FABRICISTA CHALLENGE, WEEK 2 SUBMISSION: Not Sew Traditional Trench Coat.

When I received the email for the email for the 2^nd Challenge I was perplexed for a moment.  I have made several summer/spring coats, but never have had a need for a full coat living in Central Florida.  In late December early January through mid-February the temperature can go as low as 30 degrees, but those days are far and few between.   The last couple of Christmas’ have been in the mid 70’s to 80’s and we here in sunny Florida are still wearing shorts, straight through the winter months.

After reading the email I immediately went on line to read up on the history of the Trench Coat and too look for inspiration.   I knew I didn’t want the traditional Trench Coat as I am top heavy and all those buttons on the traditional Trench freaked me out.   I also knew I wanted something in darker denim, something I could wear on a cool winter’s night to the movies, or to work on a casual Friday.  So I found these three designs that I absolutely loved:

So armed with my inspiration pictures, I hunted for a pattern that had at least a few of the details in my inspiration pictures.  I chose McCalls 6442 which had the basic design features I was going for.  I really liked that it had darts both front and back to bring in the silhouette a little.   View C had a full Label and the perfect length which was a requirement for this challenge.

My Trench is fully lined and inset pockets with some beautiful whimsical cotton fabric I found at Walmart.  I purchased the whole bolt.  The fabric has a really cute French City Part theme.  I thought it was a perfect contrast to the darker denim I used for the Coat. Also fully serged all seams on the inside of my coat. I omitted lining the Sleeves to prevent bulk in the arms.  I also added ties at the wrist to give it a Trench feel.  The bottom half of the Trench has a lot of fullness which I love because it hides a lot of my imperfections in the lower half of my body.    

I am extremely excited about Week 3’s project and hopefully I make it to the next round.  Happy Sewing! 

FABRICISTA FASHION CHALLENGE WEEK 2: TRENCH COAT

First I'd like to congratulate the winners of the first challenge, they did a marvelous job.  To see who Week 1's winner were, check out the Fabric Mart Blog Post: Challenge 1 Winners

A little history about this weeks challenge:

The trench coat was invented by Burberry and Aquascutum back in the 1850s. Later it was used as a raincoat by the British and French soldiers in WWI. The name "trench coat" came to be because it was used by Army officers in the trenches. During this time, the design was modified to include details such as shoulder straps and D-rings, all added for specific reasons. The wrist buckles, for example, were added to keep the rain out when using binoculars. A classic trench coat was usually made of a waterproof fabric such as a heavy gabardine, leather or poplin. It could have a removable lining, raglan sleeves and ranges in length. It is double-breasted with 10 front buttons, wide lapels, a storm flap, belt and pockets with button closure.

While we probably don't use trench coats for these reasons today, we still see a lot of these features on trendy coats of this time.

This week's challenge is to sew a trench coat to fit your personality. It can be a classic trench or a more trendy one. You can use classic fabrics or live on the edge with a unique fabric. It can be lined or unlined. The only thing that is a requirement is that it goes past your bottom so that it resembles a trench coat in some way. There should also be some type of lapel, whether it be classic and tailored or loose and floppy like trends you see today. There were some interesting takes on a trench coat at Stylecaster.com. Be sure to tell us a little about your personality, too!

If you are interested in learning more about the Trench Coat, see Wikipedia

Remember you can sew along and submit your entries as well and win 3 yards of this beautiful fabric for yourself. Makes sure you use #FabricistaFabricMart on Facebook and Instagram and all submissions are due by Friday, September 23, 2016.  For more information:  FabricMart.