Interlining The Classic Coat for added warmth

I found this cream bouclé fabric at the back of a trimmings shop. I have no idea what the composition is and the shop couldn’t confirm…it maybe a polyester although it feels like a wool mix.

Anyway I liked the idea of it as a coat but felt it need an interlining for added warmth. I decided on a cotton domette, this is a 100% cotton batting more normally used for curtains but I liked the thinness and knew it would be warm.

I chose the single breasted Classic Coat but went up two sizes. This is a slim-line coat and I needed more looseness to compensate the additional thickness but I also wanted it to be slightly oversized. The other changes I made were to add 5cm to the length, remove the faux placket on the sleeves and the top welt pocket, then increase the larger pocket welt dimensions to 18cm x 5cm.

I cut out the pattern pieces in the interlining first, then pinned this to the wrong side of the bouclé. Once I’d then cut the bouclé, I overlocked the two layers together, lengthening the stitch to compensate for the thickness. Alternatively, the two layers could have hand tacked together.

I started with the welt pockets. The increased size made things slightly easier but once I had stitched the initial 18cm x 5cm rectangle I cut away the interlining to remove some of the bulk.

For the pocket bag I used a plain cotton to avoid further bulk.

When I was sewing all the pieces together I decided to change the back vent to a slit, again to avoid the bulk at the top of the vent.

The finished garment feels so luxurious and is really warm. I’ve still to decide on the fastening but I think I’ll probably go for a single button with professionally stitched buttonhole; the buttonhole function on my Bernina is not adequate for this thickness of fabric.

I can see this coat getting a lot of wear in the next three months or so before spring comes. Here I've shown it with The Shell Top in wool/viscose and The Ultimate Pencil Skirt in gold PU but it'll work equally well with more casual clothes.