sábado, 31 de agosto de 2013

My dear Watson



A while ago I decided to join The Monthly Stitch. A new challenge is posted every month, and you can join in the challenge or not. The challenge for August was 'CAPES' and since I had this pattern in my stash since June, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and join. 
I finished just in time, August 31th, still got 22 hours left!

The Watson coat... When you lay eyes on the pattern, you will want one too!
The only thing that was a bit daunting, was the fact that there are 15 pattern pieces, and since I didn't want to cut in my original pattern I traced them all... :-(
I cut a size M, but in hindsight, it was a bit to big. I eliminated about 2.5 cm from the bust-area, took in the sides 1 cm and eliminated 1 cm from the shoulder, but now it fits really well. 
I was really surprised at how fast this coat came together, it was finished in about 3 days (not counting laying out the fabric and matching up those plaids), it helped that the directions were very clear with lots of pictures!



The fabric came from Le Chien Vert in Brussels. I thought the plaid was perfect for a Sherlock-inspired garment. I saw another Watson-jacket with 2 different fabrics, and although I liked it, for mine I wanted just 1 type of fabric. The lining came from the same store. 
I did have a bit of trouble with the cape. The lining kept peeping out from under the cape. To solve this I topstitched the bottom of the whole cape piece and after that I had to 'stitch in the ditch' in the side seams of the cape through both layers of fabric. Now the lining does what it should do; be invisible from the outside...



I got the buttons covered in one of the many Mercerias around town, because I always mess up with those DIY-kits. The coat closes with snaps because my buttonhole-foot isn't big enough for these buttons, and I didn't feel like making bound buttonholes, because that was just to much trouble.


If I make this again, I will probably leave out the cape (2 cape jackets might be a bit too much) but will insert in-seam-pockets. But I probably won't make another coat for the next 5 years or so, I bought a new one just last winter and my last coat lasted me at least 5 years, so I'm pretty much set.

Taking pictures in this coat while Summer is still going strong was a bit weird...

This is my favourite picture, inside the port of Bilbao, in front of one of the huge cranes. My husband had a job there and I went along to assist. Yes, in my polkadot dress (made by me 3 years ago) and sandals, because that is appropriate attire for a cargo port.



The next challenge is VINTAGE patterns. Since I have quite a few of those, I'm ready to go for it again!

So what's the weirdest place you ever took pictures?

10 comentarios:

  1. Love that plaid! It looks great on you! And you took pictures in the Port of Bilbao, nice! ha, ha, ha! Last weekend I went to Rafael Matias and I thought "maybe, Wendy is here!" Because I know you love that store, ha, ha, ha!

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    1. I am actually quite often in the port of Bilbao, about twice a month at least, but I don't always make it into town... And I certainly don't make it into Rafael Matias every time :-(, because that would blow my entire budget and would force me to eat bread with Nocilla all day every day... :-D

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  2. Oh, wow! Yes, yes I love this cape. And I want one. But 35 dollars is a bit too much for my budget. Don´t they have sales or something? Your fabric is just fantastic for it. I guess you´ll be using this one a lot in the winter.
    And if you like we can meet on Christmas time, I go to Santander an awful lot! All our relatives live there.

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    1. Thanks! I think they have sales when it's Rebajas time in Belgium, which is usually the first 3 (?) weeks of January and the first 3 (?) weeks of July. I paid 22€/m for the outer fabric, which I think considering that it is wool, is not that bad. But it definitely wasn't a cheap project so I'm really happy it worked out fine.
      I think it would be great to have a little meet-up around Xmas! We'll see how things work out!

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    2. Haha, I can be so confused sometimes. I thought you meant the price of the fabric (I was impressed by your online search capacities) but now I realize you meant the price of the pattern! It is quite expensive, but all Indie patterns cost quite a bit of money, but I really love this coat and I believe that independent creative companies should be supported, I thought it well worth the investment.
      I'll probably make this again when my current coats are outworn, or if I want another color because the jacket has simple and timeless stylelines, and by just leaving of the cape and adding pockets or adding a bit of length, you get an entirely new and different coat...

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  3. Funny...I've been tot that same spot in Bilbao. Ohh Le chien vert...het volgende keer ik ben in Brussels ik wil grag daar gaan Oh it's been years since I wrote any Dutch and I was only a beginner...but I wanted to try again...;)

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    1. What are the odds of somebody reading my blog having been to the same spot in Bilbao! Amazing that you know Dutch, by the way! Not a lot of people can say that!

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  4. Fabulous! I've been dying to see someone make this pattern. It's wonderful. Great job.

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    1. Thanks! I don't really get why there aren't more Watsons around. It's a great pattern.

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  5. Hello ! Thank you for your nice comment !
    Your Watson is superb ! This plaid gives it a really young feeling.

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