Burberry B6385 Coat

The idea of making this coat began around this time last year but the prospect of actually doing it was so daunting that I didn't start making it until winter really kicked in here in London in November. I finished it just in time to wear home for Christmas! I was at the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show with my mum last year (which coincidentally I did yesterday...has anyone else been? So much fun!) when I spotted a few bolts of to-die-for for coating lurking at the bottom of the Higgs & Higgs stall. Mum was laughing because apparently I just zoned in on what everyone else was missing down by their feet and made a beeline right in there on my hands and knees! I bought some gorgeous soft pre-washed grey denim from them this year that I can't wait to make into dungarees.

They had the fabric in a few pale neutral colours including a camel and cream but the soft grey stole my heart on sight. It looked glorious and as soon as I touched it I knew it was special. The reverse is smooth but the right side has a nap to it with a subtle herringbone woven in. When brushed one way it feels smooth and the other slightly rough. Its got a divine thickness and weight to it so I shouldn't have been surprised when I turned over the label and saw Burberry on the tag! The price tag of around £35/m caused a moment of deliberation as that made it a real treat but it was such a bargain for this quality of fabric that I was soon walking away with 2 metres.

Then began the process of deciding on a pattern. I had a handful of coat patterns in my stash already, namely most of the Project Runway blue envelopes from Simplicity because I love the styles in that line and know I'm not the only fan. However, none of them were quite right for my super thick coating. As the fabric was special I wanted to make something classic which would last me many years so focussed on clean lines and what I knew I already liked in a coat rather than what was on trend this season. After a good google to find some reviews of it I eventually settled on Butterick 6385 from the Lisette range. I'm not a huge fan of the pink sample with rounded collar but view C with the stand collar is right up my street. I liked the simplicity of the lines, the two piece sleeves and the yoke and princess seam combination.

The next step was accumulating as much information as possible about coat making. This part was totally overwhelming and I almost came to a grinding halt with all the decisions I had to make! There appears to be a variety of levels of 'tailoring' that you can get into, from the basic instructions included with the pattern to full on pad stitching horsehair canvas and applying twill tape along roll lines. I had been feeling like fusible interfacing was not a route I wanted to go down because dang it I was making a beautiful coat with beautiful Burberry fabric and anything other than super special treatment felt like a cop out. But after reading through my sewing books (I found my vintage Vogue, Singer and Simplicity sewing books to have the most useful and in depth information) I realised I didn't have a clue what I was doing and perhaps the world of full pad stitching needed to be worked up to when I had a better understanding of the rest of the inner workings of a coat. This was my very first after all, plus the first time I had worked with any fabric so bulky. I eventually settled on a process that stuck quite closely to the pattern instructions with a handful of tips and tricks accumulated from books and online tutorials thrown in.

My first major decision was how to interface and where. I probably spent the most time looking into this and found the advice of Jen at Grainline Studio invaluable. I did a few samples using different weights of interfacing and opted for a light-mid weight one in the end which surprised me with such a thick wool. I really didn't want to affect the drape of the coating and this retained a lovely smooth drape. The main purpose of the interfacing in a coat is to prevent areas from stretching out rather then changing the body of the fabric. I'm really happy with my choice as I wouldn't want that front facing to be any stiffer than it is. When it came to placement I combined Jen's advice with these amazing fusing maps from fashion incubator. I interfaced all recommended pattern pieces as well as around the armholes, hem, cuffs and pocket openings from strength. These pieces were 2.5" wide and I used the pattern pieces as a guide to cut the right shape. Now its finished it has surprised me how soft the whole thing feels. In a coating this thick I expected it to feel quite stiff and structured but theres actually quite a bit of movement in it. I think I could have gone a bit further with adding internal structure and for a brief moment considered whether I should have interfaced the whole thing but I'm glad I didn't as I like the feel of the coating as is.

The wool was wonderful to work with. The only trouble I had was with how heavy it got towards the end! I really did feel like I was wrestling with it and had to move everything off my desk and move the machine to one end so the desk could take the full weight of the coat. My machine was a little trooper as always and handled all that bulk with no complaints with a slightly thicker needle and occasional employment of my walking foot. I probably spent more time at the ironing board than the machine though! There is so much work to be done with steam to create smooth, flat seams and shape and this wool responded so well to it; it was amazing to see how it could be shaped and moulded. All the sewing tools in my arsenal came out for this; a tailor's clapper, ham and sleeve roll proved essential. Also invaluable were my Ernest Wright & Son appliqué scissors as every seam allowance needs to be heavily graded to reduce bulk.

I knew this was going to be a time intensive project and it really was. The preparation and accumulating all the supplies actually seemed to take the longest and just cutting out took over five hours because of the numerous pattern pieces, marking everything with tailors tacks and the fact that you're cutting coating, lining and interfacing pieces for most of them! The thickness of the coating meant the pattern pieces became a little distorted if you tried to pin them so I drew around them with chalk. Although not as visible as the pile of a velvet I did need to carefully consider the napped surface. All the pattern pieces needed to be cut in the same direction and I had to be careful when pressing to apply only light pressure with the iron and only move it up and down not side to side on the fabric.

I am so delighted with my bound buttonholes. I followed the method in Claire Shaeffer's Couture Sewing: Tailoring Techniques as the photographs and steps made complete sense to me. I also looked at advice from Colette in their Anise sew-along when it came to making the backs neat. I found making them a little terrifying as they have to be done so early on in the process and you are slicing into one of your biggest pattern pieces to make them so there is no room for mistakes! I was especially concerned because of the thickness of my fabric but actually found them more straightforward than anticipated when broken down into small steps.

I wasn't sure about the buttons at first (which I bought from MacCulloch & Wallis near Berwick Street) but they've grown on me now. I wanted something fairly subtle but still inserting and thought these 1" corozo nut buttons fit the bill nicely with the pattern carved in. Once sewn on I thought perhaps they looked too small and delicate against the weight of the coat but I quite like them in the pictures. I think ideally I should have used a shank button to deal with the thickness of the fabric around buttonhole but I haven't seen anything I like. After making a coat for my mum which has a covered button (I'll be sharing this soon!) I thought this could be a great way to go but my coating is so thick it would be a nightmare to make them. Perhaps I should bite the bullet and get DM Buttons to make some for me.  I find button choices really difficult for my own clothes yet love picking them for costumes at work! Does anyone else struggle with this?

I was worried about setting in the sleeves as this has never been one of my strengths and with this thickness of wool I thought it would be extra tricky. Luckily the sleeves are beautifully drafted and as this wool shapes so beautifully they both went in first time with no trouble. I did have this tutorial from Amity at Lolita Patterns on standby if I did have problems. It involves using tie interfacing to ease your sleeve head; has anyone else tried this method? I also used her method to draft my own backstay for which I used a piece of strong cotton calico. I referred back to my own post about placing the sleeve heads and shoulder pads in my Quart jacket and purchased these from MacCulloch & Wallis. I inserted these before attaching the lining for easier access...this step comes in a really strange place at the end of the instructions! Apart from this the instructions are really great by the way. Considering it was my first coat of this kind I didn't feel lost at all.

A coating this special needed a lining to match so I chose this amazing blush pink silk charmeuse from Mood Fabrics. I've always loved the combination of soft grey and blush but don't tend to wear a lot of pink so the lining on this was a great excuse to try it out. This slipperiest of silk satins was tricky to work with but worth the patience as it is wonderful to slide in and out off and also adds an extra layer of warmth without getting sticky. This coat is soooo warm. Honestly the cosiest coat I have ever owned. I've been out this winter in just this and a fine merino jumper and been totally comfortable when everyone else around me is shivering. Totally worth investing in those quality wools and silks. To elevate the lining I decided to add a flat piping around the seam where it joins the facing. I made my own with a jacquard in a similar pink from Rolls & Rems in Lewisham. Its actually a leopard pattern but I just wanted something with a bit of interest in it to break up the line between the solid grey and pink. I love how the combination of silvery ivory and pink in the brocade compliments both the wool and the silk. My piping is 3/8" wide. I also used this fabric to make a hanging loop which actually isn't included in the pattern. I just sewed together a little tube, turned it through to the right side and then pressed it flat then into the shape I needed before sandwiching it in the neckline seam.

The pattern instructions have you leave the lining hanging free at the hem but wanted my insides all sealed in so bagged out my lining which is basically complete magic! You sew your assembled lining/facing piece and coat shell together all the way around, leaving jus`t a small gap and then pull the entire coat through that hole to turn it right side out. I found Heather Lou's tips for this in the Clare Coat sew-along the most useful and left my 'hole' at the hem of the coat rather than in the sleeve lining seam as I had so much bulk to wrestle through. As instructed I caught the lining to the shell at the underarm with a short swing catch (I love doing these!) and tacked the coat hem up the shell at the seam allowances. Doing this has made a huge difference to how the lining sits inside the coat and stops anything dropping down. Don't miss these steps! The only part I found a little confusing was what to do with the lining where it meets the facing at the hem. I think I'd over complicated it for myself by adding piping here too and ended up winging it with a bit of hand stitching to keep it tidy. I unpicked this part once to go back in and reduce bulk with more grading and trimming. The pressing stage after the lining was bagged seemed to take forever and for this I used a silk organza pressing cloth and whacked up the heat.

If I'm brutally honest with myself I think I would prefer a slightly closer fit although this slightly more relaxed look is on trend right now. I think this problem stems from making my muslin in standard calico which is obviously a lot thinner and behaves quite differently. Following the measurements I cut the size 12 at the bust and graded out to a size 14 at the waist and hips. I could see there was room in the muslin but was pleased with the shape and I was concerned that in a thicker fabric the addition of lining, shoulder pads, interfacing e.t.c would eat up the ease and I wanted to be able to layer it over thick jumpers. However, my favourite RTW coat is much snugger, particularly through the sleeve and shoulder yet still fits comfortably over all my winter clothes. I should have been braver and gone for a closer fit. It might well be someone's ideal fit the way it is but it isn't quite how I imagined it.

I shortened it by 2.5" to hit just above my knee. I took it off the hem as the waistline was hitting me at the right point. The sleeves I shortened by 1.5" taking 3/4" off at each lengthen/shorten line. I pinched out a little through the back at the waist as I prefer a closer fit in that area rather than a straight cut and love it. I took out just 1" in total spreading that equally across seams where the back joins the side back pieces. I think there's a bit of excess room in the upper chest and maybe I should have started smaller and done and FBA but the shoulders themselves fit nicely and the bust darts hit the right spot. Looking at the pictures I'm thinking maybe I should have reduced the collar depth slightly but in reality this seems comfortable. Again this was tricky to assess in softer calico!

I don't mean all that to sound down on the finished article at all as I am delighted with it and it has been seeing a lot of wear including to Denmark and my step sister's wedding over my green silk dress! Making this was such a huge learning process in so many ways. I learnt a lot about working with heavy wools, a lot about structure and interfacing and a lot about the fit and shape of outerwear. I've got so much to take forward with me into my next tailored coat I think it would be an entirely different experience next time!

Again I feel the need to congratulate you on making it to the end of possibly the longest post and most fact filled post I've ever written! Sewing geek right here. Hopefully you'll find some of the tutorials and information I gathered useful in making your own coats. I'd love to hear your opinions on tailoring and which methods you prefer. What experiences have you had?