I told myself when the ‘stay at home’ time began, that I would use it as an opportunity to tackle sewing projects that were either time consuming or that had been on my to-do list for awhile. This project falls into both categories.
This coat is from the Nano Iro sewing book, by far my favorite sewing purchase of 2019! I love japanese sewing patterns, and here, they are conveniently translated.
This pattern is called, appropriately, the summer coat. It’s unlined and best made in cotton or linen, two fabrics I can’t get enough of. I made it before, here and absolutely love wearing it.
For this version of the summer coat, I used a really special piece of fabric I purchased in Rome last September at an amazing fabric store, Azienda Tessile Romana.
If you visit Rome, do not miss this fabric store. The fabrics are gorgeous and when I visited, the staff was so helpful and generous with their time. You will not be disappointed. (Hopefully, we’ll all be free to visit there soon.)
This fabric is a amazing cotton Jacquard and the texture is perfect for this coat (Black is hard to photograph, and these photos don’t do justice to this fabric!) It has just enough body to support the lapels and to give this loose-fitting coat a bit of structure. I wish I had more of this fabulous fabric!
Construction of the coat was easy. The lapels are cut into the coat, then faced. The trickest part for me was the neck facing. Even though I’d made this pattern before, I must admit, I struggled! The diagrams in the instructions helped, but for some reason, it was counterintuitive for me. I couldn’t make the facing fit to the jacket. Eventually, I realized it was because I was trying to fit the wrong side of the facing to the neck opening. Once I came to terms with that, it fit easily.
I do love this jacket. In fact, the patterns in this book are all on my to-do list. The photos in this book are inspirational too. The fabrics they chose are enviable – – double gauzes and linens in bright colors. I’m so glad I ticked this coat off my to-do list as it will be absolutely perfect to wear on cool Spring days.
Next up is a Tamarack Jacket. I hope to show that to you soon.
Sewing is helping me to get through these strange days. Good health and happiness to you all. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh my goodness! You absolutely are an enabler – almost every time I read one of your posts, I immediately start searching for the pattern you have used – Wiksten Haori – never heard of such but I know about it now! Kantha Cloth I do know about but until today I have resisted ordering any. A summer coat in North Carolina? Nope – we are expecting an 80 degree day this week and it’s just early April but there is no reason why it can’t be an early spring/fall coat – need to search for the book. One of your makes for your Italy trip cost me a pattern as well, can’t remember if it was ITS or another but I have it and I think I even started on a mockup, need to look for that! How big was your Kantha cloth for that jacket? Are we about the same size? I’m 5’2 (and 1/4 if I’m feeling tall) and wear RTW 4 or 6. Please don’t make anything else cute, I’ve more on my plate than I need right now!
Thanks, Martha for your lovely comment. I’m so glad to be an enabler:) The summer coat would be perfect for early fall and it’s never too early to sew for fall if you ask me! It sounds like we’re about the same size. I have only a inch and a half on you. The Kantha cloth I used was 45 inches wide and I used 2.5 yards of it. This was sufficient for my short version of the Haori. I suppose that’s one of the advantages to our size. We don’t need a lot of fabric to make something work! The book is so beautiful to look at, very inspirational.
This coat is very ‘you’ Linda. Great silhouette.
Thanks, Diane. My Japanese pattern books are good company these days.