Butterick 5145: The Furry Version

This is actually a jacket I started Fall 2011. I had this idea that I wanted something casual and relatively short in length that I could throw over my clothes to keep wind and rain at bay. I had thought maybe something out of fleece would be nice, maybe in a black and white plaid or houndstooth print. I had gone to Hancock Fabrics looking for something along those lines (chain stores like Hancock and Joann's always seem to have lots of fleece choices). When I actually looked in person, though, I was reminded of how blurry patterns, pictures and even stripes or plaids get when translated into the fuzziness of fleece, and my idea lost a little of its appeal.

While I was there at Hancock I found some low-pile faux fur in an oversized houndstooth print and I was sold. I gave up my idea of a quick, casual, unlined jacket and traded it in for a vision of a short version of Butterick 5145 which is now out-of-print (and if it looks vaguely familiar or you're recently having trouble finding a copy, it might be due to Julia Bobbin's cute pink and green versions she recently posted). This is the second version of this pattern that I have, and I plan to share the other version in a future posting. Unfortunately, I didn't get it finished last fall, the lining and such taking quite a bit longer than my original idea would have. I had set it aside unfinished during the cold winter months because I knew I wouldn't be wearing a light jacket until the spring. I did finish it up Spring 2012, but the print and fabric seems so much like fall that it really only got into heavy rotation beginning this October. Every time I've put it on, I've reminded myself that I need to take pictures and do a posting of this coat/jacket. Finally, today I got Guinevere to take some pictures (a project she says she loved doing and she wants to practice taking lots of pictures from now on. She loves drawing, painting, and other artistic mediums, so I'm not surprised that photography seems to have caught her interest.)

This coat has a generous amount of ease through the waist and hips. Maybe not the most figure-flattering silhouette I could choose, but so comfortable, and easy to wear over other layers. I had originally bought this pattern for the retro-feel I thought it had. It seems like something of a throw-back to the swing coats of years past, but without being quite that full of volume.

I was trying to pose and give instructions to my new photographer at the same time in this picture. I'm not really being as cranky as I sort of look like I might be. 

The best part about it being a lined coat was the ability to make it up with a contrasting lining. I like pink, so it has a pink lining. It's just that cheap "china silk" polyester stuff, so a little see-through, but washable (yes, the faux fur is also washable), and slippery enough to be easy to put over sweaters.