Autumn in Holland Park

Saturday was a great day to go out to London. And what made it even better was that I managed to complete my wool coat in time too. It took me ages to get the fit right on paper and calico before I even started the pattern cutting. I used the techniques I learnt from my Innovative Pattern Cutting course I did in Central St Martins a while back and suffice to say, the course was well worth it's weight in gold. All the techniques and tricks came rushing back into my head and I finally managed to used some of the methods taught. I can confidently say that my sewing has improved as well.

Anyway, back to the coat. I used a thick navy wool fabric I got from the remnant basket in Cloth House and topped it up with a red wool fabric to create the contrasting pattern. The inspiration was from Napoleon with his navy coloured military jacket with contrasting red sash. But the jacket also somewhat gave a 70s vibe to it too. I do have to say that I didn't warmed up to the results at first but after I sewed the buttons on, it took away all my uncertainties. It's funny how one small item can change the whole look in an instant.

Front shot of the coat in Holland Park. I'm also wearing my piano silk shirt and my slim fit pants. 

This is another shot of my look for the day shot in Holland Park Mews. A big thanks goes to Kim Law for these amazing photographs. (To view Kim's website or commission him, click here)

I've also uploaded some pictures of my own (less artistic) showing how the coat looks like when buttoned up and how the back looks like as well.

The red wool fabric on the back to the collar is one piece, made so because I wanted to give some structure to the collar and allow it to stand upright. Useful for those cold windy days. I didn't have a shot of the lining but I used a quilted lining so that this coat can withstand any cold weather that's coming my way.

I can strike this coat of my to do list but am excited to move on to my next piece.