Adventures with wool

No, I'm not knitting wool. I'm sewing with it! This is completely new to me, and I'm loving it! I thought it would be stiff and clunky to work with, but this wool has a lovely drape and just the right amount of body. The best part is it doesn't fray!

I'm working on a knee-length dress coat for my daughter, Simplicity 2534. Of course, I had to modify the pattern right away - I did away with the gathered skirt and opted for some flatter pleats instead.


The collar took an hour to sew. It really wasn't complicated; I just went slowly to make sure I wouldn't have to take it apart and redo it. The lining fabric is lying next to the coat up there.

I'm really pleased with how the pleats turned out in the back. I'll have to make the same change in the lining to make sure it lays flat underneath. I'll add a button-on tab detail to the back, too. And that atrocious center crease will get steamed out....eventually.

After another good 2 hrs today, I've got one sleeve attached and the other ready to go. I had DD try this on with one sleeve - she either has gorilla arms or this pattern is whacked. There's a contrast band on the cuff that is supposed to fold back over the sleeve, but it almost almost too short on her not folded back. So my BFF seam ripper undid those cuffs in a jiffy! They're reattached now backwards so they won't have to fold back - and thus the life of the coat just got extended by a year. I guess she's not allowed to grow after that! :)