A coat for Simon...more unselfish sewing

I love making coats.  I've made countless coats for myself and others and purchased this Jalie pattern several years ago in anticipation of making it for Simon, and any other grandchildren, numerous times.

Look at all those details!  It really looks like a high-end Columbia jacket that you'd pay over a hundred bucks for, even for a young child.

Yes, it is big, but he is growing so quickly that it will look much better this spring.  I hope he'll wear it next year as well.  

He helped pick out the fabrics.  His favorite color is orange and he also loves Paw Patrol.  The lining is fleece featuring Paw Patrol.  

It's hard to capture details when an overly tired three year is 'posing' for photos.  

I made this coat based on his measurements which equated to a size G.  Still too large but like I said before, plenty of growing room.  

We traced off the pattern pieces using tissue paper carefully making the grain-lines on everything. 

The details really make this coat fun to create and special looking.  

Here you can see the fleece lining he was so excited about.  

I found most of the hardware, velcro, and zipper at JoAnn's.  The orange snaps were applied using my Kam Snap Pliers.  I really love these snaps.  They are plastic but applied correctly they are very strong and durable.  They also come in so many colors and they matched the orange perfectly!  

Here is a glimpse into the double welt pocket that is hidden with a wide flap.  The pockets are plenty deep for a three year old.  

I really love top-stitching and if you don't like it, this may not be a project for you.  

I wish I could have found orange velcro!  That would have been even cooler!

The pattern calls for 1" elastic but I had 1/2" so I created double the casings and went with it.  The way these casing are created is a very clever feat of sewing engineering!  My only other deviation from the pattern was to leave off another flap that covered one portion of the welt pocket.  I just didn't feel like it was necessary. 

I also love the hood with the peak detail.  It looks very RTW.  

Directions for this coat are very good, as you can tell by looking at it, it takes time to construct.  I used rip-stop nylon from Fabric.com.  The fleece is also from Fabric. com.

I highly recommend this pattern if you are an experienced sewer.  Try it!  I hope you make someone's day, just like I did!

Thanks for reading!
Sue