Winners and Losers

Thanks you to everyone who voted in my Which Coat Should I Sew? poll. The Hikaru military-style jacket won handily, getting 61% of the vote. Unfortunately, when I went to buy it, Burda's purchasing software was down! They said to try back later in the week, but it looks like you have not been able to buy anything from the site since late October. To make it even better, they don't mention anything about it being down until you actually go through the process of trying to purchase a pattern! Free patterns are still available for download, but both the Hikaru and the Larissa have to be purchased/downloaded, and I couldn't find either coat available anywhere else. They are both download-only patterns and not available already printed.
Bummer! I could wait a week, but I don't trust that their shopping carts to be back up by then, and with Huck out of school all next week for Thanksgiving, my Quiet Time will be a lot more limited. Plus, I signed up for Freshly Picked and Ardor Hoilday Gift Swap, so I have that on my plate, too.
So I spent yesterday looking for another military-style jacket to alter to look more like the Hikaru.
I found Simplicity 2341, View C:

It isn't perfect, but it is pretty close. The Hikaru's seams are prettier, and I'll have to sacrifice that. I'll also have to adjust the cuff and make the pockets from the Hikaru. Fortunately, Burda lets you see all of the instructions on their website, even for patterns you have to pay for, so I can draft my own pockets and adjust my Simplicity pattern with some guidance.

As for color, a lot of you suggested red, red, red! I also love red, but the problem is that I wear a lot of red already, especially in the winter! I was concerned about too much red on red. I also wanted to take my winter accessories into consideration. I have a black and gray herringbone cowl that my dad got me from Pip Robins on Etsy. I love it, but haven't been able to wear it much with my gray coats.

I also have a pale yellow knit scarf that does look nice with the gray, but would be to pastel-y for a dark red. What I found instead is a deep pink (I'd call it ruby rose) twill. It looks great with the gray and yellow and the darker reds already in my closet. It also goes great with my skin tone :)
I haven't decided on buttons yet. I think I'll have to search around on Etsy for some vintage buttons since all of the ones I liked at Jo-Ann were way to pricey, and I need a bunch of them! If not, I'll make my own fabric covered buttons. Or maybe Shrinkydink buttons!
So there you go! That's where I am with my coat. I'm washing my fabric right now, and hope to get it pinned and cut during Milo's nap tomorrow. The Flickr Pool already had some fun, colorful coats in it. Check it out! You still have time to join!




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