Named Clothing Isla Trench Coat

Do you think ankle length denim will catch on?

Approaching this project is not for the faint-hearted. I technically started it in spring, but got no further than sticking the MASSIVE PDF together. As you can see, the finished thing is pretty long, so some of the pieces are huge, and the jacket is made up of more individual pattern pieces than I've ever seen - 24 in total, many of which you have to cut out multiple times in the outer fabric, lining and interfacing. Some of the pieces are overlapped too, so you still have to do some tracing, and I really hate tracing. One positive though, and a bit of myth busting here for some of you who asked: seam allowances are included in the PDF version of the Isla (phew)!

Pinterest inspiration, particularly the middle image!

Supplies!

Inspired by some amazing denim trenches I came across on Pinterest, I bought this mid-weight blue denim (sorry I don't know the exact weight!) from my local haberdashery, Samuel Taylors in Leeds. It's not the cheapest project to embark upon; requiring 3.5m for the outer alone, plus lining fabric (I bought cheap khaki lining to try and even out the expenditure!), over 2m of interfacing and notions. Having seen some great versions online (I love this one by Le fil à la gratte) I knew that it would be well worth the cost.

Flash of khaki lining

Cutting and marking up the pattern pieces took me a day, and then there was prepping the pieces with interfacing, but once I was sewing the whole jacket came together surprisingly fast! The instructions are very clear and methodical. I felt like could approach the make one element at a time, the first being the welt pockets. I've never done a welt pocket before, but they weren't nearly as difficult as I'd imagined. It's crazy to think how much effort went into them for them to sort of blend into the background, but it's the little details that seem to count with this jacket and that definitely appeals to my inner perfectionist.

Welt pocket!

Coming together quickly with the cape

Side view/silhouette

The collar/collar belt was a nice chunk to construct in one go and the details make it look so professional in finish. It's a shame the collar belt and loops are mostly hidden away under the collar itself, but I made sure to get some pictures below to show you all!

Collar belt detail (buttons from Textile Garden)

Under-collar details

I was on a bit of a roll and made just one mistake: sewing the sleeve bands on at the wrong notch, meaning they sat way too close to the sleeve edge. I'd almost finished the jacket before realising and although it didn't look too bad, I had to go in through the lining and correct it or be forever annoyed.

Corrected sleeve bands!

Other than that, the whole sew was smooth, even the lining/bagging out stage, which I had expected to be difficult based on previous bagging out confusions with the Waver Jacket and Yona Coat. Joining the inside of the vent to the lining was probably the hardest bit to sew neatly, but luckily is hidden away on the inside. It's also worth mentioning that I skipped the shoulder pads, which hasn't made much of a difference to the finished jacket. With or without shoulder pads, the style is very much 'power dressing'.

Lining flash!

I found the most beautiful imitation tortoise shell buttons from Textile Garden that work perfectly with the denim, with matching small ones for the collar and sleeves. If I made the Isla in future, I'd consider doing bound button holes for a better finish as the regular ones don't quite cut it, particularly as the rest of the jacket is finished to such a high standard.

I'm absolutely thrilled with the finished jacket, and I'm so glad I stuck with it. If you've stuck with the saga on here/Instagram and read this far, thank you! I've sewn a couple of jackets/coats in the past, and more recently the Linda Wrap Dress which has a lot more technical elements to it, but I'd built this up to be something else entirely. It's actually turned out to be my favourite jacket sewing experience ever, and I credit a lot of that to the fab instructions - thanks Named! Don't be put off by the 5-scissor difficulty rating, just give it a go. When I eventually got started, it took me a little under 2 weeks of evening/weekend sewing to finish.

Back view

Should have smoothed out that squiffy cape!

I don't think I'll be sewing another trench any time soon, but if anyone else wants to, here are some other great trench coat patterns:

Londres Trench Coat and Jacket by Orageuse
Luzerne Trench Coat by Deer and Doe
Tracy Trench Coat by Style Arc
Robson Coat by Sewaholic
Vogue 8884 (great one here by Diane at Dream.Cut.Sew)

Hi mum if you're reading! Thanks for the pictures :)

I'm just getting over a bit of sewing fatigue and then I'll be returning to my backlog of sewing plans. I have a few skirts (including another New Look 6418 in more faux suede I picked up at Sew Brum), a Kyoto Sweater and the Lander Pants in the pipeline. But in the meantime, I'm very much enjoying wearing my finished Isla Trench.

Is anyone else feeling like braving a trench or coat this winter? Which pattern will you be sewing?

2nd Turia Dungaree Dress

Finishing the pocket edges

Pre-buttons and buckles

I used bias binding where needed to conceal the raw edges on the inside pockets and back - the main edge is machine stitched and then I hand stitched it in place on the inside. I blindly put all faith in the instructions with my first pair, which frayed like mad in the wash on the bits where there weren't explicit directions to finish the raw edge. Ah what a thing hindsight is... It took a bit of time to do, but I'm SO pleased with the finish.

Back view

Adjustments:

- I adjusted the positioning of the back pockets - I thought they were too high and too far apart last time - which has worked out pretty well. Note: topstitch detailing on them too - I was really starting to enjoy it by this point!

- I sewed the back straps in slightly angled towards the direction they go during wear. I suspected this might improve the fit after making my last pair and it really did the trick - thanks Jo for letting me know that it worked for hers and giving me the confidence to try it!

Final picture - just ready to head in for day 1 of Primavera!

Finished with buckles and buttons!

I have some pretty big makes on my 'to-sew' pile, and a house move on the cards for June, but when I finally get chance, I'd love to hack the pattern to make a long button down version like this one from Monki.

A very hackable option for the Turia Pattern

Thanks again Pauline Alice for my perfect summer pattern! (which will probably see me into autumn and winter too).

Well, not quite double denim - though I'm definitely not opposed to it - but I made a second skirt from the MASSIVE amount of denim that I accidentally purchased. Unfortunately I've used it all up now, so I won't be recruiting members for a B*Witched tribute act.

I decided to make a second version of the box pleat skirt from the Sewing Bee book. And I did something that I know I shouldn't have done really... I cut against the grain. Rather than matching the selvedges when folding like you're usually meant to, I had to fold the fabric the other way to make the pattern fit. In fact, there was enough to lengthen the skirt a bit, and in my defence, it was more economical - waste not want not etc. NOTE: I wouldn't normally do this, but as it as I already have a skirt made from the same denim, (which you can find here) I thought why not? If it goes wrong it goes wrong, and then I'll have learnt my lesson.

Final  fitting, pins and all

I added 3" to the length - I'm going for the demure look clearly - and after causing my sewing machine some serious stress with a few too many layers of denim, I had a finished skirt, pretty much all in an evening's work! I just had to slipstitch the inside of the waistband rather than machine sew due to the thickness of the denim. The pattern didn't have a lengthen/shorten line, which probably suggests that I wasn't supposed to go altering it, but oh well, I gave it a go anyway! I actually quite like the length, I think it makes the skirt look completely different to my first version.

In hindsight, denim really wasn't the most suitable fabric to use. I can't decide whether to say it sticks out, or just holds its shape very well...

The waistband however, is much sturdier and less likely to crease and bunch up when sitting. I'd definitely recommend using a thicker interfacing (or a couple of layers of lightweight) if making the skirt with a thinner fabric.

The box pleats hold well, but I wasn't really sure where they should stop. In the poly cotton, they fell much more naturally, so in a fairly robust denim, it was quite difficult to make them look like they naturally fade out.

It's not my biggest success, but then it's not a disaster either. It might not be holiday wear, but that's because it's quite heavy and I'm only taking hand luggage (ha!), but I imagine it will get a bit of wear over the summer.

Next up is the Simplicity 2154 blouse version 2. I can see me being the type of sewist (sewer?) who tends to stick with patterns I like once I've found them...

Despite being one of the simplest garments I've made, I'd say it's probably the best in fit and finish. 

I clearly have great ambitions to join B*Witched - hope there's enough denim to make a cowboy hat too!

Ready to get sewing... so C'est La Vie!