Well, the coat is finished! It didn’t take that long to do, once I got started on it. As you can see from the picture, this is not the first time I’ve made this coat. I’ve made up this coat three times now. The first was in 2002 when DD1 was about 5 years old. I don’t have a picture, unfortunately. It was of a dark purple melton with a faux persian lamb collar and hat. The second version is on DD2, on the left. My DD1 chose the fabric (it was originally made for my eldest), but I didn’t purchase enough fabric, so it’s a bit shorter than I would have liked it to be. The latest version of it was necessary as DD3 had outgrown all the coats in the closet. Both coats are a Vogue size 10. You can see a picture of the pattern here.

I realize DD3’s is a bit big, but I’m hoping she’ll wear it next year, too. She’s very tall, and as she’s only 8, the coat will look perfect next year.

The beret and both coat collars are of a rayon faux persian lamb. I love this faux fur. I wish all faux furs were made of rayon, because you can steam them into shape without the fibres melting. The mystery fabric was interesting to sew. It behaved like a fleece, so required some care. I probably should have used a walking foot, but didn’t. I’ve left a 4 inch (10 cm) hem allowance on the cuffs, and pleated an extra 2 inches (5 cm) into the sleeve lining as a “growth” pleat. I’m anticipating DD3’s sprouting over the next year.

I was trying to be economical with this coat, and raided my button stash. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I had to be satisfied with four different buttons. Some of them must be vintage, because they’re quite interesting. Hopefully you can get a closeup look at the picture. And I got stuck with the buttonholes, as you can read about in my previous post.

And here’s my pattern review:

Pattern Description: Children’s/Girls’ coat and hat.

Pattern Sizing: 4-6; 7-10; 12-14

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Absolutely!

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. The instructions for this coat are particularly easy to follow and well-written. There are no errors.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I was initially drawn to it because of the back pleats and the length options.I personally love a long winter coat, and my girls are happy to have dress coats to wear. I also liked the hat pattern. It’s got a little of that jaunty Parisian air to it.

Fabric Used: light teal wool melton and white kasha lining for DD2’s coat. Dark teal mystery fabric, silver kasha lining for DD3’s coat. Rayon faux Persian lamb for the beret, collars and DD3’s belt.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I did not make any design changes either time. This is a lovely pattern and it’s got a lot of ease and movement to accommodate different shapes of little people. I know it’s an OOP pattern, but if you can get your hands on a copy, the resulting garment is worth it.