Make a Coat From a Blanket

 Hello Readers. I found this wool throw blanket at a thrift store and I loved the soft colors. Wool is great for keeping you warm but it's also a natural fabric and it breathes and lets air circulate. I thought it would make a great light-weight jacket for fall.  

This turned out to be a fun plaid jacket. 

 

I wanted multi-colored buttons for my jacket just for fun. I tried to coordinate the colors with the colors of the jacket. Similar buttons here. 

 

I started getting my throw blanket in position for cutting. I made this based off the "Bog Coat" pattern by Matchy Matchy Sew Club but I went off course and followed my own plan. I knew this blanket could be frayed at any edge I cut and that was part of my design plan. I cut the coat and folded the sides in. That made the sleeve and front of the coat. I also cut a belt for the waist from the top of the blanket to start. 

 

The front of the jacket needed to be cut for the neck opening. I cut that opening with my sharp sewing scissors to get a clean cut. Dull scissors will not cut well.

 

I also cut the round neck hole as directed by the pattern. Then I started to deviate from the pattern.

  

I started to fray the front edges of the bodice of the coat. I wanted all the edges to fray like the edges of the blanket were frayed originally. 

 

You can see the frayed edge here. I wanted to use these buttons to close the front of my coat so I planned out where they would go and where the button holes would be. 

 

I sewed the buttons on by hand. 

 

I made my button holes and used my seam ripper to open them up. Similar here. 

  

I attached the belt in 3 places by sewing through the buttons, the belt and the coat itself. This keeps the belt in place but didn't require any extra fabric to make belt loops. I didn't have any extra fabric so this worked for me.  

 

Here is my jacket. It could be long like this but I thought shorter would be better for me. so I went back to work. 

 

I cut about 10 inches off the bottom of my jacket. The fabric I cut off would make a fabulous matching scarf. Did I hem them? No. 

 

I pulled the threads on the edge of the cut fabric and took 6-8 threads out of the weave so that I would have the same frayed look at the hem of the coat and the edges of the scarf. I really liked the little fringed edge of the original blanket and wanted it all over the coat and scarf.

 

My jacket is great for cooler weather but it doesn't weigh me down. It's perfect for early fall. I love it. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Collage Top Pattern Hack

 Hello Readers. I made a really fun dress. I used the Collage Top Pattern from Matchy Matchy Sew Club as my starting point. 

My new favorite project. 

I saw this post by Matchy Matchy Sew Club a few weeks ago. They made the top and the 3 fabrics they used really caught my eye. I really loved this fabric combination because...

I had these 2 fabrics in my stash. I love using what I already have and these would be a great imitation of the top they made.

I already had the Collage pattern. I made a top a few months ago. I got all my pattern pieces out of storage and got to work.

I only had a little of the small checked fabric. I decided to use this fabric in the center of the front and back.

I used the larger checked fabric on the sides. Once all my pieces were cut out I started connecting them. You could use multiple fabrics for this top, it's a great scrap buster.

 

I made a front like this and then a back and then I connected them. 

 

I had the top done and I could have stopped sewing at this point. I had a cute gathered top. But I wanted to make a dress. I added a tier to the bottom of the shirt. I used the large checked fabric because I had a lot of it left. I made the tier piece very wide because I wanted a full gathered ruffly skirt.

 

I had a bit of the small checked left and made a short tier to add to the bottom of the dress. I made this tier even wider than the first tier so I could gather it into ruffles.

 

I made sleeve cuffs from the large checked fabric and I used black bias tape at the neckline. 

 

It turned out really well. The pattern for the top was a great start for me to make this dress. I love the full, full skirt. It is so fun.

 

This is so fun to wear. I got silly.

 

I will try to calm down. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- This dress is so fun. I wore it several times, even in winter with tights and a sweater.

 

 

 

 

Collage Top Pattern Review

 Hello Readers. I recently tried out the new Collage Gather Top pattern from Matchy Matchy Sew Club. I really liked it so let me tell you all about it.

 I made 3 of them. Yes, I really liked it.

When I saw the new Collage Gather Top pattern online I decided to get it. I am really glad I did because it turned out so cute and it's such a great scrap buster too. 

 

I printed the pattern out on my printer, cut it out and put it together. This I was the hardest part for me, but it is nice because I didn't have to go to the store. I could print and cut this out at 11pm.
 

I used fabric samples from my mother-in-law, a stained dress, a "grandma" shirt, my husband's old shirt, tight linen pants, and scraps from a navy blue t-shirt. And maybe one or two other fabrics that I can't remember. It's great to use up pieces that are too small to make a whole garment.
 

This pattern has separate pieces for the center front, center back and multiple shoulder and side pieces. The multiple separate pieces allow you to use lots of different fabrics and mix them up. We all have small pieces that we want to use. I know I have tons of different small pieces in my stash. 

 

The shirt can have long sleeves or very short sleeves that are part of the shoulder pieces. Since it is summer and the world is on fire I decided to make short sleeves.

There are also lower pieces. They make a sort of peplum on the sides. They can also use up even more coordinating pieces from your fabric stash.

I liked this top so much that I made 3 of them. I couldn't stop. I had fun putting different fabrics together.

 

I think this one is my favorite. It has rayon center panels and lace sides, the drape was really pretty.
 

 The heavier weight fabrics would be great for cooler weather too. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

*Year End Note From Chickie- This was such a great pattern. The different pieces made it fun to combine fabrics. The heavier linen I chose was too heavy for a shirt, I recommend lighter weight fabrics for this one.