Sewing

Finished Pilvi Coat in Cotton Velvet

Pilvi Coat at jujuvail.comI finished my first Pilvi Coat and I think I love it. I’m wearing it, indoors, right now. I like the idea of just throwing it on over a t-shirt and jeans, and feeling “dressed”. A medium weight cotton is great for my lifestyle. Just the right comfort level and the sleeves are short enough that it doesn’t get in the way while I’m doing things.

Pilvi Coat at jujuvail.com

This isn’t a style of garment I had in my wardrobe previously. I wonder why. I can see having a bunch of these in different fabrics. I knew I had poor Coat Game but I didn’t realise the potential of an informal coat like this.

Pilvi Coat at jujuvail.com

As usual, I need to live with it in my wardrobe and wear it to see if it is as wonderful as I think it is. But I’m pretty sure there will be more of these in my future.

Pilvi Coat at jujuvail.com

I’ve already noted the pattern changes I made and the seam binding methods I used. Here are a few more notes to improve cutting and construction of the pattern. This is a quick make and I highly recommend it.

Construction Notes: Notes & Improvements

  • I used a short pile velvet with a large pattern repeat. I had 3m and only scraps left over. The nap of the velvet, combined with the large pattern repeat meant that it was important to be careful when cutting it out: I couldn’t turn the pieces upside down (because of the velvet nap) and I had to place them so that the pattern matched at centre front and was adjacent at side seams.
    I would not recommend under 3m if you have a large print repeat.
  • Raglan sleeves are  great when you are working with a large pattern, as you don’t have to try to match the pattern to the fronts or backs at the sleeve head. I made sure that the motifs were cut in the same way for each sleeve, so that the sleeves look balanced.

Pilvi Coat at jujuvail.com

  • I used Hong Kong binding for all the seams. This looks very nice inside. I would recommend binding the hems, front & neck facings at the very least. If I were to make it again, I might just overlock the arm and side seams, if I was in a hurray. But binding those important seams, makes it look so much nicer.
  • I used 14 metres of binding. I bought pre-folded binding and it cost nearly £10. It would have been much better to make it myself from 3cm wide bias strips.
  • The pockets seemed a little low to me. I’ve got short arms, but I still think they would be better for most people if they were 2-3cm higher. I will adjust my pattern.
  • As I was redrawing the neckline anyway, I made a new facing, combining the shoulder and the back neck into one piece. Why have another seam allowance when you don’t need it? It just creates extra bulk.
  • I used fusible hem tape to stick down the neck facing, front facings, sleeve and bottom hems. I tried top-stitching the neck but I didn’t like the way it looked in the velvet pile. I unpicked it (a bit of a nuisance). The facings are thread tacked at seams and then fused. I haven’t sewn the bottom hem at all. Don’t know if I will need to.
It feels like it needs a scarf. I could only find this red cowl. I’m currently knitting a lime green scarf to go with it. I’d also like to find something gauzy and neutral. I may even make a detachable collar in left-over fabric. I’ll let you know how I get on with all that.

 

12 thoughts on “Finished Pilvi Coat in Cotton Velvet

  1. I think your Spring coat is lovely. I appreciate your sharing your steps to make the pattern yours . I love Lotta Jansdotter’s book and have made the Esme tunic and the Kiomi dress and am thrilled with both. I fussed with the Kiomi pattern and ran into a similar problem with the arm and neck facings I made not staying down, since I did not want to stitch them, indeed, could not stitch them down because of the gathers, at least at the neck. Anyway, I read your blog and you mentioned using hem tape. There it is…my solution! And way better than ripping everything out and doing it all over again with interfacing, etc. Thank you for taking the time to write all these steps out. I thought the coat was nice when perusing the book but not something I could use…you’ve changed my mind with how cute you looked all put together and I’m now thinking about fabric options. Thanks again.

  2. I saw your coat on PatternReview, but I don’t comment there. The coat is gorgeous especially in your chosen floral. I employ the ‘Hong Kong’ seam binding in a lot of my projects, but I don’t pay more than 50p per metre. The best places are habby stalls in local street markets or Walthamstow. Life is just too short to make your own binding, although I have done it on a few occasions.

    1. Thanks Utta. I got my binding at a cheap place but when you need 16m it adds up. I live in Hackney. I must go to Walthamstow market.

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