Ottobre 02/2017 #7 Basic Concept Linen Coat

Pattern: Ottobre 02/2017 #7 Basic Concept Linen Coat (that’s the pattern name, clearly mine is not made with linen, lol).

Date Sewn: I started sewing this 10/09/20 and finished 10/23/20

My measurements at the time: 39.5 bust, 32 waist, 45.5 hip

Size used: 44 bust/waist to 48 hip

Alterations: I moved the elbow pads up the arms 1.5” from the pattern markings to where they would cover my elbows. I did a 1/2” forward shoulder adjustment as standard for me.

Instructions: They were very detailed and I mostly followed them in construction. I had no issues and did not get hung up anywhere which is good because this is my first coat pattern I’ve sewn and there were no pictures to follow, just word instructions.

Fabric: textured twill woven double layered fabric with soft brushed fleece back. The face of this woven fabric has a water resistant coating. I purchased it from fashion fabrics club in feb 2018 and knew I wanted to use it on this exact coat. The title is “twill soft shell fleece – charcoal gray/black” which is funny because the outer water resistant fabric is denim looking (but doesn’t feel like denim. It is thinner and slick). It was $6.97 a yard and I used 3 full yards for this coat.

Thoughts: This coat was a project! Whew. It took days and days and wrangling of the fabric. The fabric I used was thick because it was double layered which makes it stiff-like, even though the pattern suggested a linen type fabric with drape. However, I had this coat in my mind with this fabric and I was going to see it through. My cover stitch hated the fabric; this is the only fabric in 3 years it has ever hated. The fleece-y underside was very grabby and made it hard for the feed dogs to move the fabric. I tried sticking my water soluble stabilizer under there but there was a ton of sewing and topstitching on this coat. I would have to use tons of the stabilizer. So I just forced it through and plugged on.

Lets start with what I don’t like:

The hood is enormous. ENORMOUS! What the hell!! It is like an astronaut helmet as Miss K likes to call it. It is fine with the hood down, but this is a rain coat…. It needs the hood up in the rain. There is no drawstring to bring it in so there is no way this would stay on my head in any sort of wind.
The belt ties are way too short. I need at least 6” or more to tie this belt appropriately.
The bodice is about 3” too long for my torso. My waist is higher up so the ties do not hit at my smallest; this causes the coat to want to ride up when tied, to rest on my natural waist.
The sleeves are really wide! This makes them seem too long on my arms.

Now lets list the likes:

I love this fabric. It is fun, water resistant, and the fleece is so soft. This will definitely keep me warm on nasty, rainy days.
I love the style and look of this pattern. Yes my fabric is too stiff and it overwhelms me but I kind of like that for a raincoat.
The topstitching details look nice and I like how the upper and lower are split in two on this coat. The back is also split into a left and right side on bottom.
The pockets are so darn cute. They are put in the right spot to comfortably stick my hands in and they are big enough to hold my phone and keys. They are perfect pockets!