sempre a toda a gente que fazer casacos é fácil, apenas um pouco mais moroso do que os projectos "normais", rápidos e fáceis, que todas fazemos frequentemente. É como dizes - é só seguir as instruções. Tenho a dizer que acho mal não fechares a abertura do forro à mão... :) (Estou a meter-me contigo, não leves a mal. :) ) Eu sou muito old-school nalgumas coisas. Penso que há coisas que ficam mesmo melhor feitas à mão, como algumas baínhas ou vistas, por exemplo. Mas sei que é por ter aprendido a costurar com técnicas de alta costura... Tenho sempre a tendência para usar o menos possível os pespontos visíveis... :)
    O tecido dos pássaros é maravilhoso... É perfeito para este forro.

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    1. Sara, eu não sei coser à mão, não sei mesmo, o pouco que aprendi foi de tutoriais da internet e, sinceramente, tenho pouca paciência e pouco jeito. Se te consola, estou a desmanchar o pesponto da base do casaco que estava a enrolar um bocadinho pelo peso do tecido e vou refazer as mangas à mão ;)
      Nunca tive um casaco com um forro tão bonito, valeu mesmo a pena! bjs

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    2. Ouch!... Não me consola nada ver a trabalheira e o sofrimento dos outros... Se não tivessemos 300 Km a separar-nos levava o meu abre-casas e a agulha e, uma de um lado e outra do outro, fazíamos isso num instante durante um café. :)
      E esqueci-me de dizer-te: a blusa é LINDA! Não te admires se um dia destes fizer um self-draft... :)

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    3. Isso é que era! Dava-me jeito aqui uma mãozinha sabia para umas alterações e dois dedos de conversa 😉 e posso-te mandar a blusa para copiares tenho esta e igual em preto 😁 (em minha defesa só tenho as duas iguais pq foi nos saldos, ok?)

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  3. WOW! Esta maravilhoso! Tambem coso tudo a maquina... sou demasiado preguiçosa :-) Ficou lindo e fica-te um maximo!

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    1. Obrigada Rita! Eu é mesmo porque não sei coser à mão e falta de jeito também :P Bjs!

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  4. Este molde também está na minha wishlist, mas achei sempre que seria complicado. No próximo inverno, não me escapa! O teu está perfeito! Parabéns, Andreia!

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    1. Obrigada Diana! a construção é muito mais simples do que os casacões de inverno, o molde também não está destinado a tecidos muito pesados, daí não levar entretrela, nem reforço nos ombros, é mesmo simples, go for it! Bjs

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  5. O casaco ficou um espectáculo! Adoro o tecido dos pássaros também! :)

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  6. I made these jacket recently, I love it. I had terribly issues with the sleeves though and ended up taking the pattern and pieces to a local sew shop and paid for a class, turns out I had a mis-printed pattern as the sleeves and sleeve hole (despite being cut in the same size) did not fit. It was a pain at the time as I paid for the class for a printing error, but did learn how to adjust sleeves. It is now a perfect fit. I made it in a very cheap woven fabric and now I am going to make a warmer version in a wool. I love your wool-linen blend and I am going to search for similar fabric. Congratulations! A beautiful coat!

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