I don’t believe I ever updated you on my final fabric selection for the Gertie Coat (Butterick 5824) after sharing all of my swatches. I was a good, little seamstress and attempted to use the purple and black coating that I have in my stash (since it did start to grow on me again). I ended up being about 1 yard shy of the material due to the pattern layout & grainline orientation. So I happily ordered myself that lucious teal fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club. *Wooot*
It’s not a light-weight coating material, but its a sturdy yet drapish, medium-weight wool that I think will look great when all sewn up. Well, I hope it will look good since I’ve made some bad fabric selections in the past. I know the weight of the skirt will cause some issues which will have to be addressed, but the light weight material just won’t cut it a Chicago-fall season very long. And I want my coat to carry me as long into the winter as possible.
As I patiently wait (totally can’t wait for it to come why isn’t it coming????) for my fabric to arrive in the mail, I’ve been pondering some embellishments for my coat. Seriously, I’m growing impatient since I placed the order over a week ago.
While I do like the teal fabric I settled on, I wishing I could have found an adequate weight fabric that was much more vibrant and fun. I hunted around for some bright reds and grass greens, but they were all too heavy/thick for this coat via Gertie’s recommendations. There were plenty to be seen but they all seemed to be sold out on the websites I was looking at. Ahh well…. such is life.
Seeing as how I wish I had more *pop* on this coat I’ve been looking around online for inspiration images to see if I can’t incorporate a thing or two to make it more “me”. I always want to incorporate every thing I love on 40’s and 50’s coats onto one garment, so in the midst of all of my ooo-ing and ahhh-ing at vintage images I’ve tried to reign myself in as to what would look good on this particular coat design.
Tailored Look
Tab, Welt Pockets:
I’m 100% sold on doing some kind of pocket detail like this one. Colette aka Sarai shared this link a while back when she was talking about welt pockets, and I pinned it straight away. The pockets on the Butterick pattern are vertical pockets right on a seam line. So I was thinking of making a pair of these and stitching them to the right side of the coat front since the pockets aren’t welts.
Contrast Collar:
This is a jacket I found on etsy (yes… it’s been sold). I love the slight contrast collar on this jacket and if I do something like this, I’d mirror the same color accent on the pocket detail and perhaps include a cuff also.
Whimsical Look
Lace Paneled skirt via Anthropologie:
I’ve had this skirt pinned for quite some time, but I think something like this would be lovely on the hem of the coat, would bring a pop of interest and perhaps color.
I’ve been itching to try my hand at rouleau:
I had this image pinned in my 1940’s inspiration board on pinterest (dress via etsy & also sold), but I love the idea of incorporating some kind of rouleau design onto the collar of the coat. I’d mirror it along the center front of the coat and perhaps around the button holes as well. I think it lends a unique touch to the design.
Belts:
Do I think this coat needs a belt: No. Do I want a belt anyways: Yes.
As the image states, I found this on Couture Allure. What I love about this is the belt on the girl in the middle. It’s a simple belt, but you see how it’s cinched by two buttons in the center front… it would lend itself perfectly to the original Butterick coat design since it has those same two buttons as a closure.
I’m a big fan of belts in general. With the extra ease that is normally built into coats, if I’m not wearing something bulky underneath, I like having the option to cinch my waist so I can look as shapely as possible.
I think you can already see that I either lean towards a tailored, clean look or a more bold and whimsical look for this coat. Once I mock up my muslin I’m hoping that I will be able to just *feel* what should be the best route for this coat. I have a hunch I should lean towards a more tailored look since the coat design itself is more reminiscent of the 50’s instead of the 40’s. Plus I’m in love with that tabbed pocket design and it needs to be on a jacket or coat of some sort asap!
Lastly, I have a few more coat inspiration images on my pinterest coat board if you’d care to take a look. Anyone else doing Gertie’s Sew along?
In: Sewing
Comments (11)