Wool Archives

Wool Coating Fabric (and Wool Alternatives) // Clare Coat Sewalong

25 November 2015 by Heather Lou 24 Comments

Today we're going to walk through the fabric & lining options for your Clare Coat. I'll follow up tomorrow with a post on additional supplies so you don't feel overwhelmed. Clare can be made with a variety of fabrics, and while I'm partial to wool, I'll also be covering wool alternatives down below.

WOOL COATING FABRIC

The best thing about making coats, besides the whole "I made a gorgeous thing that prevents me from dying of exposure" thing is getting to work with wool. I. LOVE. WOOL. As I've said in the past, it basically purrs when you apply heat and steam; it wants to become things. Sheep are basically like, "Yo, humans. You're welcome." It's naturally insulative, water resistant, breathable, wrinkle resistant, easy to sew and shape, and finally, it takes dye incredibly well, so you can drape your bod in the most beautifully saturated colours.

Because Clare doesn't have a lot of internal structure, it's important that your fabric have enough body to create a clean, crisp silhouette. I highly suggest working with medium and heavy weight wools only; suiting weight is too drapey for this pattern. I learned this the hard way when I feel in love with a lightweight melton; even when I interlined it with cotton flannel it failed to have the body I was after and hung a little limply in the sleeves and across the back.

Most fabric stores will have a wool coating section. Wool can come from sheep (merino & shetland), alpaca, goats (mohair & cashmere), rabbits (angora) and even camel. If you're allergic to wool, try experimenting with a sample of a wool alternative to see if you have the same reaction.

TYPES OF WOOL COATING

Felt - wool fibers that have been been wet, heated, agitated and compressed so that it creates a strong, dense fabric. Felt can be deceptive; the really thick stuff feels like it would almost be too thick to be wearable, but fear not. It totally softens up with steam and handling.
Melton - tight, densely woven wool cloth that is felted and brushed on one side to create a "fulled" texture.
Boiled Wool - made from a woven wool fabric that is washed in hot water, shrunk and then felted to create a very dense, water resistant fabric.
Tweed - rough, open weave of fabric in plain weave, twill or herringbone style.
Boucle - soft, textured, loosely woven wool fabric

All of the above fabric will be appropriate for Clare, but keep in mind that looser weaves like boucle may require more aggressive interfacing then what I have called for in the pattern in order to give it the body it requires.

WOOL FABRIC TIPS

As I mentioned, wool absolutely loves heat and steam. It is frankly delightful to press your first wool seam open and see how it responds to the iron! Here are some things to keep in mind when working with wool:

Pre-treating and shrinking wool fabric is a must. You can try to shrink on your ironing board with loads of steam, but I'm lazy and either throw my yardage in the dryer with a couple of damp towels, or bring it to the drycleaner to be block steamed on those big steaming tables they have.
Press, don't iron. Use an up and down motion with your iron as opposed to a back and forth one so you're not stretching your wool out of shape. Try and let your wool cool a little before manipulating it; its very easy to stretch and distort when its hot and damp.
Use a pressing cloth made from light cotton or silk organza (you can also use a light piece of wool!) A press cloth with help prevent marks from appearing on your wool.
Use a seam roll and/or a tailors ham. If you've been putting off buying these tools, now is the time. They really make an extraordinary difference in the final garment, especially when it come sto those curved raglan shoulders! A seam roll will create a rounded surface to press on, so you don't see the lines of the seam imprinted in your fabric.
If you do get wool "bruising" even after using a press cloth and seam roll (which is what happened on my big squishy felt camel sample, the sensitive beast), lightly steam the area, spritz with water and let dry naturally so the fibers can stand back up again. This is a hot tip from my tailoring guru Maimu.
Use a wood clapper for the crispest, most beautiful pressed seams ever.
Over pressed "shiny" areas can be brought back to life with a solution of 2 teaspoons of vinegar in one cup of water. Apply to fabric with a spray bottle and then press gently beneath a pressing cloth.

WOOL FABRIC SUGGESTIONS

Clare-Coat-Sewaong_Wool-Coating-fabrics-2 — one two three // four five six // seven eight nine

Clare-Coat-Sewaong_Wool-Coating-fabrics — one two three // four five six // seven eight ninefive

My favourite sources for coating are Mood, Emma One Sock, Britex (not cheap but oh the beauty!), and Blackbird Fabrics (and she's having a coating sale till Friday- enter COATLOVE at checkout for 15% off).

WOOL ALTERNATIVES

one two three // four five six // seven eight nine // ten eleven twelve

Of course, you do not need to use wool for your Clare Coat! Some of you may be allergic, live in warmer climates, or like the pattern's namesake, avoid wool for ethical reasons. Whatever the case, you can use any medium to heavy weight woven for this pattern. Use a synthetic wool alternative if you can find it, or try a sturdy twill, denim or canvas. I'm especially fond of brocades for a fancier evening coat, and I've also been longing to see Clare made up in a beautiful upholstery fabric.

LINING

A beautiful pop of colour inside a jacket feels so special, especially if it's a high quality fabric like silk or rayon bemberg. Do not deface your beautiful coat with a cheap acetate lining; it will be shredded in no time.

If you're in a colder climate, I highly encourage you to seek out kasha; it is a flannel backed satin that adds a little extra warmth to your outerwear. It's available here at Vogue fabrics and Sawyer Brook (Canadians can find some on Fabricville.com). You may also find it referred to as "Sunback"; B & J fabrics has lots of colours in stock here. If you do live in a city hard hit during the winter, I'm sure you can find it locally at whoever has the best selection of coating. In Montreal, I suggest Tonitex; they have lots of affordable wool (some even block fused!) and a whole wall of kasha lining. Please let me know in the comments if there are any online sources for kasha I am missing.

I'll be back tomorrow with information on the interfacing and various doodads you need to make your Clare. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!

Cascade Duffle Coat Love

17 March 2015 by Heather Lou 77 Comments

Hello friends. Let me introduce you to my new cold-weather life partner: the Cascade Duffle Coat from Grainline Studio. We've already made a lover's vow; I will try not to spill hot chocolate on her, and she will help alleviate the rising anxiety I have about this Game of Thrones winter never, EVER ending.

I snagged this beauty of a pattern the day Jen launched it. This winter marked the first in over a decade in Montreal that I finally caved and bought a real-deal, no kidding, looking-cute-is-not-a-priority parka. And yet, as warm as my new North Face parka is, I needed a break from it, desperately. While February may seem a little late in the season to make a winter coat, it was actually perfect timing. I was this close to setting my parka on fire out of pure snow rage, and it's finally warming up enough to get away with just a wool coat. A few of you lucky enough to not suffer from real winter laughed about this on Instagram, but seriously guys. When it's -15 Celsius (or 5 Fahrenheit for you Yankees) you won't/can't/shouldn't leave your house unless you have a layer of goose down between you and the frostbite that wants to claim your soul. So, this Cascade is my -10 buddy. She's super warm and hits that sweet spot between "Oh my god, I'm going to die if I have to walk one more block in this frozen icy hellscape" and "Let me just casually throw on this lightweight coat since the sun is shining and I can see the tulip buds emerging from the earth like the little beacons of spring that they are".

This is a great pattern. If indie patterns had an all-star team, Cascade would be point guard, or linebacker, or whatever sports-ball term I don't understand that means "workhorse". As with all Grainline releases, it's impeccable drafted and thoughtfully designed, with lined patch pockets, a two piece sleeve, roomy linings, and simply perfect proportions.

I tried to stash bust for this project, but when I looked at the charcoal coating I had at the ready, it just made me sleepy and bored. When Sara came for a visit in February, we went up to the wholesale district and I found this gorgeous grey marle felt at Tonitex for $14 a yard (!!!). It's DIVINE. Super dense and an utter joy to cut and sew. It literally purred whenever I steamed it and I got that pure sewing buzz that comes from working with natural fibers. Wool wants to be made into clothing. It basically begs for it, climbing into your lap and pleading for a nice short straight stitch and lots of hot steam. Wool, you are the lapdog of fabric and I am happy to give you a belly rub.

Jen counsels you to use rayon bemburg for the lining, but I live in Canada, so I went with something a little warmer; thankfully I had yards of this chocolate brown kasha in my stash. If you've never worked with kasha before and have to deal with northern winters, do yourself a favour and line all your winter coats with it. It's satin on one side and flannel on the other, and adds a crazy amount of warmth without the bulk of a thinsulate layer. I also used it for my leopard print cape; I'm obsessed with it. I just heard that the Canadian manufacturer who produces it went out of business, so I'm praying there are other suppliers.

The toggles are semi-handmade. I found the rope closures with the little brass detail at Accessoires St. Hubert and picked up a scrap of leather at my new paradise, Cuir Boillard (expect lots of leather makes now that I've found an affordable source for hides). This was probably the trickiest bit of sewing. Once you sew the toggles on you're dealing with multiple layers of thick wool, and my topstitching suffered without a teflon foot.

Construction wise, this is a surprisingly easy pattern to assemble. I think even a relative beginner could do it, especially with some hand holding from the sewalong. It's just lots of straight stitching and seam grading. The biggest challenge is managing all of the pieces but I just labelled everything and hung the lining and wool on separate hangers, although you do have to be careful not to lose some of the smaller tissue pieces. If your wool is really thick like mine, it can also be tricky to get them all under the presser foot; I had to wrestle the fabric a few times. But honestly? SEWING COATS IS SOOOO FUN! I forgot how much I loved making outerwear. It's as satisfying as making jeans, and you will watch heads explode when you tell people you made your winter coat. Making this was just the kick in the butt I needed to continue developing the dressy winter coat pattern I had planned to release last winter since wool is just so delightful to work with.

My favourite detail is the chevron linen zipper band and brass zipper. It adds a little texture to what is otherwise a fairly simple silhouette. But please, if you're using a loosely woven fabric like linen, please learn from my mistake and interface it first! My band ended up ripping after a few hours of wear which required a truly wabi sabi repair solution. I ended up zigzagging the fabric to secure it to the zipper, and added a little leather patch where the rip was particularly bad. I am wholly to blame for this; I made a straight size 10 when I should have graded the hip to 12. That extra 1 1/2" inches of ease would have given me a little more room around the hip and would have reduced the pressure on the bottom of that zipper band. You may have noticed that the front flap wants to skew to the side when the coat is closed... I think this is also the result of not making the right size in the hip. A reminder to stop being lazy. Seriously Heather. Get your act together.

Hip sizing aside, I am sooo in love with this coat. It's perfectly casual, just the right thing to wear when I'm out and about running errands. And believe it or not, I'll probably be wearing it until the end of April so I'm really happy I started working on it so quickly.

Finally, the crazy pink crushed velvet leggings are a recent make too. I stumbled on the stuff for $2 a yard and whipped up a pair for the leggings/knit fabrics workshop I'm teaching this month. They are bananas. G teased me that I looked like I had pink ham hocks for legs, but boys are dumb and I love them unreasonably. They feel less 90's than they ought to because of the un-grunge colour I think....

What about you? Are you interested in making outerwear? Did you buy the Cascade? Tell me all about it!

Details: Cascade Duffle Coat by Grainline Studio, Espresso Leggings by Cake Patterns, Black Hunter Boots, Lipstick: MAC Lady Danger, Vintage hat

Photos by Guillaume Gilbert

By Hand London Flora - As a Skirt!

31 March 2014 by Heather Lou 52 Comments

When the By Hand London ladies asked me to test the Flora, my first impulse was to make the perfect little black dress. Mood generously supplied a fabric allowance, and I spent a few hours on their website trying to track down something light but with a little bit of body so the pleated circle skirt would have maximum volume. After a lot of deliberating, I ordered a few yards of this luscious black wool faille suiting. Wool faille? I never knew it existed either! I always associate the lustrous ribbing of faille with silk, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play with a new fabric.

I intended to make the wrap version of Flora and dutifully made a muslin bodice since wrap bodices are tricky on me. I always have a lot of gaping in the front due to a combination of high rounded shoulders and a hollow chest (well, hollow above the un-hollows). I tried a number of adjustments on the muslin and dutifully added twill tape along the diagonal seams, which is a great trick for helping with wrap dress gaping; just cut the tape 1/4" shorter than your seam and ease it in. However, when I sewed my final bodice together, it really didn't look great. This fabric is quite stiff and and unforgiving, and the amount I had pinched out and redistributed to the darts created some unfortunate volume under my armpits. This isn't a drafting issue but rather a "my body is a unique and frustrating wonderland" issue. I think I may spend some time tweaking a muslin over the spring since it really is a lovely design and my un-hollows deserve wrap dresses.

I had always thought the Flora would be great hacked into a party skirt, and decided I'd probably get more wear out of it as a separate anyway. So that's just what I did.

Using the scraps of fabric I had left, I made a simple waistband (using a By Hand London post for reference, natch) and eased the skirt into it. I inserted an invisible zipper, and used my indispensable rolled hem foot for a lovely, flawless hem.

Honestly? It's perfection. The body of the fabric creates a lovely silhouette, and the sheen of the faille gives it a fanciness I am missing in other skirts in my wardrobe.

I highly encourage folks to hack their own Flora skirt. It gives the circle skirt a little jolt of magic.

I'm sure you've heard by now that the By Hand ladies are venturing into custom digital fabric. We had a long distance Skype gab a few weeks ago and talked business, boys and blogging for hours. I seriously adore these women; smart, hilarious, generous and invested in this community in a very inspiring way. Their plans are so exciting; while I love the concept of Spoonflower, the sheer volume of print options is overwhelming. I think the curatorial eye of BHL means we'll get a service that is fresh and unique, and it also means we can support a business that we know and love. Take a look at their Kickstarter video if you haven't already; I make a brief cameo along with the lovely Marcy & Roisin.

They have 13 days to go and are almost halfway to their goal. I contributed money and encourage people to do the same if they can (even $5 helps!) Supporting businesses that support us means we get the kind of products we can believe in!

You can check out their campaign here.

Finally, I've got new specs! I'm a glasses devotee and love having a few pairs to play with. I recently purchased a new pair from Warby Parker on a whim and started having buyer's remorse almost immediately (I tried them on in person when I was in NY but realized they were maybe a little too cat-eye vintage for me to rock every day). Thankfully, I was contacted by Firmoo, an online eyeglass store about reviewing their products. You can upload a picture to their site to "virtually" try on glasses. I'm totally thrilled with what I chose and have been wearing them pretty much every day.

Their glasses are really affordable and the quality is good. If anyone is interested in checking them out, I have a $30 voucher code for 5 people to use; it expires April 28th ( CLOSETCASEFILESBLOGS4). They also give free glasses to the first 100 people who inquire here, but the selection is more limited.

Going to go curl up with Friday Night Lights (Coach Taylor *sigggghhhh*) and ignore the slushy snow outside. Hang in there kiddos. The sun will arrive eventually.