Sew Over It Cocoon Coat review : Teddy Bear Style

I always have a mental wishlist of unbought patterns that I'm saving for when inspiration strikes.  The Sew Over It Cocoon Coat has been on this list for a long while now and after starting work running the social media feeds at Clothspot I found the perfect teddy bear fur fabric (now sold out), the pattern was in a Sew Over It sale and a plan came together!  

I've only sewn one coat, The Raw Edge Coat from The Maker's Atelier book and it has been one of my favourite makes.  It gets lots of wear and receives so many positive comments.  The Cocoon coat is a similar silhouette, I really like the higher neck and I don't have a stylish winter coat- there's a lot of rain in the Southwest so last time I bought a coat I prioritised waterproofing and a hood!

I made a toile to check shoulder fit and pocket placement but the only alteration I needed made was adding a high round back adjustment, a standard change for me.  Otherwise, I cut UK size 10, I'm between size 8 and 10 in Sew Over It so I went for the larger size to fit lots of warm layers underneath!  The instructions are detailed, this coat started as a class at Sew Over It so it was well tested before becoming a pattern as part of Lisa Comfort's first magazine.  The welt pockets are an extra addition and you do need to email Sew Over It to receive the instructions and pattern pieces. 

Working with such a thick fabric was a challenge at times, especially on the collar and pockets.  I spent a lot of time with spring-scissors clipping the pile back in seam allowances - so.  The construction is best with a slow and steady approach. The collar for example needs careful sewing at the points, seam edges need to be rolled and coaxed into position and there is a fair bit of hand sewing required- to complete the collar, the hem and adding the lining.  The sleeves are in two parts and there are lots of notches to match up and ease to fit in.  I did find it slightly confusing as some of the notches are also marking important places like the top of the shoulder (I think a circle is often used for this on many commercial patterns) and working  out where each notch matched up did take a while.  Start with the double notch and the rest will fit with other notches and seam points.

Working with teddy fur and a satin lining was quite a contrast!  I completed the lining first, cutting out with a rotary cutter, using a 70 microtex needle, lots of fine pins, a slow speed and a curved tailors awl (my new favourite tool!).   I finsihed the seams and hems with pinking shears to reduce fraying. For the coat outer, I cut out with scissors on the floor, switched to a walking foot and 90 needle and tailor's awl to help with the bulk.  For some seams (setting the sleeve for example) Wonderclips were more easier than pins.  I used a pressing cloth (silk organza or thin cotton) and steam for both fabrics as they are sensitive to heat and with the fur I also used a Tailor's Clapper.  The fur needed a gentle approach though, too much steam makes the pile frizzy!

The pockets are a challenge with the fur, although the pile also camouflages any imperfections.  After a little research I discovered pocketing fabric which is a densely woven cotton or cotton/poly blend that's especially hardwearing.  I have an old waterproof coat of my husbands that I've harvested various fittings and fabrics from so I used the lining from that for my pockets and it made construciton so much easier than satin lining would've been!

I did find the outer edges of the coat needed some extra help to stay in place and stop the facing rolling to the outside, especially as I couldn't press as I would with a wool coat.  I ended up sewing tiny hand stitches (like a stabby running stitch) along the outer edges up to the collar point.  Not the best solution I suspect, but the stitches are hidden under the fur and it did the job.  I have now also added a fancy large snap as a front closure.

The Cocoon Coat is now available as a standalone PDF pattern at Sew Over It. 

Sew Over It Eve Dress Review

I'm all about the wrap fastening this year.  I've always liked a wrap dress or skirt and my middle age low tolerance for tightness or restriction is encouraging me to sew lots of wrap garments.  I bought the Sew Over It Eve dress pattern at the end of last summer and looking around clothing on the high street there are still wrap dresses and jumpsuits everywhere so it's a trend that's carried over from last summer.  This pattern does take quite a lot of fabric.  I found this rayon floral on eBay for a ridiculously cheap price,  still available at the moment.  It's very drapey, slightly shiny and was much easier to press and sew than I thought it would be!

I made version 1 but lengthened the hem so it was the longest length at the back all the way around.  I traced the pattern and made a quick toile for the bodice and then ended up removing a little of the fullness at the gathers below the front shoulder- taking out 1/2" each on each side.  I graded a UK size 8 top to size 10 at the waist and a size 10 skirt as that matches my bust and waist measurements and 3 metres of fabric are ample, although I didn't need to allow extra fabric for pattern placement of matching.

It's an easy and relatively quick sew.  The sleeves fit the armscye perfectly and the butterfly sleeve is soft and flattering to wear.  A longer sleeve would be good too...  

As I had extended the hem on the back and front skirt pieces I left the dress unhemmed for a few days so the bias on the side seams could drop and I could even out the length.  I waited until my daughter came home from Uni so she could measure up from the floor and pin an even line but I did find this handy post on the Colette blog on how to measure a skirt hem solo style.  The comments include some brilliant ideas about string and chalk.  My only departure from the instructions was with the belt.  Firstly, I sewed a long length of narrow tape into the short ends so it ran the inner length of the belt as I sewed the long seam, and then I used this to turn the tube through.  I snipped the tape close the short seam once done and removed the end fibres with tweezers.

 I also attached the belt slightly differently.  Rather than folding the raw edge over and pressing, I wanted the raw edge would be encased so before the wrap edge was folded over to the inside I sewed it into position as in the photo below.  When the wrap edge is pressed in, the belt then turns in too.  I then fol it outwards and secured with a few stitches on the outside edge.

It's a great dress to wear!  Dressy enough to feel like I've made an effort for going out and so comfortable that I could happily wear it all day.   The skirt is swishy and the front overlap is generous, no fear of revealing too much on a windy day!  I've some more viscose in my stash and it's definitely a dress that needs drape so maybe another with longer sleeves?  There are so many Eve dresses to look at online made in a range of lengths and sizes, check out the Sew Over it Pinterest gallery for inspiration or #soievedress on Instagram for a bigger selection.

Sew Over it City Break eBook: The Molly Dress

Following on from my review of the Sew Over It City Break Capsule Wardrobe, in particular the Molly Top, here's the sequel, the Molly dress. 

I don't usually wear this sort of dress- i.e. Knit and a shift sort of shape but I've recently discovered some tights that I can tolerate; they are not tights in the classic sense and let's not even talk about the name but they work for me, and this opens up wardrobe possibilities with some autumn and winter skirts at a length other than maxi.   I used fabric from Sew Over It, a present from my husband was some fabric of my choice for my birthday last month.  I knew this would work with this style as I think it is in the eBook.  It's a soft stable jersey called City Stripe. A mix of fabric snob and sensitive skin has always put me off this fabric like this with a high manmade content but this is lovely quality, has a great feel and is a dream to work with.  It's very stable and behaves itself beautifully at all times.   I had quite a bit left over, maybe a skirt next?

I have a couple of tips for handling the stripes.  Firstly, for stripe matching when cutting out my top tip is to draw a vertical chalk line on the reverse of the opened out fabric, place the front or back main piece against the line. Pin in place and cut out the half up to the fold line, then flip it over the fold.  Match the stripes, pin again and cut. Follow the pins and you can just about see the underarm area in the camouflage picture below!

My other tip is to hand baste the neck band firstly in half to keep it folded, then hand baste it to the dress neckline. This then allows you to be very precise if sewing with an overlocker and to keep an equal distance from the seam and the parallel stripe the same all round without having to worry about anything slipping - with this level of contrast any deviation would be rather obvious.

Construction/Alterations 

I cut a size 8 as with the Molly Top but I did make alterations.

1. Did a rounded high back adjustment of ¼" using the Fit for Real People book.

2. Added ½" to the hem so I could take up a slightly deeper hem than the stated ⅜"- final length only slightly added to.

3. Added ⅜" to arm length to make them slightly longer for colder weather. 

4. Tapered side seam from just below underarm with a reduction of ½" at the waist front/back and on each side and tapered down to the hip  The lower skirt width is unaltered.

5. As with the Molly top I used a longer length for the neckband as the fabric wasn't especially stretchy and used the Colette neckband tutorials My neckband was 90% of neck seam length, plus seam allowances.  The neckband width was reduced by ⅜" on each long edge.  

My photos are a little lacking in smiles, I had a heavy cold at the time and I wasn't feeling my best (all recovered now) and that rather belies how happy I am with this dress!  It's comfortable and easy to wear and has that chic style that a navy stripe so easily creates. 

Sew Over it My Capsule Wardrobe, City Break: Molly Top

Of all the new Indie pattern releases for Autumn, and there's been a lot (check out Fold Line and Diary of a Chain Stitcher for detailed reports), the Sew Over It City Break Capsule Wardrobe really caught my eye.  It's an eBook, comprises of five pattern, plus variations to take you from day to night in any city.  It's good modern basics for everyday living.  The Molly top is simple but different enough to make me want to buy the eBook (£20 for 5 PDF patterns including the variants).  

I found a drapey viscose stripe on eBay from this seller (she has some great stuff).  It's a top which really benefits from drape and lightweight fabrics otherwise the drop sleeve/kimono element to the shoulder would be too bulky.  This fabric was tricky to cut but sewed up fast enough.  the instructions are entirely based on using a sewing machine and using beginner skills e.g. zigzag hem and topstitching rather than twin needle but I used an overlocker and double needle hemming, (see detailed thoughts on double needle hemming on drapey knit here).

Construction/Alterations 

I cut a size 8 as my measurements match the Sew Over It sizing for that almost exactly.

Alterations:  I used a longer length for the neckband as my fabric wasn't especially stretchy.  The Colette neckband tutorials are very helpful. My neckband was 90% of neck seam length, plus seam allowances.  The neckband is quite wide- you can see this on some of the many beautiful photos in the eBook - the top edge of the band sometimes stands away from Lisa's collarbone.  In the end, I folded my neckband over on the inside and stitched it down by hand using catch stitch.  

This criss-crossing hand stitch gives the inner neck edge enough elasticity and the neckband sat much flatter.  I'll change the width when I make the next Molly.

I shortened the hem by 1 ½" and the top is still relatively long for me (I'm 5'5").  It depends very much how you like to wear it.  As the fabric is lightweight, it tucks into waistbands very easily.  It wear well as a top or layered up.  The sleeves were a very accurate length.

Thoughts

I am very happy with the result, it's the sort of everyday basic that I can wear almost daily during cooler months.  The top was a tester for me as I also bought Ponte Di Roma to make the dress and after completing the top I went straight on to the dress- blog post coming right up.   The Molly top is a quick make.  I tend to take my time getting a good quality finish with a neat neck and hems but it's the cutting that takes the longest for me, especially with stripes. The eBook is packed full of pictures so you can see each item of clothing in a range of fabrics and situations and the investment that Lisa Comfort and the Sew Over It team have made in this eBook is clearly evident.  I did wonder if I was buying this book because I was drawn into the Parisian setting, persuaded by the many blogger reviews and endorsements and was generally enchanted with Lisa in all her outfits, but actually it's a well thought through idea and Sew Over It have a handy feature in their online fabric shop where you can choose their garments and they suggest suitable fabrics, thus solving the hardest part of online fabric shopping - see the suggestions for the Molly top/dress here.  Part of me wonders if the Capsule wardrobe concept is going to be continued with different eBook mini wardrobes for various occasions?  That would be great!  For these photos I've worn the top with a Deer and Doe Fumeterre skirt.  Both these items will be heavily worn in the next few months, you can't ask for more than that.

Vintage Shirt Dress: Anchor Chambray Mid length

I hadn't sewn a Sew Over It pattern before but I've seen lots of great examples of the Vintage Shirt Dress sewn up that inspired me to give it a go.  It has all the ingredients I like in a dress, an A line skirt (more so than the line drawing would have you believe) narrow V-neck line,  feature collar, yoke, gathering at the shoulder. A few things are lacking- pockets being the most notable and length of sleeve being another- I would usually choose either sleeveless or full sleeved but all these niggles are easy to rectify.  

I made a bodice toile out of some shirting and as a result I made a few alterations to the original pattern.

Alterations:

• Added ¾" to bodice length (see photo below).  I wanted the waist to hit me at my waistline, not above.  I might shorten this by ¼" in the next version.
• Cut side seams between size 8 and 10.  In hindsight, should've cut size 8, maybe smaller as it is generous on the side. 
• All other seams size 8 apart from the back of the sleeve head and arm hole- cut size 10 as I like a lot of freedom to move across the back.
• Added 10" to length of front and back skirt- added on to the hem and flared out accordingly.  Also added 10" to length of front facing.
• Lengthened the sleeve by 2"- the length added around 4" up from the cuffs and the side seams graded in.  With the cuffs turned back they are bracelet length, with cuffs turned down, they are almost full length.
• Small (¼") round back adjustment.  This could, will reduce it next time.
• Reduced fullness at the bust by removing around ½" from the top shoulder gathering area grading down to ¼" from the pleat at the waist. 

Materials:

• Fabric: I used Robert Kaufman Anchor print chambray from Village Haberdashery.  This is a great weight for a dress.  It didn't need lining an although in cooler weather I wear a slip underneath, I wouldn't need to do so on a warmer spring day.   
• Contrast fabric is Cambridge lawn in navy, also by Robert Kaufman.  This is a lovely silky cotton but I did need to take a bit of care with the iron as it easily becomes shiny.  The solution us to use a pressing cloth, I use a thin piece of cotton fabric.  
• Interfacing: Perfect fuse sheer.  Also added to cuffs.
• Snaps replaced buttons and buttonholes.

The instructions are very detailed, especially for the collar and long facing. The shoulders ended up a little on the large side.  I will reduce these by around ¼" at the armhole edge on the top and front armhole edges.  The  fit around the waist and sides was generous and I added ties at the back to cinch it in a little; even then there is a lot of ease.  I will reduce the side seams by ⅜" on each side so 1½" in total.  These are small tweaks to make and I definitely see this dress in a sleeveless version for summer.  I've worn this three or four times already- firstly on Christmas day and I love it's period feel.   I didn't add pockets on this particular dress but it I will on the next.