A grand Attempt at Outerwear - Kiddo Edition

It should come as no great surprise that I hardly managed to get any significant sewing done once our little girl was born. Looking back, I don't know how I could have imagined the next year of my life to be anything other than dealing with the challenges and joys that come with mothering two small children. I did manage to make a few items here and there, including a couple of sets of pajamas for our son but my greatest dressmaking accomplishment by far was completing the Lara Sanner Truffle Coat for our little boy. Having never attempted outwear before, this pattern expanded my skill set in various ways. By the time it was completed, I had learned how to attach a separating zipper, work with pattern matching, how to fully line a coat and hood, and how to work with faux fur.

For the coat exterior, I chose a grey plaid flannel in a gold, blue, and white color way. The interior body and hood was lined with faux sheep wool and a gold polyester lining fabric for the sleeves. My fabric choices resulted in the first set of challenges I encountered. I had never worked with plaids before and initially cut out my pattern pieces double layered. Unsurprisingly to any one who has ever worked with plaid before, this method did not work out at all for me and nothing matched. Luckily, I had bought more fabric than what the pattern required and was able to recut on a single layer. Is my pattern matching perfect? Absolutely not, but it's close enough that it doesn't bother me and I'll know more for next time. The second challenge arose when it came to working with the lining fabric. Did you know that there is a correct way to work with faux fur? I did not. As a result, it looked as though I had sheered a sheep on my living room and, despite my best cleaning efforts, I picked up fuzzies for days.

Although I learned many new things while sewing this pattern, it was still very enjoyable. The PDF version of the pattern is layered, allowing you to cut only the size you need, and the instructions and illustrations were clear and concise. The size range was also very inclusive, ranging from six months to three years. Personally and a bit regrettably I opted to make the three old size, thinking that in doing so little guy would be able to wear it through the next Winter season. Unfortunately, I failed to account for the fact that outerwear is normally begin with and it ended up being a tad too big for him. Bright side is he has grown. The pattern can also double as a raincoat pattern and so the pocket placement seems a little off in the finished version. I personally purchased this pattern from thefoldline.com, unfortunately it is no longer available through their website but is still available through Lara Sanners site, and can be found at https://thesewingrecipe.com/producto/abrigo-copiar-2-2/. Fair warning, the website appears to be all in Spanish. Although the pattern I purchased from the Fold Line did include random Spanish bits, the majority was in English.I don't know if that will be the case now. There is also an adult version if you'relooking for an adorable matching moment.

Let me know your thoughts

XOXO

-The Dressmaker