The Caladium Trench – Free Sewing Pattern

It’s about that time when Manhattan starts to become a sea of grey as the winter weather rolls in and everyone wraps themselves in coats, hats, and scarves. I was dangerously close to hopping on the typical all-black winter look that has become the staple uniform of city-dwellers, until I noticed Mood’s wool/cashmere blends that come in over 10 delicious colors. How could anyone say no to this fuchsia?

The wool cuts like a dream, is soft to the touch, and doesn’t fray, so I immediately wanted to make something that didn’t require a lining or hems. Why complicate things, right? The Caladium Trench was perfect: featuring easy seams, a belted waist, and a gorgeous waterfall collar.

Fabrics & materials used:

• 3 yards Italian Fuchsia Wool/Cashmere Coating
• MDF009 – The Caladium Trench Sewing Pattern (Free download below!)

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Pattern includes a 1/2″ seam allowance unless otherwise stated.

Since this fabric doesn’t fray, I went with very simple seams: sewing right sides together, pressing the seam allowance down, and top-stitching as you can see below.

Step 1

To start off your jacket, sew the two back panels together to create a center back seam. The two front panels can be attached at the center back of the collar, which is shown by the dashed white line below. For this one seam, you can sew with the wrong sides together as the collar will be flipped outward and the seam allowance will fall beneath the collar if it’s on the face of the fabric.

Step 2

Next, sew the dart on each shoulder of the jacket’s front panels. The front and back of the coat can then be attached at the shoulders, like you see below. When you reach the neckline,pause your stitching, cut a small notch into your seam allowance of your front panels so the collar can be matched up to the neckline of the back panel. Finish stitching.

Step 3

Before sewing up your side seams, it’s time to add your pockets. Layer the pocket welt on the top of your front panel (right sides together) and your pocket lining just below the front panel (wrong sides together, depicted by the white dashed line below.)

Step 4

Sew a rectangle through all three layers of your fabric. Cut along the dotted line inside the rectangle above, fold the welt fabric in toward the wrong side of the garment, and top-stitch it like below.

Step 5

Fold your pocket lining in half and sew it closed around the remaining three sides. Viola! Your pocket is complete!

Step 6

Finally, sew your coat together at the sides and add some optional belt loops at the center back and side seams. At this point, you should have a functioning trench vest! If you’d like to skip the sleeves, cut your armhole edges evenly and continue on to the belt.

Step 7

If adding sleeves, sew the upper and lower sleeve panels together along the larger seam first. This it the seam that will be more noticeable and easily seen from the back. Top-stitch along this seam, securing the seam allowance, before sewing along the shorter seam. Once both seams are sewn, attach your sleeves to their respective armholes. Be sure to align your notches, and place the longer seam toward the back of your coat.

Step 8

The last part of your coat that needs to be sewn is the belt. Stitch the two panels, right sides together, along one of the short sides. You should have one long strip of fabric with a seam in the center. Top-stitch the seam allowance and fold the strip along the length, again with the faces together. Sew along the three open sides, leaving a couple inches open at the center or at one of the ends to pull the belt right-side-out. (I angled my two ends, like you see above.) Top-stitch around the entire belt, making sure to close the 2″ you initially left open.

Easy, cozy, and chic – my three favorite ways for a project to end up. The raw edges can be trimmed and cleaned up, but I absolutely love that I didn’t need to hem anything (although I did choose to roll and stitch the bottom of the sleeves).

Personally, I want to try this pattern in every single color. Maybe an Ocean Blue next? What fabric are you going to use to make yours? Let me know in the comments!