Brooklyn Coat #2

As promised, here is my second attempt at the Brooklyn Coat, this time in the recommended fabric, boiled wool, and it's worked so much better than my first attempt.

**These photos are not great. It's been raining cats and dogs all weekend in Sydney and it's so DARK outside. Couple that with a black coat and well, the evidence speaks for itself.

I made a few changes to this one - reduced the hem and sleeve length by 1", added 1.5cm to the collar height, added about 1cm to the back fold (and consequently to the collar piece) and I moved the pockets forward about 1.5". I also sewed the side seams up with a slightly larger seam allowance (which I realize negates the addition of 1cm to the back fold).  All of this has resulted in a much nicer looking coat, though the sleeves are still a tad big.

Can I just say that sewing these "overlapping seams" is not easy. More than a few times I had to unpick dodgy seams and try again. It's difficult to sew right in the middle of the 3/8" overlap! Unpicking boiled wool is hard; and the dye from the fabric rubbed off on to my hands (a lot) so by the end my hands were black.

I think the pocket looks much nicer in the boiled wool fabric...though I do prefer the interior pockets of the Sydney Jacket (probably as less precise sewing is required and they still look good). Moving them forward has really made a difference - I can comfortably get my hands in them and they will be used for sure.

On my previous made I couldn't be bothered sewing the sleeve cuff; and I wasn't going to do it on this one either as I actually HATED sewing this coat due to the fabric (it has a funny chemical smell to it, had a hole in it that I found during my cutting out and had shocking dye rub off). In the end I deiced to just finish the coat so I can see how the sleeve cuffs work. I'm glad I did as this little "finishing touch" has really made the coat grow on me.

I think I'd like to save my penny's and buy some really nice quality boiled wool for another of these...maybe that's a goal for 2017.

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Pattern: "Brooklyn Coat" by Tessuti
Size: XL, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance
Modifications: Reduced the hem and sleeve length by 1", added 1.5cm to the collar height, added about 1cm to the back fold and collar piece, moved the pockets forward about 1.5". I also sewed the side seams up with a slightly larger seam allowance.
Fabric: Boiled wool from Pitt Trading
Changes for next time: I'm not really sure. I did try on the smaller size again in Tessuti and it did fit well. Maybe I should sew that size, just add a bit more width at the back fold?