DIY Suede Coat: Simplicity 4403

Some links may be affiliate links. Purchases made through these links will help support the blog at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your amazing support and please see my disclosure policy for more information.

I have tried to be so good about better planning my sewing projects, staying focused on work in progress, using my stash…and you know how this goes, right? Like many sewists I suffer from a short attention span when it comes to sewing plans. And here I am, guilty again of veering off track. With the Great British Sewing Bee Sew Along on Sewisfaction and a 70’s week theme…I gave in. It was too much of a temptation and I am happy to say that this little DIY Suede Coat kept me warm through a 6 degree day so I call it a win. Read on to see how I created my own 70’s style suede and sherpa coat.

It started with the fabric. I was at Hobby Lobby looking for the rose gold and sherpa fabric I needed to fix my cutting error on my daughter’s coat. Of course I knew it was not going to be there being that it was from last season’s clearance fabrics but this girl dreams big 🙂 LOL Anyway, there I found myself staring at this khaki chestnut suede with sherpa backing and of course I bought the rest of the bolt (3 1/2 yards) with my 40% off coupon and thought, I will figure it out later.

First thought, a waterfall vest (and truth be told that would have cost A LOT less money) I was going to use this free pattern for that and I still think it would be cute but no, I kept thinking and thinking until I settled on a knee length coat combining two patterns that would somehow avoid any use of zippers, buttons or lining. I mean, I dream big, but there are limits 🙂 I didn’t want to mess with closures on this thick furry fabric and I didn’t want to lose the sherpa look under a lining. So, I searched my pattern stash three times…yep, three times and decided on this older unused pattern in my stash. Simplicity 4403 was purchased years ago to make myself a coat (look back to paragraph one if you are wondering why that didn’t happen.)

I chose view C and was going to free hand a curved front shawl collar to mimic my inspiration coat. Instead, I remembered this pattern for a coat I made last year. It had the shape I was looking for and matched up with my pattern very well. I laid the curved piece from Simplicity 1067 view B on top of the front bodice of 4403 and traced off the curve, blending to the waist.

• 

• 

• 

I was happy with how the pattern was coming together but this fabric is not very wide and I had to go buy two more yards…that makes over 5 yards of fabric for this coat! Again I remind you, my vest option would have been much more economical. But I was committed at this point and so after getting more fabric I tackled the next problem. The seams and bulk. I decided to treat them as pictured below.

Step 1: Sew seam right sides together as usual. Trim ONE side of the seam allowance.

2. Fold the wider remaining seam allowance on top of the seam, covering it up.

3. Top-stitch that seam allowance down (about 1/4 inch away from the seamline) to secure the seam and help reduce bulk. In this picture I am stitching on the sherpa side, however it is easier to get a straight top-stitch line while stitching with the suede side face up.

I made sure I top-stitched all seam allowances towards the back of the coat. When it came time to hem, I simply (well, around the collar was not exactly simple) folded the sherpa to the right side by about 2 inches and top stitched. I worked my way all around the outside of the coat and did the same treatment on the sleeve hems. The collar was a bit tricky with the curve and easing in excess fabric to create the hem but I did the best I could and went really slow!

For the belt I first made a really wide one with one side sherpa, one suede and it was thick and bathrobe like so I scraped it for a thinner belt with only the suede showing.

Things I love:

• -Warmth (This coat is warm, like crazy warm. I wore it in 6 degrees and stayed plenty cozy.)
• -Suede/Sherpa Fabric
• -shawl collar

Things I am still deciding on:

• -Length- I wore this around and it wrapped around my legs funny, I think I may shorten it a few inches.
• -Sherpa trim on sleeves/ bottom- should they stay or should they go?

Good news is, there are more things I like than dislike so I am going to call this a win. Bad news is, it took a bit more fabric and time than I originally thought so maybe there is something to be gained from sticking to a better thought out sewing plan. I learn something new with every make! Hopefully I can keep my mind focused a bit better and complete my sewing goals I planned out, but it’s fun to surprise yourself with a purely inspired fun sew every now and then.

Until next time,
Happy Sewing

Stay tuned for more details on my daughter’s coat next week…don’t I look excited?? 🙂

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the link I may get some portion of the sale with no additional cost to you. Thank you for considering supporting this blog.