Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Autumn Sewing: Pauline Alice Quart Coat


This is the coat dreams are made of. 
It's all in the details. Pleats, lining, epaulets, zips, hanging loop!
I heart Pauline Alice patterns!

I seem to have added all bar two of her patterns to my collection. Whoops.
I'll be making her overalls next. (much to my husbands dismay, sorry not sorry)

I wanted this pattern as soon as I saw it.
It didn't matter that it was still summer here and coats were at the back of the sewing queue.
You know what its like when you get a new pattern and you want to sew it RIGHT NOW!
So thats what happened...





The Quart Coat comes in a lovely envelope with cute illustrations and the instructions are excellent, and in 3 languages no less!  
After sewing some very colourful coats last year (Bright Orange!) it was about time to make a staple coat that would go with everything. Basic black.
I took a trip to The Fabric Store and scooped up some melton wool.
I absolutely love sewing this stuff!


I won't go too much into the construction because it will probably bore you to death...
I made some shoulder pads and a back stay and interfaced the hell outta this sucker with a nice tailors interfering from work. I'm starting to run out of good interfacing. Anybody have any good suggestions/suppliers?


I used a poly charmeuse for the lining because its a nice weight and seemed to go with the wool.
Sewing it was a complete nightmare though. So slippery and fray city!

I sewed slowly (for me) and completed little bits of the coat here and there. It took about a week on and off to finish it up. There was a fair bit of hand sewing and lots of buttons to sew on. 
All in all a very satisfying make!

 Here is a couple of shots of it on its maiden voyage to the Queen Vic Market and surrounds.

Side note: 
I was heavily hung over after going to see Russell Kane at the comedy fest and visiting many bars. 
So many bars. I. was. very. sick.
(So sick that I got an amazing plate of muesli and bagel that cost a million dollars and ate about one spoonful of it. No good).

Twas a nice day for a prance though!



The verdict is that I love this coat. It it SO warm, a nice mid length and comfy as hell.
This will get a lot of wear. In fact it already is the daily chuck on!


Yep. Was having a moment here...
Please stop taking my photo. In fact don't even look in my direction. Don't even breathe near me.


Anybody else sewing any Pauline Alice patterns???
Its a true romance happening over here...

17 comments:

  1. Those pleats! I'm swooning over here. You did such a fantastic job with this coat. The pattern is great, but your workmanship is even better. So, so pretty!

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  2. This is an amazing & truly beautiful coat! I actually woke up this morning & was thinking that this is what I want to sew next. I've got some questions... Did you just press those pleats with your iron? Or use something to achieve the sharpness? And did you interface beyond what the pattern stated? Thanks ;-)

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  3. This is simply smashing, lovely! Your pleats are so.dang.sharp. Awesome!

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  4. Yes you should make it!!! The pattern is quite interfaced anyway but i also used it on the pockets, armholes and the back stay was done with the tailors interfacing too. It's soft and a bit spongey. Can't wait to see you make it!

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  5. Thank you Mary! Coats are really a labour of love. I like the work that goes into them.

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  6. Ps the sharp pleats was due to the wool being well behaved. I used a pressing cloth and oodles of steam and let them sit overnight 👍👍👍

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  7. This looks fantastic and those pleats are amazing!! Well done!

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  8. Great looking coat! I have never tried a Pauline and ALice pattern...now you have tempted me!

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  9. Eek! This one is on my list! Looks amazing on you. I'm going to investigate The Drapery for some wool options. xx

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  10. You should try them! Lots of cute ones to choose from ☺️

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  11. I love your Quart coat. It looks amazing. You've done a great job.

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  12. My goodness, this is GORGEOUS. I swear I wasn't even considering this coat for myself, but yours looks so nice... and I can tell I'm going to get so cold this winter...

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  13. I say do it! A great pattern!!! And so warm... Thank you :-)

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