Rose Plaid Coat

I owe this coat all to Erica, her fabulous statement coat led me to order this Rose/Gray/Off-White Plaid Coating and I let it linger in my stash until I was sure what I wanted to make. It is such a beautiful wool and I didn’t want to pick the wrong pattern. After some thought, I went with Simplicity 8554, a trench coat in the mid-length

I went with the side seam pockets and not the patch pockets. I wanted the side seam pockets, so I could put my hands in during the fall/winter. I did not have enough for the front flaps or I would have added that to my jacket.

I started out cutting out the pattern one layer at a time, so I could get all the plaid lined up. The jacket is a soft trench, which I take as not much structure or tailoring and is not lined. I did add a few extras, bias binding on all the seams to start with.

After setting in the sleeves and trying it on, I decided to add sleeve heads, much better. One last addition was lining for the sleeves only, a tip I picked up thanks to the sewing community. This really makes it so easy to put your coat on and off.

My last step was to try on the jacket and tie on the belt, this helped me decide where to put the belt. I do think I might have the side belt loops a bit too high. My waist is lower and I feel like I have the belt a bit too high.

Also, I might order a bit more fabric, I want a thicker belt, maybe twice the width of this belt.

The fabric was amazing, it isn’t a heavy wool and has a great drape. The nice drape really works well with this trench. I love the weight of this fabric for fall and the Rose color is such a nice pop of color for fall.

I don’t know if I will wear this belted but more open with the belt tied in back. While I mention the belt tied on the back, I need to practice my back belt tie!

Thanks, Erica, for the inspiration, I love this plaid wool fabric and my coat is perfect addition of color for fall.