Lanvin Petite Military Coat Knock-Off Tutorial

 Here is a winter coat I sewed for my girl that was originally blogged over at Sewpony for The 12 Days of Christmas series. It's a knock off of this Lanvin Petite red wool felt military coat $1395 (modeled photo found here).

 Project Details
Patterns: Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket with altered front, dropped waist, skirt is pleated instead of gathered, and skirt is lengthened. I added on-seam side pockets, pattern comes from Oliver + S Playtime Dress.
Size: 5
Fabrics: deep red 100% wool. For the bias binding on the interior I just grabbed what I had on hand that was all ready to go. It's light gray cotton and I had exactly the right amount!
Notions: 12 gold shank buttons (24K gold plated) and 4 gold sew on snaps (large size)

 Modifications:
What I kept as is:
The collar, sleeve and back facing from the Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket and the on-seam side pocket from the Oliver + S Playtime Dress.
What I changed:
The bodice is 13 inches long and skirt 18 inches long (I chose these measurements because they are very close to the size 5 measurements of the Fairy Tale Dress, a pattern I have sewn for my daughter many times and know fits her very well). The skirt in the end turned out to be 15 inches long.
There are 10 pleats in the front, 6 pleats in the back, and each pleat is about .5 inch to .75 inch deep.
More specifics about the altered pattern pieces:
Cut one back skirt 22 inches by 18 inches.
Cut two fronts skirts 12 inches by 18 inches.
Cut two facings with length 27.25 inches.
Add two front center panels 3.75 inches by 28.25 inches.
Cut two shoulder tabs 3 inches by 6.5 inches, with right sides together fold in half lengthwise, sew with .25 inch seam allowance, turn right side out, topstitch, then attach to shoulder by hand sewing.

 The sewing:

• It turned out to be a bit of a labor of love, but so worth it!
• The wool is thick so when attaching the collar it was a bit difficult sewing at the shoulder seams through all those layers.
• There were a lot of finishing details that were very time consuming (a lot of hand sewing).
• Sewing many buttonholes through 2 layers of thick wool is not something I wanted to attempt. So I hand sewed on all 12 gold shank buttons on the exterior of the coat (so the buttons are non functional and purely for decoration). For the closure I sewed 4 large gold sew on snaps.
• One challenge that I encountered towards the end was when I brought the fronts of the coat together, it was off by a whole inch in length at the hem! I added front center panels that were not in the original sewing pattern and I think I didn't line it up perfectly before sewing it on, plus I think the fabric slipped/stretched while sewing, too.
• I didn't know that the red wool would give off so much red dust and that this red dust would stain everything it touched pink. Parts of my white sewing machine turned pink, the clothes I was wearing while sewing were stained pink… There is always something new to learn with sewing.

 The cost it took to make this coat:
1.5 yards deep red wool $30.00
12 gold shank buttons (24K gold plated) $9.00
4 gold sew on snaps $2.24
Cost $41.24

Lanvin Petite red wool felt military coat $1395
Savings $1,353.76

 During the winter it gets very cold where we live, so a nice cozy and warm wool coat will be very practical. This military coat would be the perfect thing to wear to go see a performance of the Nutcracker ballet, don't you think? I am hoping that this coat will fit for at least 2-3 winters and it probably will, given that it has generous sleeves plus the fold over (adjustable) cuffs are generous, too.

PS This coat was made along with a gold sequin dress, for that tutorial click here.