Pattern Play

December 15, 2025

It’s unbelievably rewarding for me to sew for other people. They discover the best fabrics, the best silhouettes and the best combinations. Everyone brings their own tastes, styles and ideas. It’s a real privilege to be the one they trust to bring these ideas to life. This project is the perfect example.

Here is the original coat. It needed some alterations to fit better. We also lengthened the sleeves and added pockets. I admit that I was a little shocked that there were no pockets in the original. A coat without pockets is kind of crazy.

The fabric she picked for this coat is amazing. One side is a purple and green plaid with a hint of red and the other is a large pink and gold stripe. It was her idea to have the split off to one side rather than right down the middle and it really makes the design sing. She gave me full creative licence on the belt. There wasn’t enough fabric left to cut it and have it pattern match with the coat below. It was just as well because the belt would have gotten lost if the patterns matched. I could have cut the whole thing with the pink and gold stripes going horizontally but again, most of it would have been lost and with the curve, the line breaks would have been weird. Cutting it with the stripe vertically really brings out the pattern and unites the two sides of the coat. She also gave me free reign on the buttons. I’m a sucker for a fabric covered button on a coat. Since the coat is made with five colours I had a lot of options. I went with gold because I loved how I could line them up across from the corresponding gold stripe. I tweaked the position of the buttons a little so that they all lined up perfectly, but I didn’t have to move them far.

Often times with coats the outside is fairly plain which makes it fun to play with linings on the inside. I really like that with all of the action happening on the outside of this coat she went with an understated lining. So classy. The sleeves were unlined, just like the original, so the sleeve seems were bound with a binding. It makes such a nice, neat finish.

And no coat is complete without a hanging loop. It’s so much better for the life of your coat to hang it from a loop rather than just throwing it over a hook.