Sleigh Ride Outerwear Tutorial

 Today I bring you the Sleigh Ride Outerwear Tutorial !

How this all started was I wanted to make a white winter coat with some kind of soft texture & fluff, you know, like snow. I also wanted it to be very wearable, something that could be worn outside, or course. When I took the photos of my daughter wearing it we were at an outdoor shopping area (while we were there, people were walking around & I heard someone 'oh, look at that little girl' so I hope that's a good sign). I was also thinking something chic, something that could even be worn in Paris, walking down the Champs Elysees?

 Besides sewing I also knit, so you will sometimes find me in the yarn section at Michael's ~ that's where I discovered doodle yarn... have you touched this stuff yet ??  It is SUPER DUPER SOFT & very chunky for yarn. I tried using the doodle yarn as the trim for this ensemble & it worked !  So here's how I put this look together...

I had 1.3 yards of ivory fleece (which was more than enough for a size 4 jacket with mittens & ear warmer), 1 ball of cream doodle yarn, & 4 ivory buttons.

 I zigzag stitched the doodle yarn onto the fleece with the widest & longest stitch possible. Even though it's zigzag stitched down, the doodle yarn still remains really fluffy.
Something you must know about doodle yarn is that it frays very easily so the key here is to tuck under all the ends! First attach the doodle yarn to the fleece before sewing up the final seams.

 :: take your favorite jacket pattern, I used the Abby Jacket (size 4), extended it to the knee by adding about 5.5 inches
:: I only used the ivory fleece for all the fabric pieces on the jacket (no contrasting fabrics used)
:: I added on seam side pockets by following this tutorial
:: I attached 2 rows of doodle yarn to the back of the collar as well as to each of the 2 cuffs, & 6 rows to the bottom of the jacket (I went up as far I could until I hit the pockets, but I think it would look cool if it had even more rows)
:: the button hole maker function on my sewing machine is no longer working so I followed this video: Making a Button Hole Using a Zigzag Stitch

 :: mitten pattern is from the Oliver+S little things to sew book
:: I attached one row of doodle yarn to each mitten above the elastic casing
:: I added a .5 inch to the length so I could fold under a .5 inch & create a seam similar to the Abby Jacket (the mitten pattern calls for zigzagging the raw edge)

 :: for the matching ear warmer cut out 2 pieces 4.5" X 21"

 :: cut 2 pieces of doodle yarn 23"

 :: zigzag stitch (using the widest & longest zigzag stitch possible) doodle yarn onto fleece

 :: put the 2 fleece pieces right sides together

 :: sew along long edges 1/2" seam

 :: turn right side out

 :: at the opening with doodle yarn sides together sew 1/2" seam

 :: tuck in in doodle yarn

 :: pin together remaining seam

 :: sew by hand the remaining seam

Voila !


PS Just to give you an idea if you plan on making this ensemble yourself, total cost for making it was: $16.95
1.3 yards ivory fleece $6.66 (it was a 50% off remnant)
cream doodle yarn $6.99 (on sale)
4 ivory buttons $3.30 (w/40% off coupon)
elastic for the mittens was minimal
(I had the white bias tape (for the mittens) in my stash & I reused the Abby Jacket pattern that I purchased in the fall which was $4.95 & I can reuse it again)
I do have some leftover ivory fleece & some doodle yarn, too :)
Good news for you if you don't already own the Abby Jacket pattern, it's currently on sale for $3.95 !!