Introducing the Clare Coat Pattern

Wheee! After months of development (including making and steaming wool coats in the middle of August while trying not to die of heat stroke) the Clare Coat Pattern is here!

I absolutely LOVE coat making and specifically designed this pattern to be approachable and achievable for all sewing levels, so that even the beginner sewist could discover how much fun it is to make outerwear, with enough interesting details and techniques to keep it interesting for the more advanced maker. Clare features a two piece raglan sleeve and an easy fitting A-line silhouette, which means no complicated tailoring skills or setting-in-sleeves required. It comes together relatively quickly, and I think features my best, most thorough instructions yet.

I had a lot of fun designing the details of this pattern, and came up with two major variations for two very different style vibes.

View B is 60's inspired with princess sleeves, welt pockets and a face framing funnel collar, while the exposed asymmetrical zipper integrated into the seam line brings it into this century. This was the jump-off point for me with this pattern; it's actually inspired by a vintage coat I've had for 10 years. I get stopped on the street every time I wear it and wanted to put my own spin on the silhouette.

View A feels like an elegant "dressed up" coat, especially in a bright jewel-toned wool. It provides a great oppurtunity to play around with hardware and fun details like zipper tassels.

Fully lined, this coat looks as great inside as it does out, and I love the modern way it looks when it's left undone.

Because I love giving you guys as many options as possible, I also developed a substantially different variation. View B is much more minimalist and modern in feeling; it reminds me of a classic Max Mara coat with its dramatic collar, inseam pockets and full length sleeves. Ending at the hip rather than mid-thigh, the asymmetrical closure is replaced with a classic double-breasted coat front; while you can certainly play with special buttons and/or bound buttonholes, I love the clean, simple look of an oversize sew-in snap button.

The collar is definitely my favourite feature; wear it done up to block out the cold, or leave it open to frame your pretty face.

It's also possible to merge the collars; one of my testers did a mash-up of View A with the View B collar and it looked awesome.

Because coat-making is unfairly perceived as being "hard" (it isn't! Pinky swear!) I am also going to be hosting a sewalong for this pattern so I can walk you through the entire process from beginning to end. I will announce the schedule later this week, and it will start shortly thereafter. It will likely be at a fairly rapid pace as I'd like you all to have finished coats before the holidays!

And SO EXCITING, this pattern is available in print and PDF (en Francais aussi!) Since I've only just started doing wholesale, I don't currently have any stockists for my international customers, so for at least for the next week or so you'll only be able to get printed patterns in my shop. Lest we forget, the Ginger Jeans, Carolyn Pajamas and Nettie Dress & Bodysuit are also available in print format!

One thing I'd like to note: we noticed a minor error in one of the pattern pieces after it had been printed (naturally, sigh). The collar piece for View A was incorrectly mirrored, so the notches on the paper pattern are incorrect (we fixed it in the PDF version). Each paper pattern booklet includes a download link for the updated piece, and a digital version will also be available to you after checkout. I would like to mention that the piece as is is still usable (the shape is correct), it just needs to be installed slightly differently, so if you're comfortable putting it in without notches, you don't need to print the new piece.

On to the illustrations! Here's what Sallie Oh's magic hands made for Clare:

Like always, this pattern has a sewing muse.  Clare from Sew Dixie Lou has style I've long admired; chic and polished with an edge, vintage and modern in perfect balance... basically, ineffable British cool at its finest. She's also a lovely, lovely lady, a passionate vegetarian, an admirer of Elvis, an appreciator of dirty rock n' roll, and one hip mum. I couldn't imagine a more appropriately stylish lady to name this pattern after!

I really hope you'll enjoy braving the elements with Clare! Let me know if you have any questions about the pattern in the comments below!