Here’s my latest plan of action! I read something on someone’s blog (yes, I remember it that specifically) some time ago about how they came up with all these wardrobe plans and then they threw on a coat to leave the house and it didn’t match with anything, so all their careful planning was undone, and I thought “Yes! I know exactly what you mean!”

I’ve never been good at the head-to-toe, organise-your-outfit-the-night-before kind of deal and I also haven’t made many coats. My one coat so far was the Rumana coat from By Hand London, which is a beautiful shape, but was a bear of a project (I still need to fix the vent) and is also now too small for me, so I haven’t got much wear out of it! But for a variety of reasons: scheduled classes, testing, sewing challenges, long-held plans and an abundance of coat fabric, I now have a ton of coats in my schedule, so it seems like an opportune time to knock a collection out! That sounds so easy, doesn’t it??

My basic plan is: make the coat and then try to make an outfit or item that goes with that coat. Simple eh? Let’s see…

Stevie denim jacket

The Style Arc Stevie denim jacket was one of the nominated patterns for Sew My Style 2019, and I was one of the hosts for that month. I decided to change up my Stevie a little by adding a Sherpa lining, which is an 80s retro nod and also makes the Stevie a great winter casual jacket. Of course, a denim jacket goes with anything, but I do personally try to avoid double denim, and particularly when it’s this vintage mid-blue colour.

I’m quite into the layered dress/pinny over a turtleneck look that’s around at the mo, so I might give that a go with this jacket. I have my eye on a Fibre Mood dress and either the Named Ruska or Tilly Freya to match.

Merchant and Mills Landgate coat

I got a voucher for a class at Drygoods Design for my birthday and decided to plump for the coat class, before I’d formulated this plan of action. You can choose from three different coats and I decided I’d really like to try the M+M Landgate. I’ve had the pattern for ages – in paper form for once! – and so it was just a matter of finding the right fabric. Well, it wasn’t that easy to find!

I decided to go classic and use some Merchant and Mills oilskin, but that stuff is popular and hard to track down! I finally found some majolica blue oilskin at Finch Knitting and Sewing Studio in Virginia ( I have found a few things there, which is ironic as it’s the one fabric store I really wanted to visit and couldn’t on holiday this summer in Virginia!). I’m really looking forward to this class and this jacket will go with everything, but especially a new pair of Morgan jeans. I need a new pair!

Nani Iro Atelier long jacket

This was another project that was actually on my summer list, as a long linen coat can work well in any weather, but I only found the fabric while in Vancouver in late September. I came across this black and white polka dot lovely in Dressew (what a shop!) and knew immediately what it was destined to be.

Construction-wise, this looks to be the simplest of the coats, but looks can be deceiving, so who knows? This will be fairly lightweight, as coats go, so I imagine I will wear it as part of a slim silhouette. I haven’t decided what this will be, but I’m currently thinking long drapey trousers and a cool semi-sheer top.

Deer and Doe Opium

I’ve had the Opium in my schedule since last autumn, when I made my Magnolia dress – the other part of this release from the fabulous French designers. I didn’t have time to make any coats last year though, so it was always going to be on my list this time round. I’ve had the fabric since Sew Expo this year as well – this fabulous shaggy black and white plaid. The talented Michelle from Style Maker Fabrics (where I bought the fabric) gave me the idea to use the fabric in reverse for the pockets – which is an idea I will gladly steal and try out. Thanks Michelle!

Wiksten Haori jacket

Has anyone not made this jacket yet? Well, actually I know they haven’t, because there are at least three of us making this jacket right now in my local sewing group and we’re going to have a session to get going at my house tomorrow afternoon. Yay for social sewing!

I, rather like with the Wiksten shift dress, was pretty ambivalent about the Haori at first. Then I saw it in real life on two different people and was instantly converted – it’s that stunning. At once hefty and comforting, but casual and deceptively simplistic, I loved it. I was always going to make the lined version and have had the lining fabric (reversible) lined up for quite a while. However, I’ve been humming and hawing about the main fabric for ages. Solid is the smart sewist’s choice, but I’m such a sucker for print – and a print clash does excite me. I think I might end up with a solid, but I’m not committing to a final decision yet! 😀

I’m also not entirely sure whether to make the mid-length version or the longest version. I was set on mid-length, but then tried on a sample of a long – and it’s so nice! Choices, choices. Either way, this looks great with all sorts of garments, but I really, really want to make a structured corduroy skirt this season – so maybe that will be the match?

In the Folds Flynn jacket

In some ways, the Flynn jacket is not a million miles away from the Wiksten Haori, with its voluminous feel and clean lines… but then I saw the back. What a beautiful detail! Add those curved front sections with hidden pockets and the fact it’s drafted by In the Folds, and I was completely sold.

I want to do this in either a hot pink or a really vibrant emerald green, or even a black and gold – I’m not 100% on this, as I have a few fabrics in my stash that would do the job and give quite varying results. There is no lining in this jacket, so the suggested fabrics are rather more heavyweight than I was anticipating, which threw me off slightly. I have plenty of choices though. I have slimline trousers in mind for this one – perhaps the Pietra trousers?

Mystery coat!

I’ve actually just finished up a coat that I’ve been testing and I’m really pleased with it! It’s definitely warmed me up for the upcoming projects and I’ll tell you more about it as soon as I can. For now, I can say it’s red, long and semi-formal.

Misc.

And as if that weren’t enough, I even have a couple of UFO jacket projects. The first is my Closet Case Patterns Jasika blazer, which I started earlier this year. As it turned out, CCP released an update to my size, which I think would solve a couple of my fit issues, so I decided to start again. By that time it was heading towards summer, so I decided to mothball it until later this year, so perhaps this will make a return appearance before next spring.

The other project is a long-ago started coat, which is the Lisette B6385. I actually got quite far with this one, but it was beyond my skill level, so I bowed out at the collar stage, if memory serves, and it still sits in my wardrobe. I *think* I was a size smaller then though, so that does make me less inclined to pull it out, if I’m honest.

So there we are! A new plan and a different tack! It occurred to me recently that I haven’t really written any follow-up posts on my previous wardrobe collections and some of them were even pretty much completed. Wonders will never cease. I will try and do some sort of photo session, since I think it might be vaguely interesting to compare my plans and results. You’ll see how bad my coloring skills are then, heh.

What about you? Have you posted any wardrobe ideas for the coming seasons? I love reading other people’s wardrobe posts, so drop me a link if you’ve done one and I’ll check it out! Cheerio for now.