Two years ago I made my first Winter coat. It’s heavy wool, lined and interlined, so it’s super warm. I still needed a lighter coat for spring and fall though! So when my local fabric shop stocked some cashmere coatings, I knew the time had come!

I used my own coat pattern that I drafted for the first coat, which I call “Blizzara”. It has a simple collar, four darts, and a 1/2 circle skirt. Oh, and three pockets!

The fabric is a marvelous cashmere blend in a dusty lavender. It’s soft with a decent drape for the weight. The lining was a stash fabric that I’m glad I saved. The slightly mint green color goes perfectly with the shell.

I put two welt pockets on the skirt, which I fudged a little bit by forgetting to leave gaps when I attached the pockets and welts. It left the fabric puckered and looked a mess, so I unpicked the parts I messed up and fixed them by hand.

I didn’t make the same mistake for the inner welt, though, which went smoothly. I did, however, make the inner pocket bigger than last time so it would be easier to use.

The sleeves have extra ease in the cap, so they are gathered. The finished sleeves don’t look gathered, but they do have extra volume. This technique takes a little fiddling, and double-checking the fabric while you sew to avoid tucks, but is so worthwhile! I’m a stickler for comfortable sleeves.

Another mistake I made was not trimming the collar pieces before attaching them to the coat. One side was a tad shorter than the other, and I missed parts of it with my stitches. Hand stitching saved the day again, thankfully! I had enough fabric to fold the raw edge to the inside so I could stitch it in place.

This fabric is another advanced fabric for me, like the silk chiffon I used for my last project. It has a nap, so I had to be very careful when I was cutting. I only messed up one piece and thankfully had enough to recut. One unexpected thing about working with a nap was how much I ended up petting the fabric to make sure it was going the right direction!

The sleeve cuffs are hand sewn together. The hem is also hand sewn. I used facings for each for a beautiful finish. For the hem facing, I folded the top edge down and basted it in place so I didn’t have to fuss with it while hemming.

To ensure the hem was straight, I hung up the coat and pinned the hem facing in place. Then I was able to work the stitches with the coat in my lap. I used a simple slip stitch to secure the facing to the lining. The sleeve facings were sewn with a ladder stitch and I later sewed them down with a very small stitch every 1/2″ or so.

The crown jewel of this coat is the griffin clasp! I ordered it on Etsy from Treasurecast. It’s pewter and has two hooks for extra stability. I sewed it on by hand. It adds a really special touch!

I really love this coat! The fabric is so nice and it fits great. This project took me about a month, so I reckon I’ll do some light, quick projects next. Enjoy the coat-stravaganza!

Thanks for reading <3