Zoe's Winter Coat

I've been very slack about blogging lately and I finally got around to taking some pictures of Zoe in her winter coat. I actually finished this little coat a month or so ago, but haven't had my camera handy when she's worn it until the other day.

I made this coat out of suede sherpa that someone gave me ages ago. I was unsure what to do with it and it sat in my stash for sometime. I only had half a metre of it, so I knew if I was going to do anything for Zoe with it, it had to be this year. If I waited until she was bigger and would wear a coat more, I wouldn't have enough fabric. The pattern for this coat is Make It Perfect Serendipity. It's such a sweet coat and I have wanted to sew one for Zoe ever since last winter when I pattern tested it.

I deviated a little from the pattern. I took some fabric of the front edge of both the left hand and right hand size because Zoe is still so small, and the fabric is so bulky. This meant I only needed two buttons instead of four that the pattern calls for. I didn't line it because the soft stuff on the inside is what Zoe really likes anyway.

I used a soft faux fur for the collar and to finish it, I simply rounded the bottom corners and bound it with some homemade bias binding.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, it fits Zoe really well and is handy and very warm for those cool mornings when we get out of the car on the school run.

Of course, Sydney does have a relatively short winter (perhaps I am just living in hope at the moment, we will see in another month), so I know she's not going to get much wear out of it. It will go in to the hand me down pile along with the rest of her stuff for some other lucky little girl in about 3 weeks (I hope). Totally worth it to produce such a cute coat though and to get rid of that fabric from my stash.....gives me more space to buy more!

Sewing coats for girls is not as hard as it looks but you do need to take your time and be extra careful when cutting. This is a great pattern for an advanced beginner and the instructions are easy to follow and well explained. You will find they don't sew up anywhere near as quickly as a dress, but they are well worth the result. I dare you to give it a go!

Marnie