Once only accessible to the elite, cashmere has been used for centuries in clothing due to its great durability, warmth and fineness. It is one of the most precious natural fiber available for clothing. It is the perfect choice of fabric to make durable garments you intend to use for decades and maybe pass down as heirloom to the next generation. That is why cashmere has been in my radar for a long time for various projects. Once I saw this designer outlet cashmere fabric, I immediately new that it was the perfect choice to create my dream beige winter coat.
Keep reading for more details 🙂
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Jump to different sections:
Inspiration
Pattern making
Sewing
Final look
Inspiration:
For this coat, I was looking for examples from different designers who created a relaxed oversized design while keeping the elegant look. I took inspiration from Claire McCardell black cotton coat from 1957 and Azzedine Alaïa oversized leather coat from FW 1985. The elegant look was created with the accentuated waist while both designs had oversized relaxed shoulders.
The pattern:
I used the basic coat foundation, and adapted the pattern to achieve the desired look for this coat. I decided to add a lot of volume and flare to the main body of the foundation block. In order to achieve the oversized shoulders I modified the arm and body pattern to have exaggerated armholes. I added more volume vertically to the shoulders to accommodate the custom made shoulder pads. For the neckline I used shawl neck pattern with extended edges.
In total the design made up of 5 pieces of patterns: 2 x back, 2 x front, 2 x arm, 2 x pocket 1 x belt.
Once I was confident about the pattern, I cut the main fabric and continued the sewing process.
Sewing:
I used a 100% cashmere fabric which was designed for Dries Van Noten and was sold as deadstock designer fabric. Since I am a fan of Dries Van Noten designs, it made this project extra special for me to have the opportunity to use the original fabric.
After the cut, I sew all parts together with sewing machine on straight stitch. The coat is designed without a lining therefore I finished all seams with hand sewing to have a clean look.
For the shoulder pads, I decided to make custom made ones since there is no lining. For the padding I used 100% biological cotton padding. I added layers of padding together and sew them between two pieces of white cotton fabric. Then I cut the square in two triangles and the edges created the sharp shoulders. I covered them with the original fabric. The custom shoulder pads gave the coat an elevated look.
Finally I folded all the edges in pressed and hand sew to secure them.
Final look:
I hope you enjoy the project!
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Cheers,
Idil