Sunday, March 9, 2014

Albion 2.0!

This post will be a short one since I'm TRYING to take a break today from sewing and sewing-related projects ;-)

Once I finished My first Albion coat for Mr. Mammoth, he pointed out that there was plenty of time left before the deadline, and didn't I want to make one for myself? I did, and there was already a fabric that I had in mind, so I went ahead and got to work starting over.

I used a printed cotton canvas in a cool minty green color with a cammo style pattern in charcoal grey. (If you look closely you can see that there are tiny skulls and crossbones hidden in the print!) I kept the western style design details that I loved from the first coat, and did them in a dark denim fabric rather than the leather I used on the first one. I hand-made my toggles again, and used some miniature glasses frames from the jewelry section at hobby lobby. The zipper on my coat is a swanky rhinestone zipper that I had purchased months ago on impulse, and although it's not super visible in the photos, the coat is lined with a silvery coated black cotton linen blend. I did some contrast stitching on the denim, kept the modified in seam pockets I used on coat number one, and brought the front of the hood further forward. (I like a roomy hood and I still wanted to avoid using the tab at the front of the neck).

I tweaked the pattern a tiny bit for fit reasons, but left my over all fit much roomier on my own coat. I have upper neck and spine problems that become aggravated by wearing too tight of a coat whole trying to drive or move my arms, so I wanted to make sure I could move comfortably. I also tend to wear REALLY heavy woolly sweaters in the winter, so I wanted to allow space inside the coat.

The second coat came together much easier since I had already figured everything out on coat one, and I am totally happy with the end result. I've already been wearing it every day for several days!
The finished coat.

Rhinestone zipper detail.


Custom toggles with nerdy glasses!

Denim sleeve detail.

Shoulder detail with contrast stitching.