I started a business, sewed a tailored overcoat, and completely transformed my life within the last 5 months. Here’s what happened…
Backstory: I made my first coat a little over a year ago. It was even my first blog post. You can check it out here! It was such a big accomplishment and I was beyond proud of it. I learned many new skills and learned a lot by making it. That being said, there were many problems with it. The hem is wobbly, the corners aren’t crips…I could go on and on…and you can see for yourself.
A year after making my pink coat I was in a bit of a creative rut. It was also winter in Germany and I was going through some seasonal depression. So, like any real Millennial would do, I got on Instagram Stories, and ranted for a good 20 minutes about how I was in a rut , didn’t know what to do, and that I don’t like making winter clothing or, let’s face it, winter in general. I ended the rant with a suggestion box, asking for winter wardrobe recommendations. To my surprise I got many messages of empathy and a lot of winter wardrobe suggestions. The most suggested garment being a coat! Which made sense. It was winter after all.
I did want to make a coat, a tailored coat with all the bells and whistles: the canvas, the stitching, handmade buttonhole, the whole nine yards. I wanted to learn how the professionals made coats, but I didn’t have time to do a whole training, and I didn’t want to learn it through books, so what did I do?
I went back to Instagram. I asked the hive if anyone else was interested in learning how to tailor a coat, and it turned out there were a lot of people out there who had similar desires. Something had to be done!
So, get this. I already knew a Savile Row trained, bespoke tailor. In fact, I went to high school with her. And check this, she also moved to Europe! I reached out to Sibi, asking if she would ever consider teaching an online tailoring workshop, and within an hour we were already Face-timing, scheduling a whole 9- week, online course.
And that’s how it all started!
Our Tailored Overcoat Workshop started on January 16th with eight students. And what journey it was! Here’s all the things we learned together!
How to cut out cloth, lining and canvas (crazily enough, cutting like a tailor is so different than the cutting like normal person. MIND BLOWN!)
Inlays - extra seam allowance on certain seam, so the coat is alterable!
Mark stitching- marking the cloth with cut stitches to indicate the cut edge of the pattern
Preparing and shaping canvas
pad stitching- structural stitching to get the canvas stability and shape)
Canvasing- attaching the canvas to the cloth
Shrinking and stretching seams- in bespoke tailoring you shape the cloth mostly by shrinking or stretching the cloth instead of adding darts.
“Drawing the Bridle”- shrinking the neckline so that it hugs the body and doesn’t gape! Loved this part!
Pockets- we learned how to construct two different kinds of pockets: a single welt pocket and a double jet pocket. I chose to do an inseam, single welt pocket.
Inside pockets
Attaching the lining- the lining is all attached by hand!
Shaping and attaching the collar
FITTINGS! - one of the best aspects of sewing a tailored garment is the ability to make modifications to the garment even after cutting it all out! We all got to have live virtual fitting sessions with Sibi and all I can say is WOW! I learned so much! She is a master! They were so much fun and so enlightening that we decided to offer a separate Fitting Workshop . We plan on offering another in the fall!
Attaching the sleeve- probably the hardest part of the whole making process. It took me 3 whole days to set in these sleeves, but goodness, did it pay off!
Shaping and inserting shoulder pads
Inserting the sleeve head roll- the sleeve head roll make the sleeve peak up at the shoulders.
Hand-sewn buttonholes- practice makes perfect!
Prick Stitching- the decorative stitching all down the front edge and collar.
“Swinging on the Facing”- attaching the facing so that it doesn’t roll to the front. I really enjoyed this step, because this is what I struggled with the most on the pink coat. What a difference it makes! Look at these beautiful, crisp edges!!!
Hemming- please look at my first coat to see what a difference hemming like a pro makes
PRESSING! - about 75% of the whole tailoring process is pressing. The iron is a key component in the tailoring process. Once the coat is finished, the final step is to give it a final press. The final press is a systematic pressing process that can take up to more than 2 hours! It took me 3!
I wish I had better words to express how I feel after this whole process and experience. Honestly, I’m still a little dumbstruck. It all happened so quickly and we had no idea if it would work or not. I mean, who would have ever thought you could learn how tailor on Zoom?! I don’t know, but you can, it’s fun, and it’ll change the way you think about creating forever! This is much more than just a coat. This coat makes me feel like a butterfly who’s broken through the cocoon and has spread its wings. This is a new beginning!
Have you been toying with the idea of tailoring?
Enrollment for our summer Tailored Jacket Workshop is open until May 16th, 2021!
We have also just release a pre-recorded Sleeve Drafting Tutorial. Learn how to draft the perfect two-piece sleeve for any sewing pattern!
Pattern and Cloth Details:
Pattern: The base pattern for this is coat is Burda 6845 , though many modifications has been made to it to fit me perfectly!
Cloth: Cashmere Wool Coating in color Merlot from Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics. Stonemountain is one of our workshop sponsors and we can’t thank them enough! Anybody who takes one of our workshops receives a 15% discount in their store!
Lining: Bemberg Cupro Twill Lining from The Lining Company. The Lining Company is also a sponsor of our workshops! All students receive a 10% discount off their entire store! Thank you The Lining Company!
Trimmings (Canvases, Pocketing, Interfacings, Thread): Kenton Trimmings . Kenton Trimmings is a sponsor of our workshops! All students have access to purchasing an exclusive WhatBellaMade Trimmings Kit that has all the trimmings you need to make a tailored jacket or coat! Thank you Kenton Trimmings!
Label: My labels were designed by me and produced by Dutch Label Shop!
