Sapporo from Spring to Autumn

Kia ora and welcome to the new home of my blog. We have had the most amazing summer here in Wellington (New Zealand), but sadly it's coming to an end and there is a sense of Autumn in the air. While Summer is my favourite season Spring and Autumn are great for making the most of my wardrobe twice a year.

When Papercut Patterns launched the Sapporo pattern as part of their Sakura collection I was in love ... the cocoon shape ... the angled lines ... the all-in-one collar that hugged the neck ...

This version is actually my second make (haven't managed to get good photos of the first one yet - watch this space). I made a size XXS/XS without any fit adjustments. What I did change though was the self lining of the sleeve. The pattern says to self-line the sleeves with the main fabric, but I found that with my first Sapporo it kept pulling my the long sleeve of my top underneath.  Instead I drafted a 2" facing for the sleeve hem and then cut the remainder of the sleeve from lining.

Moleskin Duffle for Winter 2017

Kia ora! This is kinda exciting ... well I'm excited anyway. I was flattered when I was contacted by Hawes and Freer to see if I was interested in participating in the launch of their new website. Now, little did they know that I often stalked their website drooling over the beautiful wool coating and while I wanted to say yes, I really had to think carefully about whether I could commit the time.

As you can see I said yes!

I was planning to make another Albion Duffle coat this winter, so this was the perfect opportunity when I was shown the beautiful range of lightweight moleskin available from Hawes and Freer. What colour to choose???? After changing my mind over and over I settle on the olive green, with a army gingham for the lining. It all arrived beautifully packed and labeled.

Channelling my inner Olivia Pope!

I'm not gonna lie, I was completely inspired by a winter white coat worn by Olivia Pope, while I was engrossed in a Scandal watching marathon!  Would it fit in my wardrobe and would I have anything to wear with it - who cared, I was making it anyway :-)

The coat itself has been a bit of a marathon make.  I already had the Robson Coat by Sewaholic Patterns in my stash. My first attempt at this pattern had been a complete disaster, for a couple of reasons but anyway if I was going to make this one work I needed to get a muslin sewn up and work out the fit issues. So that happened in February 2015.

Duffle Coat

This one has been coming for a wee while.  It was my son's birthday back at the beginning of May and he was keen for me to make him a winter coat ... after a bit of coercion :-)

We went shopping together and got this fabulous wool coating from The Fabric Store - perfect for a men's coat.  Finding an appropriate lining wasn't so easy.  Originally we picked up some striped acetate, but after a bit of deliberation I realised that it wasn't going to add any warmth to the coat and that it would be useless for the Wellington winter.  So the hunt was on for some flannelette.   At Spotlight I found a similar coloured stripe with red stags - boy appropriate I thought!