The Cute, it burns!
As I contemplate the fact that I have hardly made any progress on, well, anything, in the last several days, it occurred to me that I never did a final post about the coat I made for my niece in January (like, after I put on buttons and hemmed it). So here you go—if you’re not into looking at an excessive number of photos of my seven-year-old, feel free to stop reading now.
As a quick recap, I (for better or for worse) came up with the idea that I would make some fun “winter” coats for my nieces (aged 4 and not-quite-3). Probably it had something to do with this sparkly black boiled wool being on sale at my local Fabricland… at any rate, when we dashed home at New Years I dragged (both!) my SILs to the fabric store and got some lush leopard-print fleece for the lining, and headed home with the aim of having at least this first coat completed by Niece #1’s birthday at the end of January.
McCall's 3374
And I did. And if I were a mature and responsible adult, I would’ve had it in the post for said niece to receive in a timely fashion.
Instead, I dicked around, forgot about it, and now winter’s pretty much done (despite its best efforts) and the coat is still hanging in my front closet. Erm. Well, she’ll have it for next winter, for sure. And I’d really like to give the two coats at the same time. Right. That’s it.
Despite the explosion of fun-fur on the pattern envelope, this is actually a really basic, classic A-line coat pattern, with nice collar, hood, and cuff options. It’s not lined, but when has that ever stopped me?
I made the size 4 for my oldest niece, which as you can see Syo is modelling quite handily—it’s a bit snug but not problematically so—so I’m not too concerned about the recipient outgrowing it before next winter. I will make the size 3 for my younger niece, who is even runtier than Syo was at that age (I wasn’t sure that was possible, but apparently it is), and hope that she can wear it sometime before kindergarten.
And now, without further adieu: photos.
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- The Cute, it burns!
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- Click to see inner button, backing the outer buttons. Much neater than just sewing through, and sturdier than stitching only through the outer layer of fabric
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- That inner button again.
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- Rowr! Look at that lining!
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- Open
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- Closed, pensive
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- Weirdly over-exposed, but I still like this photo. I might be biased due to my affection for the model.
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- Coat front, buttoned all the way.
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- Coat side.
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- Coat back
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- Fuzzy pockets—the best feature ever, apparently.
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- Button closeup. My sister-in-law picked these.
Tanit-Isis Sews 
Very very nice little coat, what a lucky little girl. 🙂
It’s normal to feel like you’re getting nowhere when you’re in the middle of prep work. Lila was sick yesterday so she slept all day. I felt a little guilty, but I got so much done because she was sick….
Aw, poor baby, but good for you! Mine have reached that amazing stage where they mostly do their own thing (except when wanting to be fed, but we’re working on that 😉 )… though of course it has its share of drawbacks, too…
you are out of your friggin mind.
Possibly. But this woman looks after my kids for up to a month each summer, so I need to keep on her good side ;).
I wish you were my auntie. . . any more of that fabric??
Just enough to make niece #2’s coat, I think. Though I’m pretty sure there’s craploads on sale at the fabric store…
Both cute and practical – she’ll love it when the snow blows again.
And silly me to forget about the maxi dress! Had to go edit my post.
What a cute coat, I think you should get Aunt of the decade. Also your model is quite the little fashionista 🙂
holy cow syo’s a completely adorable ham!!! lovely coat too!!!
Nice work. Cute model too. Thanks for your advice on my coat. It felt like life stopped for me days ago and I’ve made no progress with anything. Hoping to tackle the fitting issues over the weekend. Fingers crossed! All the best with getting on top of things too.
LOVE it! The lining is so much fun!!!
Oh, hibiscus buttons! Somebody has a love for the tropics! Very cute coat and adorable model.
Adorable!!!
The coat looks great. I like the lining. Great work!
Cutest. Kid. Ever. :o)