I used to sew clothes, but for a long time now my only sewing projects have been for household items like quilts, throws and bags, or mending.
But I’ve been inspired by talented friends here - especially @craftygardennz @zeborah and @YGathGoch - and now I’m going to have a go at making this pixie coat! The last time I made a coat was probably in the 1980s 😆 Luckily the pattern comes with excellent instructions.
I’ve got a formal wool coat that I never wear, so I’m going to try and use some of the fabric from that for the new coat. The old one has a lot of panels so some jiggery-pokery will be needed with sewing skinny bits together to make it work. Maybe I’ll use it for the hood, pockets and sleeves.
It will be a slow process because fatigue. Yesterday I bought the digital pattern. Today I printed the 40-something A4 pages of pattern pieces, and figured out which size to make. Tomorrow I will tape all those bits of paper together and separate each pattern piece! Then I will investigate what I can do with the old coat and how much more fabric I need.
Maybe I will head into town to find fabric on Friday. I think I’ll check if Stitch Kitchen has any recycled fabric I can use first. It’s fun starting a new project!
Thank you fedi friends for the inspiration 💚
Today I spent ages crawling around the floor as I carefully lined up small pieces of paper 😆I’ve cut out the paper pattern pieces now, so that’s a relief.
This is the old coat I plan to deconstruct - I can use its red wool fabric for the hood, pockets and button loop strip of the new coat. I can reuse the buttons too.
That depends on finding some other fabric that goes nicely with it though! I will have a hunt tomorrow.
I’m delighted that I managed to pick up almost all the supplies for my coat from Stitch Kitchen! It’s a social enterprise that aims to reduce textile waste. Everything in the store is donated - bits of fabric and haberdashery and wool and anything you might need for textile projects. They also run classes etc. Even better, they have a sale on and fabric, already sold cheaply, is half-price (ending tomorrow)!
Here’s what I got for the grand sum of $28! The main fabric is a beautiful soft wool. The photo doesn’t show the colour very well - it’s a soft beige and pink with a mottled design. There’s enough for the whole coat, but I think I’ll stick with my plan of using my red fabric for the pockets and hood to make it a bit more interesting.
The other fabrics are for linings, and I got some partly-used reels of matching thread too.
The only thing they didn’t have was suitable interfacing, so I bought that new.
Minnie likes the lining fabric 😆
Today I made further progress in my slow sewing project - I cut out all the exterior fabric pieces. Then I ran out of oomph so will cut out the lining and interfacing another day!
I cut out the lining and interfacing for my coat today, with some ‘help’ from Minnie 🐾
That means the cutting out is complete and in my next session I can start the best bit - the sewing!
My coat is starting to come together now - literally 😆
Next up will be stitching the sides together, then the hood, facings and lining.
I’m pleased with the way the colours look together.
Ali Clarke 
Rochelle