The next time you see me swooning over a new coat pattern, please remind me that it’s only really cold for about 3-5 weeks where I live. I really enjoy making coats, but at this point, I could easily switch out a handmade coat every week when it gets slightly chilly. The newest addition to my collection is the Savin Coat from Cashmerette Patterns. Minerva sent me this rich, rust-colored wool coating and it proved to the be perfect pairing for this pattern.
For this Savin Coat, I used a Boiled Wool Viscose blend coating in the color Ginger from Minerva. I’m so in love with this fabric! It’s heavy and warm and soft and feels so luxurious! This heavyweight fabric has 10% stretch and comes in 17 stunning colors. As with all fabrics, it’s crucial to wash this fabric before using it. I washed this on delicate in my machine and air dried the fabric outside. The color stayed vibrant, and the fabric never frayed. Since it’s thick, I used my walking foot to sew this coat on my machine. Because the inner workings are all contained inside the coat, there was no need for me to use my serger during this make. For the lining, I picked a gorgeous matte satin lining from my local Joann.
Don’t be surprised if you can’t find the Savin Coat in Cashmerette’s pattern catalog – Savin was the Cashmerette Club pattern from November 2023 and is only available with club membership. You can still get the pattern, and access to the video sewalong, by joining the club at the All Access level. Savin is a classically beautiful coat with a fit and flair silhouette. This is my all-time favorite silhouette because it’s so flattering to my body type. It’s a double-breasted coat with a princess seam bodice and two skirt options: A-line or full. It’s fully lined and has optional welt pockets on the A-line skirt. There are no pocket options for the full skirt, which was really annoying. Why have a coat with no pockets? Anyhoo, I made the full skirt option and, at the side seams, added in-seam pockets of my own. It was pretty easy to do using the included pocket bag pattern piece.
The interfacing requirements for this coat are a little complicated, so it’s important to pay attention. I paid close attention to the requirements and then decided to do my own thing a little. For instance, I used fusible fleece lining in the front and back pieces and skipped interfacing on the side pieces. I wanted more warmth without adding additional width to the bodice, and since I used heavyweight wool, this worked. If you’re using a lighter weight coating, I don’t suggest skipping the interfacing because you’ll need that inner strength. No one wants a floppy coat! I also sized up my two front buttons a bit. I had leftover buttons from a previous coat project, and I loved them, so I used them. Finally, I skipped the topstitching on the bottom of my skirt. Because of the stretch in my wool, I didn’t want to restrict the skirt from fully stretching. I love the movement of the full skirt and didn’t want to do anything to diminish that. Too often when sewing, we get into the mindset that we have to do everything exactly how the pattern describes. But it’s so much more fun and creatively fulfilling to use the pattern as a jumping off point. I like to think of patterns as road maps – they help to get you to a specific place, but sometimes it’s better to go on side quests.
