Pattern Review: StyleArc Parker Coat

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. It has been a cold, drizzly week here in NYC and I am utterly SICK OF IT. Thankfully I have a cozy new pastel blue coat to cheer me up:

I made this using the Parker Coat pattern by StyleArc. It is a long line coat with inverted collar and patch pockets, and I loved the smart-casual vibe of the coat, figuring it would pair well with my growing athleisure wardrobe. I did not follow the pattern’s recommendation to use knit fabrics, choosing instead to use a pale blue (woven) wool fabric from my stash.

While I like the look of the finished coat very much, I have a few gripes that I need to get off my chest as far as the pattern is concerned. I purchased the PDF downloadable pattern, which meant that the pattern was broken up into several ‘tiles’ and I had to print out all of the pages and stick them together. The pattern was not laid out efficiently at all - several of the pattern pieces could have easily fit onto only a few pages, had they been positioned with the tiling in mind, but instead the pattern was laid out such that there were tiny slivers or corners of pattern pieces that spilled onto the next page. This is frustrating and wastes paper, and is a problem that could be easily fixed.

Another issue is that some of the pattern markings/text are printed outside the pattern area, in the part of the page that you would discard when you cut the pattern out. This doesn’t make sense - surely you want the markings to stay on the pattern once you have cut it out? Again, this problem would be easily fixed by simply placing the text or markings on the pattern piece.

My other gripe is with the shape of the coat. In my (humble) opinion, the upper part of the coat (around the chest area) is not flattering as there is too much bulk around the armhole - it makes me look like The Hulk and I am not a large lady. Some of this might be because the fabric I used was too thick and had too much body, but I took a look at other peoples’ finished projects online and it looks like there is a lot of volume in their coats as well. I can see having a lot of volume in the upper chest area if this was, for example, a cocoon coat where you are going for a round silhouette. This however is supposed to be a straight, long-line coat, and I just don’t think the roundness in the upper chest goes with the straight silhouette of the bottom of the coat.

Despite these minor nits, overall I love the coat, especially the dramatic inverted collar, which looks particularly good when viewed from the side:

This coat is a fairly simple make, so I added a few special touches to the finishing - I added leather trim to the front facing and a leather triangle at the back vent:

The final verdict? I’m glad to have this cozy addition to my wardrobe, particularly now that my wardrobe has gotten increasingly casual. The coat is so comfy I can even dance in it!

What do you think of the coat? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from others who have made the Parker Coat and made it work for them. Did I go wrong with the fabric choice?

Pattern Review: Vogue 8379

When it comes to comfort and style all in one package, the DVF-style wrap dress is hard to beat. There is a reason this style is a perennial favorite — the wrap silhouette is universally flattering, the collar and cuffs give a bit of structure and polish to the look, and the dress can be made in an infinite number of prints.

There are lots of sewing patterns that purport to give you the perfect wrap dress, but for me, the pattern that stands heads-and-shoulders above the rest is Vogue 8379. This pattern has been in print for awhile and it has garnered hundreds of rave reviews from sewists over the years. I myself have made six different versions of this dress, and it is on my list of patterns that make up the perfect set of wardrobe classics. (Check out that list and pics of my other versions of Vogue 8379 here.)

Pattern Alterations and Construction Notes

This time around, I made up Vogue 8379 in a black-and-white graphic print jersey from Emma One Sock. I did not make any alterations to the pattern other than extend the skirt to floor length.

I did, however, add several steps to the construction of the dress, to give it a bit more structure. I wrote a whole article about this for Seamworks Magazine back in the day, but here’s a brief recap of the extra steps that you can take to add structure to your wrap dress:

1. Pre-wash your fabric. I skipped this step for approximately the first five years of my sewing career, but I have paid for this foolhardiness with at least two cotton jersey wrap dresses that shrank after the first wash (leaving me feeling like Alice after she ate the cake that made her grow bigger). I have written elsewhere about my skepticism about pre-washing fabrics, but when it comes to cotton jersey, I have found that it is absolutely essential to pre-wash. JUST DO IT. Do it as soon as you receive the fabric you ordered. Do it before the fabric goes into your stash. Do it before your brain starts dreaming about your next project and you forget all about banalities like prewashing fabrics. JUST DO IT.

2. Add elastic at the neckline to reduce gaping in the chest area. We’ve all been there - you lean forward to pick something up and accidentally give the world a peak at the girls (even if you’re flat like me and the girls are virtually non-existent). Trust me, adding elastic magically eliminates gaping, and it only takes a few extra minutes to add. I usually add even more protection against gaping by adding a small snap at the “v” of the neckline, to ensure that nothing slips out of place. (Relatedly, in order to add the elastic at the neckline, I always remove the facing on the front bodice pieces. I hate loose facings that flap around, and adding the elastic neatly removes the need for any facing at all.)

3. Add elastic at the waist seam. The skirt of this maxi dress is very long and full, so the fabric tends to drag down the front bodice. Adding elastic at the waistline ensures that the waistline stays where it should - at your natural waistline. For those with a couture sewing background, the elastic effectively functions like a waist stay.

4. Interface the collar, cuffs, edge of the skirt, hem and waist ties. I know that it is always tempting to cut corners and skip the interfacing, but DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. If you do, your dress may look good at first, but it will dissolve into a limp, crumpled mess as soon as you wash it for the first time. To ensure that your collar and cuffs stay crisp, the edge of the skirt stays flat, your hem falls correctly, and your waist ties lie smoothly, ALWAYS interface these areas. Your future self will thank me.

5. Use the zig zag or stretch stitch on your sewing machine (or your serger if you have one). Most of you probably already know this, but if any of you are newcomers to stretch fabrics, do NOT try to use a regular straight stitch when sewing stretch fabrics - your stitches will break as soon as you wear the dress and start pulling the fabric. Check out my post on sewing machine settings for stretchy fabrics for more details on the types of stretch stitches you should use. Also, if you find that the fabric starts puckering when you try to sew it, learn to avoid that by reading my tips on sewing knit fabric without puckering.

The Finished Product

I love my finished wrap dress, and I think it’s the perfect combination of comfort and style. I can lounge around my house in it, but it’s also polished enough to wear out to dinner at an upscale restaurant. I can throw it into the washing machine and it comes out looking good as new, as long as I hang it up to dry (I have learned not to tumble dry, as the dress tends to emerge very wrinkly and then I have to iron the entire dress to get it looking crisp again).

Want to make a maxi dress of your own? Here’s a list of the materials you will need:

• Pattern: Vogue 8379. You will need to extend the skirt to maxi length, as the pattern only comes with a knee length skirt.

• Fashion fabric: my favorite online stores for stretch fabrics are Emma One Sock and Girl Charlee Fabrics. The dress above was made with Emma One Sock fabric (sadly, they have sold out of the exact fabric). For a maxi dress, you’ll need 3-4 yards of fabric, depending on how tall you are.

• Interfacing: lightweight fusible stretch interfacing. I’ve linked to Amazon here, but you can also find this at Emma One Sock.

• Elastic: I prefer to use clear elastic rather than the lower quality white elastic that breaks frequently.

• Snaps: I use either nickel finish or black, depending on the color of the fashion fabric.

Good luck with your maxi dresses! Please let me know if you make one - I’d love to see what everyone comes up with. =)

Are you interested in a video tutorial to show you how to adapt the Vogue 8379 pattern to make a structured maxi dress? Let me know in the comments - if there is enough interest, I will put one together.