"Deep in the Forest" Coat Preview

I've been experimenting.  :)

I tried a lot of new things with this hoodie.  It was really fun to make.  I am getting to the point where I am confident enough with my basic designs that I can really start to play with the details and not worry too much about the outcome.. I can generally fix anything that goes to far awry and I'm relaxing enough that the "mistakes" or oddities seem to add to the overall look instead of detracting.  Also, making mistakes sometimes leads to a brand new idea that I wouldn't have come up with otherwise.  Love when that happens.

I'm still tweaking on this guy.. there are a few more little changes I want to make and lines I want to clean up, etc, but it's so close to being finished and so unusual and fun that I really wanted to put up some pics.  Please let me know what you think.


Also, not sure what to call this one.  It makes me feel like I'm deep in the forest, so right now it's the "Deep in the Forest" coat, but I think I can do better....  (sorry about the weird lighting but the weather is quite exciting right now)

the back is my favorite part.  The spiral hood design inspired the whole thing.

from the front.. the triangle neckline is really interesting to me

I love how long the hood is and I really like the sleeve cuffs, they're cool

pocket flaps are nifty too.  :)  

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Green Forest Fairy Coat is Done!

It turned out Just Beautiful.  I absolutely love it!  I brought it to a party on NYE to let people try it on, and see how it flows and hangs on different sized people, and I have to say that this coat looked great on really, everyone who tried it on.  Maybe I've just got Proud Mom syndrome, but this coat is *delightful*.  I think it's one of the best things I've ever made.

As always, I'm really tempted to hang on to it.. but I have too many coats, there is no room in the coat closet, so I am going to list it up on my Etsy store later today.. I hope it makes someone as happy as it's making me!

Pictures, modeled beautifully by Vanessa:

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Dark Green Forest Faerie Coat.. Frustration Strikes

In the last post I mentioned that I was unhappy with the way the pockets lie in this coat.  Too puffy, they mess up the lines of the coat a bit.  So I took them out, tried another method (this time lined them with rib knit instead of fleece and graded out some of the fabric) and I'm still not happy.  I tried taking the leaf part off altogether, and just making a little unobtrusive "slit" pocket, but after so much sewing and un-sewing and re-sewing, the pockets now gape open in an annoying way and I'm just not quite sure what to do.  So, it's been sitting on my table for the past few days, awaiting inspiration.

I have one more idea, something simple that might work well, and I'm going to try it today.  Here's hoping it looks AMAZING.. then I will do a proper photo shoot with this coat.  :)

I also want to remember to modify my pattern to match reality.  This was the first coat I made from this pattern, and there were lots of little changes which I remember *now* but of course when I want to make another coat like this in a month or two, I'll have to reinvent the wheel unless I find time to update the pattern.  (But, redoing patterns is .. so.. unglamorous.. sigh)

On a fun note!  Darrell did a stop-motion video of me making this pattern and coat!  It turned out really fun!  Here it is.. enjoy!

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Dark Green Forest Faerie Coat.. Creativity Strikes!

I went to Tahoe this week for two days.  Two blissful days of doing absolutely NOTHING, except I brought my new colored pencils (Thanks Santa!) and sketchbook.

For some reason, it always surprises me that creativity comes on so strongly as soon as all the stress in my day disappears.  (ya think?)   It hits like a lightning bolt, and sometimes then I just can't STAND not to create.

I drew this coat.  It's based on a couple of my other hoodies (it seems I have a "style"), but new in a few exciting  ways.

Someone I met at a Christmas Eve party loved my flower faerie hoodie and asked if I ever make longer stuff, which inspired me to give it a go.  I've never tried making a longer coat before and was a little nervous.. but it wasn't really that hard.  Just Make Everything Longer.  Hm.

I ran into another friend on Christmas day who was wearing an awesome sweater-with-attached-scarf.. and that idea's been bouncing around in my head ever since, so I decided to incorporate that.  The scarf is attached at the back of the neck and can be worn dangly in the front or back, or cinched up around the neck for extra coziness.  I LOVE this element!  It's so fun and whimsical and it adds so much to the design.


I did the same type of leaf-sleeves I've been using on just about EVERYTHING lately, and added the leaf motif to the pocket design too.. hands go in through the middle of the leaf.  I shopped around for fancy leafy buttons too, and decided at the end to go with magnetic snap/button thingies (SO COOL!) and decorate with leaf faux-buttons.

I just finished this coat.  I'm wearing it right now.  I'm really really happy with how it turned out.. I think I'm getting pretty good at this.  The one thing I'll probably change next time is the pockets.  The idea was stellar, the implementation a little odd.  I wanted them soft and fuzzy inside as they're just the right height for hand-warming, but making them out of a couple layers of fleece makes the hips of the coat poof out in a funny way.  Maybe it's just because the waist is so fitted that it looks a little funny.. if I loosen the lacing on the sides a bit it lays better.  Probably it's just me (I've got a pretty agro hourglass hip shape going on).  I'm going to be interested to see it on another model to see how it lays.

Better Pictures Soon!  I think I might get some good forest shots today.  :) :)

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