Welcome back! After my coat expedition, I wanted a simple sew that didn’t require much thinking. Enter Tilly and the Buttons’ new dress, Lotta. I bought this pattern fairly soon after its release. The versatility really appealed as it can be made with wovens or knits and has two sleeve options, and two lengths of skirt. It’s basically got all the seasons covered! Plus, as Tilly says on her site, there are “no fiddly bits” so I knew it would be a satisfyingly quick make for me.
Working from a fridge
Since the season changed in the UK, I’ve noticed that my work set-up (i.e. dining room) is quite chilly. I think it’s something to do with the lack of 1000 people and computers in the same building! Even with the heating on, it can feel a bit nippy. A while ago, the genius sewing queen, Elisalex ,posted on Instagram that she had lined a dress with some pointelle. It basically gives a thermal-style lining to a garment. I thought this was possibly the best idea ever to have been formed. I bought some pointelle with the idea of replicating this on one of my makes.
I wanted to make a jersey Lotta, but also decided this was the garment to test the pointelle layer on. The Lotta has grown-on short sleeves so I decided it was a good pattern to try because there wouldn’t be too much bulk directly under my arms.
Adjustments
The TATB block fits me really well and I rarely have to make many alterations. For my Lotta, I…..
Cut a size 4 all over. Sometimes I would cut a 5 at the hip but there is a generous amount of ease in this pattern
Shortened skirt by 2″
Added in-seam pockets (which are a bit too low!)
Added a secret thermal layer
I also played around with the sleeve length. The long sleeve add-on is designed as ‘bracelet-length’ but I’m not a big fan – it just feels a bit “half mast” to me! Is it 3/4 length, is it full length, who knows? As I’ve got short arms, I used the original pattern pieces thinking the length would probably be about right for full length on me. In fact, I still had to take a bit off as they were too long! I cheated slightly and doubled the hem allowance (3cm instead of 1.5cm), which worked well.
Adding the thermal layer
I only added the pointelle layer to the bodice. To do this, I cut the bodice pieces in my main fabric and the pointelle. I added a strip of stabiliser to the back bodice shoulders of the main fabric.
To make sure the pieces stayed together, I basted both front bodices wrong side together along the shoulders and neckline. Then I repeated this with the back bodice pieces.
After that, I treated each as a single piece of fabric. If I was to do this again, which is highly likely, I would probably baste around the entire outside of the main and lining pieces to keep them together.
Secret pjs
My main fabric was from Pin and Sew, who were having a closing down sale. It’s a cotton jersey and the black dots have a hint of sparkle in them. To make things interesting, and not have to worry about pattern matching, I rotated the bodice pieces 90deg so the ‘stripes’ are horizontal. I had fun playing with the design of this, cutting out tiny pattern pieces and seeing which I liked best.
This was probably more fun than it should have been – simple things….!
The fabric is so cosy and embodies the phrase “secret pjs”. I wore the dress the day after finishing it and was so comfortable, and warm! I’m already plotting a summer version, maybe in double gauze with patch pockets and short sleeves.
Holy moly, I made a coat! Warning, there will be very little modesty in this blog post as I’m so darn proud of myself. I’ll be honest, there were mistakes but I’m still really happy and hoping for a long winter so I can wear my me-made coat all the time.
I found the blog posts about this coat by fellow sewists really helpful so I’m trying to give back to by doing quite a thorough review. With that in mind, grab a brew and settle in.
9 months
This coat was a very long time in the making. I ordered the fabric on Christmas Eve 2019 and it’s now October 2020. With a slight delay on Christmas post and time for pre-washing and drying, I think the fabric was draped over our banister for nearly 9 months.
I had wanted to make a coat for a while as it’s an item of clothing from high street shops that never fits me, plus it’s something that I knew would get a lot of wear if I got it right. I can’t even remember how I came across the Opium but I liked the belted version as it reminded me of a purple trench coat that I owned for years. The raglan sleeves were an attractive option because they’re easier than set-in sleeves.
I found this plum poly-viscose coating at Minerva, along with a confetti viscose for the lining from Guthrie and Ghani. I also got a clapper from Guthrie and Ghani, which was invaluable for pressing the seams and getting a clean finish.
Toiles and tribulations
I’m definitely not the first sewist to use that pun!
I created a toile of the bodice and sleeves some time ago and couldn’t work out why it was difficult to move my arms. It’s a roomy coat and I’d sized up to accommodate winter jumpers. I spent ages on the internet scrutinising photos, looking at the fit on other people and reading fitting tutorials. On reflection, part of the problem was that I have never had a coat that fitted me properly so I don’t really know what it should feel like.
One day, I was reaching for something in a high-street jacket and was cursing my “swimmers biceps” when I realised my Opium probably just needed a full bicep adjustment. So I cut into the original sleeves and did some reaching and I’d cracked it. To be safe, I toiled some new sleeves with about a 1″ bicep adjustment and suddenly the coat became more comfortable.
Adjustments and fitting
Size 40 (often with Deer and Doe patterns, I cut 38 on the bust but wanted a bit of room for layers)
Shortened sleeves by 2″ – be careful if you’re doing this to look at the lining pieces because the main fabric pieces have about a 2″ fold under, so look massively long at first glance. I nearly got caught out by this!
Lengthened coat bodice, facing and lining by 2″
Once I had sewn the outer up, I tapered the shoulders as they were a bit too “80s”. I think I have a combination of narrow shoulders and wide biceps so I played around with it, shaving a bit off gradually until I was happy.
Before picking up the rotary cutter for my main fabric, I also made a list of every piece that was needed. The booklet doesn’t include particularly clear instructions on what needs interfacing (it’s all in one paragraph). Even with a list, I still missed a collar piece that needed interfacing and had to do ‘crazy-paving interfacing’ but more on that later.
Whilst the booklet instructions can be on the sparse side, I found the sew along posts from Deer and Doe absolutely invaluable. They cover the trickiest bits and have lots of photos which helped me.
Starting the actual coat
After a fair amount of prep, I put my big girl pants on and committed to picking up the rotary cutter….for the lining. Whilst different to the suggested order, I found it less scary to start with the lining. For the sleeves, I used a slippery lining fabric so that there is less friction when sliding my arms in/out of the coat. I would definitely recommend this approach.
Martha wearing the lining
For the outer, I cut a single layer for most pieces. It took twice as long but it’s more precise with thicker fabric. I also made sure I marked the wrong side with a chalk cross and tried to keep everything flat to avoid any creasing.
I block interfaced where I could, because I find it easier, but there are quite a few bits that need partial interfacing – e.g. collar, lapel and facing.
Origami pockets
Yep, a whole section for the pockets! I would go as far as saying that the Opium pockets are iconic. They’re so striking but to a first-time coat-sewist, they were quite scary. I’ll let you into a secret, I think they were easier than a standard welt pocket because the origami bit can be used to hide some sins.
I went “all in” with the pockets and used all of the below tools to make the four triangles…they’re nice triangles though, aren’t they?!
Sewing machine and thread not shown
Rather than pinning the pockets in place before attaching them, I tacked them to make sure they didn’t move. My pins wouldn’t go through all of the layers and I wanted to make sure they didn’t shift when I started sewing. It also helped to leave them tacked down until it was time to flip the origami bit over (final stage of the pocket) as it kept them out of the way, but in the right place.
The scariest moment was cutting into the welt. As with buttonholes, it’s the point of no return. You spend ages perfecting something then you have to cut a massive hole in it – it defies logic!
I opted for cutting just short of where I should, pushing the pocket lining through, then snipping a millimetre here and there until it lay flat. Less scary than committing to the full length.
Phew
Sewing up the coat
Once I had successfully completed “Level Pocket”, the rest of the coat came together quite quickly. It could be that I just felt more relaxed because anything else I did could be unpicked and sewn again if I needed to!
Fortunately my attention to detail woke up just after I had sewn the upper collar to the facing. I realised that the picture in the instructions was of an interfaced piece. When I went back through the instructions, I realised that I’d missed that piece. After using ~200 clips, there was no way I was unpicking it so I cut two halves of interfacing and trimmed off the seam allowance to stabilise that piece.
Where’s my interfacing?
I don’t even know if this will make sense but I feel the need to share another error. I got a bit smug and understitched the facing to the bodice to help it turn under. I genuinely felt quite pleased with myself at remembering a nifty technique, only to realise that the top edge ends up being flipped to the outside so the understitching is on show. So that got unpicked!
Finishing touches
When I turned the coat through, I panicked a bit because the lining seemed to flop over. I thought I had done something wrong, but it’s in the instructions and blog post to press this bit and hand-stitch it down.
The labels went in quite early on before the back facing was joined to anything. I’m always pleased when I remember to do this because it’s much easier to sew a label on a flat piece than when it’s joined to others. Pink Coat Club has a great tutorial in her Instagram highlights on how to put a label in neatly.
If you’re still reading, I only broke one needle! ;o)
When Papercut Patterns released their Rubix collection in Sept. 2019, I bought two of the patterns instantly. I loved the Nexus and Sequence blouses, with one of the main attractions being that both are reversible.
By coincidence, both of my versions are made with fabric from Lamazi who usually have a great range of drapey viscose in stock.
Sewing journal planning
Nexus
I sewed the Nexus up quite quickly as part of the #sewfrosting2019 Instagram challenge. I paired my Nexus with some Atelier Brunette “Tabby” green viscose from my stash.
Fabric and sleeve joy!
As I was using expensive fabric, I made a toile, which was a really smart move. In preparation for writing this blog, I found my toile photos and it was comically large on me. I don’t know if I mis-read the ease or what but it was falling off my shoulders. So, I sized down and made the following additional adjustments:
Added 2″ to cropped bodice
Shortened sleeves by 1″
Used smaller buttons than recommended on the cuffs
Back of blouse on the right showing self-covered buttons
The blouse feels lovely to wear. I can just about wiggle into it without having to undo the buttons when they’re at the back, which is fairly important!
Sequence
From memory, I began to toile the Sequence quite quickly after I had completed the Nexus, but I didn’t have enough material so it gradually fell to the bottom of the pile. This summer, Lamazi had some lovely lilac viscose with abstract flowers that I fell in love it. I suddenly remembered the half-finished Sequence toile!
For my Sequence blouse, I opted for the long ties and made the following adjustments:
Shortened bodice by 1.5″
Shortened facing and tie width to accommodate shortened bodice
Levelled curves and re-drew notches on facing and ties
Making this blouse was a real joy. The construction is quite simple which meant I could devote my concentration to the details, like topstitching the ties to make them easier to iron, understitching the facing and sewing a cute label into the facing. The fabric was lovely to work with as it’s so soft, which also makes it feel great against the skin.
An unexpected bit of excitement that this blouse offered was the requirement to rifle through my button jar. I’m sure it’s not just me who can spend ages with my button stash spread out over the table, trying to find the perfect one. The crossover blouse is secured inside the side seam to made sure it doesn’t flap about or ‘go with gravity’ and fall down! I chose a pink round button to add an extra little hidden pop of colour.
Topstitching and a seamless join from blouse to tie
Tiny button to preserve modesty
Unfortunately I didn’t appreciate that to look like the ‘reversed’ version on the model, I needed to put the ties in a different place to enable it to tie at the centre back. Whilst a bit of a shame, this doesn’t bother me too much as I really like the V at the front.
I’m really pleased with the long ties. I was slightly worried that they would be too long and get caught in things but I actually love them. I also thought I might need a small snap to keep the wrap over top closed but it’s been fine.
I wore it under a tight jacket so the sleeves are soooooo creased!
My Stash Reduction Quest 