New Fur Hat

My stash includes a few yards of black/wine faux fur.  For a quick and easy project, I decided to create a hat that matched one of my favorite coats.  I love the drama that faux fur accessories and trims add to a garment.

Construction of the coat was discussed in the 1/13/14 post Wide Bands of Fur on a Winter Coat.  Below is a photo of the coat.

'Wide Bands of Fur on a Winter Coat' 1/13/14 post

While the coat has a hood, my reasoning for adding a hat is (1) a hat is warmer, and (2) I need to use the fur scraps to reduce my stash.  The interior of the hat shows how simple it is to construct this hat:

Grosgrain band covers raw seam allowance edges

Butterick 3055 is an old pattern in my stash.  None of the hats in the pattern were exactly what I wanted, but it is easy to modify them.

I used the Top from View L and the Crown from View E

The pattern pieces are a round top that sits on top of the head and a crown that wraps around the head and attaches to the top.  Cut one of each pattern piece from both fashion fabric and lining.  I did not interface the hat because the fur backing is quite firm.  Woolens and other fabrics would benefit from interfacing.  The lining is stretch silk charmeuse. 

Two pattern pieces: so simple to cut from fashion fabric and lining

As with garment sewing, I created a few hat muslins to get the look I wanted.  The photo below shows the original tissue for the crown and the modified crown pattern I made. The fold is placed at center front, and the angled seam is placed at center back.

The Crown was reshaped to curve around the head

My crown pattern is curved to fit an enlarged top piece.  If I didn't curve the crown, I would have sharply angled seam lines at center back which would not have fit the head properly.

I know many sewers have taken professional millinery classes so they can construct ornate hats.  My passion is garment sewing and while I would enjoy having fine millinery skills, I do not want to divert much time away from garment sewing.  Simple hats are a quick project for sewers of all levels.  This hat could easily be embellished with a feather or jeweled pin. 

Wide Bands of Faux Fur on a Winter Coat

A friend of mine commented recently that I haven't posted a photo of myself on the blog in many months so I put on my new coat, grabbed an unenthusiastic teenage male photographer on holiday break from school, and went outside for a photo shoot in seven degrees Fahrenheit.

Wool coating with wrong side of fabric used for contrast

The construction/design details I want to discuss are the use of faux fur and polar fleece as underlining.  All my friends from southern states will be disappointed in this article, but in Chicago we needs warm clothes.  Bear with me; I will switch to spring fashions February or March at the latest!

the faux fur is dyed wine and black; very dimensional color

The burgundy tweed wool coating is from Vogue Fabrics, and the faux fur is from Mood Fabrics.  In early December Mood has a huge selection of faux fur in interesting colors and at fair prices.  Last week I checked back and they appear to be almost sold out of faux fur.  I used a somewhat heavy polyester stretch satin for the lining.  I like heavy coat linings to add warmth.  They also wrinkle less. 

I even made a dress from the extra fabric!  This close-up shows beads and self-fabric fringe decorating the neckline.  Self-fabric fringe zig zags around the dress.  I got the idea from a Chanel dress shown two summers ago.  Note the contrast fabric on top of the shoulders.  A small detail that creates nice visual interest.  This is a good detail to add to jackets and coats also.

The coat has fabric belt loops.  When the belt is tightened around the waist, the belt loops will sag away from the body if they are much longer than the belt width.  I had to stitch the belt loops on twice to get them sitting nicely.

The coat front has single welt pockets which are nearly invisible.  I could have used contrast fabric for the welts, but my thinking was that fur and hood should be the focal points. 

The coat closes with size 4 snaps.  I used interfaced coat lining (polyester charmeuse) to cover the snaps.  This is the female side of the snap.  Note the pocket of the snap has lining.  The male side of the snap will not attach to the female side due to the thick lining fabric.

I cut away fabric from the pocket of the snap, and now the two sides hold firmly.

The male side of the snap.

Below is the back panel of the coat.  The fashion fabric is interfacing with fusi-knit interfacing.  Red polar fleece laid on top.  The polar fleece is cut so it will not be caught in the seams; polar fleece is bulky and the side seams will not lay flat with fleece in them.  I am just trying to add warmth to the upper back panel.

I loosely basted the fleece to the back panel with horizontal rows every three inches.  The thread basting catches the interfacing and a thread of the fashion fabric.  The basting won't show since the wool coating is thick.

The raw edges of the fleece are catch stitched to the interfacing to hold them flat.

The coat is a bit heavy to wear, but it is warm and unique. 

What is a Fur Pelerine?

Burda calls this fur mini-cape a pelerine.  The dictionary lists pelerine as a french word for narrow fur cape; the word has been used since 1744. I just know I like it!

photo from the October 2013 issue of Burda Style

The pelerine takes the above sweater/trouser outfit from nice to outstanding.  I could see the pelerine over a winter coat, or as a winter coat in warmer climates.  Here is my version, made from the above pattern:

Ann's pelerine

Not bad for an evening of sewing.  I used the same brown/black faux mink in my 12/14/12 post Detachable Faux Fur Collar.  Here is the pelerine over a gray beaded sweatshirt and white button down shirt.  I could add jeans or slim trousers to complete the look.

Pelerine over sweatshirt and white blouse

The pelerine perks up this gray wool winter coat and adds warmth over the chest which is where I need it since I live in Chicago.

Pelerine over gray wool/lace winter coat

Here are a few construction details:

Take any cape pattern, and shorten it to just below the bust line.

Make a mini-cape muslin

Lay the pattern on the wrong side of the faux fur, with the fibers running down the garment (with nap layout).

Cut fur from wrong side

Cut through the backing only, leaving the long hair fibers alone.  Below you see the fibers extend beyond the backing at an angle.

Cut backing only, not fur hairs

Remove the fur within the seam allowances.  This will make your seam allowances less bulky and more invisible.

1/2" seam allowances have been trimmed

Hand catch stitch the seam allowances to the backing material.  This will hold the seams open.  Never press faux fur!

Catch stitch seam allowances flat; there are only two!

Catch stitching is quick and look at the nice result.

Side seams are nearly invisible

I lined the pelerine with black rayon/lycra knit from my scrap box.  I applied fusi-knit interfacing to the lining to make it lay firm and wrinkle-free inside the cape.

The finished project

If you have a chunky sweater knit, try making a pelerine from that.  I'd also like to try a bright color fur, say blue or dark green.

Detachable Faux Fur Collar

Here is the coat we discussed in the 12/6/12 post.  I liked this coat before but with the addition of a fur collar, I really love this coat!

How to make the detachable faux fur collar:

1.  Drape the Bodice Front panel on the coat and determine a collar shape.

2. Cut the collar out through the backing only leaving fur fibers intact.  Remove fur from 1/2" seam allowances.

 3.  Stitch 1/8" elastic loops in place.

 4. Cut out lining and interface.  I used a scrap of brown silk charmeuse with fusi-knit interfacing.  Machine stitch neck and lower edges right sides together. 

5.  Catch stitch all fur raw edges to collar to prevent collar rolling out of shape during wear.

6.  Pin outer edges of lining in place and slip stitch to fur collar.  The outer edge could be machined but I find that the collar will lay nicer if I take the time to lay it in place perfectly.

 7.  Sew buttons to inside neck edges of coat.  I have five button/loop sets:  center back and two each side.

I hand tacked the loops so they cannot fall off the buttons because I plan to remove the collar only at the end of the season to dry clean the coat.

1936 Gown and Faux Fur Coat

Sewing Level:  Easy 

This gown was a winning entry in the EvaDress.com 2012 vintage sewing competition.  Both the gown and coat can be made by a beginning sewer because there are few pattern pieces and the fabrics you choose really carry the design.

The halter gown is made from a gray metallic rayon/spandex knit.  Rayon knits drape and sew well, and the spandex helps the garment recover from stretching and movement.  There is a skirt front, skirt back, armhole band, and center back band. I used fusi-knit interfacing on the armhole (2) and center back (2) bands to discourage the edges from rolling and curling over.  The skirt pattern does not call for a lining.  I was concerned the garment would outline my lower body a little too much so I lined the skirt with the same rayon knit, using the skirt front and back pieces.

The coat is a simple boxy style:  two jacket fronts, jacket back on a fold, two sleeves, collar and lapels.  The faux fur is long pile meaning the hairs are longer than 1/2" (this fur's pile is 2 1/2" long).  I applied fusi knit interfacing to the jacket lining pieces (except sleeves) to help support the shape of the coat.  In a future post I will demonstrate working with faux fur because it's fun to work with and the results are dramatic.

See why I wanted to line the skirt!  Stitch a rayon knit with a narrow zigzag stitch; your stitch must have stretch or else the threads will break when you pull the garment on.  If you have a serger, a four thread medium width overlock stitch is fine.  Apply Steam a Seam fusible tape to the hem area prior to topstitching to avoid stretching the hem.

I plan to dress down this gown on summer weekends with beaded flat sandals for outings to the beach and casual outdoor parties.  I would rather go to an event a little over dressed than let the garments I sew all sit in the closet waiting for special events that may never occur.  Sewing your own clothes is fun!