Curbing the Cute!

Right now the idea of making new clothes to wear...anywhere...feels strange.  It's not like I needed to make new clothes before the virus took off, so I'm not sure why it feels so different now.  I obviously have plenty of time and fabric, but...meh...not so much desire or inspiration.

Usually this time of the year I am consumed by the need to make something that is "too-cute-for-its-own-good."  Some pastel confection that seems like a good idea in the moment and almost as quickly gets relegated to the donation box!  (It may be a bit of a silver lining that I haven't succumbed to the usual cutsie outfit.)

If you have been around for a while you might remember some of these....

                    

          

Yep!  Too cute!  What was I thinking?!!  Most of them were fun to make, but....yikes!  I'm telling you, it's a spring thing.  So the fact that I haven't been bitten by the cute bug might be OK.

Before I left for Florida I had set out a piece of fabric that I have been wanting to make into a coat.  I thought it would be a great project to come back to and hit the ground running.  In February there would still be plenty of cold weather requiring a nice wool coat.  Well, fast forward, we now know that 1.  I won't be needing a wool coat in Key West, and 2. I'm not going anywhere right now!!!!  Coat or no coat!  So the idea of making the coat kind of fell flat.  But last week I was still thinking about the plan I had for that fabric.  I decided, what the h--l, just make the coat, what else have you got going?

The fabric is very interesting.  It's a knitted wool that has a faux finish on one side that makes it look like distressed leather.  The texture is firm, but has a soft feel that makes it comfortable to wear.  I thought the knit side would be fine on the inside with no lining so I decided to bind the seams and edges to finish the coat rather than making facings.  I started with a pattern from Style Arc that I have made before...

Remember this one? (You can read about it HERE.)

I have worn this coat a lot and really like the weight and the styling.  For my new coat I swung the side seams forward and added patch pockets.  I used the reverse side of the fabric to make the collar and cuffs.  

And it was definitely spring in Michigan when I was taking these pictures...bright sun in my eyes one minute, and it started to snow in the next!

        

I went from 'why do I need to make another coat?' to 'Hey, this is pretty cool!'  I am glad that I went ahead and made the coat.  I may not wear it often, but, unlike my other too cute spring projects, I won't be sending this one to the thrift store...at least not this spring!

PS...If you noticed that my newly installed Instagram link is no longer there, you are very observant!  After wrestling with it for the last week or so I got a note from the "Widget Police" that "your monthly views have exceeded the limit for the free version of the app, please upgrade to a monthly plan."  First of all, thank you!  I am so glad you are tuning in occasionally and hope you are enjoying the posts. and Second, please feel free to visit my Instagram page, though you will have to get there on your own.  I decided you all are smart enough to do that without a monthly fee.  Enjoy!
The name is: Beckysewsalot