Luzerne Trench; Or, a personal milestone!

I won't apologise for the delay. Suffice it to say that it has been a while, and I want to blog more than I do. But here I am, back again!

This is a project that has also been coming a long time coming. I bought the pattern for the Luzerne trench back when it first came out, and although I really wanted to sew it and knew that once I had that I’d wear it a lot, I was too intimidated to start. But I bought the fabric (beige twill from fabric.com, actually the same as one of the samples Deer and Doe used on their website), prewashed it and then put it in a drawer. For years.

The turning point for me was being back in Australia. Due to visa dramas, I was back home at my parents without a job and with very little to do for several months. But, I was reunited with my old sewing machine and was able to have a small corner of the upstairs living room in front of a big bay window. My stash might have been in the UK, but I had patterns stored in my Google drive. So I printed them and got to work with things that challenged me. In those 2 months, I made the Closet Case Carolyn pajamas, Nina Lee Kew dress, and True Bias Lander pants  (Hopefully all to be blogged soon...) All those challenging projects buoyed my confidence, and as soon as I got home I cut my coat.

I made my trench in a size 40 all over and I didn’t make a toile, which fit perfectly. I have made a lot of Deer and Doe patterns in the past and picked my size based on those and it worked out well. I used the fabric from fabric.com, as mentioned before, and I was planning on making my own bias using a Liberty handkerchief which I had recieved from a student as a gift. However, when I cut it I had done so too narrow and I couldn’t make bias out of it.

But I still wanted to use Liberty, so I bought Liberty pre made bias and used that instead. I usually go for a more blue/green colourway, but actually I love the way this warmer colour palette looks! It was quite the slog getting it finished, and I had hoped to have photos ready to go before May was over for both Me Made May and the Sew Brave Sewcialists  but I think I’ve missed them. The coat itself took about a month of sewing, and I did sew quite consistently during this time as well. I am working less, which luckily means more sewing!

I can’t quite believe that I made a thing like this. It has bound buttonholes! Sleeves set in! Collar! Bias binding all on the inside! It’s so pretty!

I have just two tiny things left to do. I am going to sew one of my little labels in it, and use a piece of ribbon to create a hanging loop. Then it’s actually completely finished! I mean, it is already, but having a hanging loop would be super helpful.

This coat has inspired me. Firstly, to use more nice finishing touches. More of my garments will be better finished than before. My next project will be French seamed, just because. And more importantly, I feel like I have grown as a sewist in 2019 so far. Pants, buttonholes, collars, then a coat! I can sew anything!!! My next few projects are quick palate cleansers, and then I’m going to sew a swimsuit for an upcoming girls trip to Barcelona! I CAN SEW IT!