i am a true southern, low country girl. i keep my toenails painted, i use my manners (this may surprise some of you), i never miss the opportunity to soak up vitamin D (although nowadays slathered with SPF 50), i enjoy the smell of the salt marsh, i can look at the river and tell you if the tide is coming in or out and i feel confident i could hold my own at the dinner table with the ghost of emily post. and most of all, i am not a fan of cold weather. seriously. if it drops below 55, don't expect to see me outside. this was great, grand and wonderful growing up in savannah as the weather there is mild. however, in my dear city of athens...it gets a little cold. and this week i have learned complete and utter respect for anyone that lives in a place that it gets really cold. seriously, hats off (well, maybe not in the cold) to you. i certainly wouldn't make it. oops.
with all of this said, i will admit that i have a canary yellow long coat with a big collar that makes me happy on cold days. so, in a way...a jacket can make all the difference in the world. enter this sew along.
let's turn this dress
into this TOTALLY reversible coat (i promise to get pics of it actually on my kid sometime soon, we've just been dealing with the crappy terrible 2s lately with nash and i seem to be losing my mind and motivation/efficiency).
who's in?
great. now this will start next week. but, i wanted to go ahead and put this out there today for those of you that may want to grab some fabric. if you don't already have the pepper dress pattern, no worries my friends. i may have just reduced the price of it in my etsy store for the sew along. ;)
here is a link for the materials needed for the dress. i have not gone through and done a seperate chart for the sew along (remember that issue about motivation??) but i will list below the changes you may need to adjust for:
- the bodice - i have this listed on the materials needed with it including the lining. so, for the pepper coat, what you can do is take the requirements and half it. so, if it said you needed 1 yard for the bodice (i am using simple math here, still not finished with morning coffee) on the chart - you will need 1/2 yard for the outside fabric of the bodice and 1/2 yard for the inside fabric for the bodice. clear as mud?
- the skirt - since you will be making 2 dresses in a nut shell and then sewing them together, you need double what the chart has listed. so, if it requires 3/4 yard for the skirt, know you will need 3/4 yard for the outside skirt and 3/4 for the inside skirt. i took about 2" off the measurement of the skirt for my coat just to shorten it a bit, this is totally up to you but shouldn't make a huge difference in fabric requirements.
- sleeves - again, double this since you will be making 4 sleeves instead of 2. so, if it says you need 1/4 yard, you need 1/4 yard for outer sleeve and 1/4 yard for inner sleeve.
- contrasting sleeve band - i changed this up a bit since the construction of the sleeves is how we make it reversible, but with that said...i feel you are fine with 1/8, but remember you will need it for both inner and outer fabrics.
- inseam pockets (this is totally optional, but i find it is a great thing to have on a coat) - if you want to do pockets for both layers, double this. so, instead of cutting 4 pockets, you will cut 8. you certianly don't have to do pockets for both layers, but i wrote the tutorial including that info, so it may be helpful AND your little miss may find it fun to have hidden inner pockets. :)
- bodice trim - i have extended the trim down the front side of the jacket. i think it looks really great. so, you will need what is required plus the length of the skirt. you only need 1 as it is sandwiched between the 2 layers. more details of this trim are included in the pattern tutorial.
- back tab - again, double if you want a tab for both layers.
- buttons - same with back tab. but, the front of the jacket - this is all up to you. i just put 2 on the one i made for louisa, but only because that was how many i had in my stash. feel free to add more or just put one around the waist and let the top flap down to expose the inner fabric. :)
i think that covers it. and hopefully it makes sense. in essence, as i said...you are sewing 2 dress shells (meaning not lined) and then sticking them together to make one, big completely lined dress. it really is awesome.
now, fabrics. here is what i suggest:
- quilter's cotton - this is what i used. i treated myself to some joel (it has been far too long since i sewed joel) and used cotton for both inner and outer. it makes a great spring-weight coat but i don't find it will be very warm.
- so, if you need warmth, how about a fleece or a minky for the inner fabric? that would not only provide warmth but also softness if it was worn on the inside.
- you can also line the jacket with flannel if you wanted to. i didn't include that in the instructions, but it wouldn't be hard to do at all and that way you could have a cotton both inside and out and still have warmth. (meaning put a layer of flannel between the 2 cotton layers so it isn't seen)
schedule time. let's start this sew along middle of next week. here is how it will work on the blog.
now, if you aren't able to start on wednesday, or if you start and aren't able to finish...don't stress! i will not take this info off the blog and i ALWAYS have a link on the top toolbar for sew alongs. basically, this sew along isn't going anywhere! but, the pepper dress pattern will return back to regular price next week, so make sure you grab it on sale!
oh and before i forget - i am sure there will be lots of sharing, trouble-shooting, tips and fun on the brownie-goose lovers page on facebook. if you haven't joined yet - come on in and see what fun we have!
xoxo - amy
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