No, not for me!

Well, this one has taken some time – it’s the only thing I’ve been sewing for the past six weeks. But it’s been completely worth it. My little boy is 15 months old now, and I wanted to have a go at making him a winter coat now that he’s getting a bit grown up for all-in-ones.

I used Oliver + S’s School Days Jacket pattern, which I bought as a download from Backstitch. I wanted to try a digital pattern because I thought I might make it in several sizes over the coming years, and to be frank, I’m too lazy to trace off a paper pattern each time. With the digital version, I can just re-print it and cut straight in again.

The grey wool is actually re-hashed from an attempt to make a coat for my husband a couple of years ago that didn’t work out. (That’s a whole other story.) And the winter forest cotton lining fabric came from Fabric Rehab.

To keep the little man nice and cosy, I also included an interlining. I got the idea from reading Liesl Gibson’s post on the Oliver + S blog. I bought Thinsulate from Pennine Outdoor.

I won’t lie. It wasn’t easy. Toddlers grow so quickly so that I was terrified he’d already have grown out of it by the time I’d finished. I made a size larger than he was when I measured him, and luckily it fits for now. But I’m not sure if he’ll still fit in it come March.

I’ve got some thoughts on how I’d do things differently next time, and some comments on the pattern too, but I’ll save those for another post. Meantime, if you’re thinking of running up a coat before the winter sets in, then Oliver + S are going to be doing a sew-along on this very pattern shortly.

The weather’s not quite cold enough yet for him to wear it, but when it is, I’ll try to get some pictures of the coat out and about.