Striped Duster – Fabricista Post

Have you ever run out to buy a pattern with the intention to make it right away, but then you get side tracked and days become weeks that become months? Well, that is what happened with early fall pattern, Simplicity 8177. I purchased this pattern this summer with plans to make it right away for the fall, because I love dusters. Whelp, that didn’t happen, but I did finally sew it up this week. Even though I’m a season behind, I’m calling this a win, because it didn’t get pushed back into next year.

I originally selected a brown and orange tweed wool suiting for this project (here), but then this navy and cream striped suiting (here) arrived and I quickly switched to it. I love, Love, LOVE stripes, my stash proves it. What I always forget when buying striped fabric is the added work of matching stripes when sewing. LOL. It is not difficult but it does take time. Sadly time is what I was short on due to some delays with FedEx (not Fabric Mart’s fault). The stripes don’t line up as nicely as I would like in a few places, but I have a finished coat to show you!

The stripes are about 1″ wide and I think its the perfect scale for this duster. I didn’t have any trouble sewing with it, but it is a boucle and prone to tons of fraying. I serged all of my raw edges except for the bottom hem. This suiting is fairly lightweight and I was concerned initially about using it for this project, but in the end I feel it worked especially for fall or warmer winter days.

This was a straight forward sew as there is no collar or fasteners. The two piece sleeve did add an additional seam which meant more stripes to match. One arm is off ,but I didn’t have the time or the patience to correct it as I didn’t notice until I had attached it to the body.

 I decided to add a lining for a more finished look. I created the lining by cutting out the front, back and sleeve pieces and then tracing the facing pieces on the front and back pieces. I then added 5/8″ seam allowance outside of that traced line and removed that portion to account for the facings. After sewing the lining pieces together I attached the raw edge to the facing of the jacket right sides facing.

 

I hemmed the sleeve lining and sleeve separately and then hand stitched the lining to the stitch line of the jacket I had planned on using the same method to finish the hem of the coat but somehow my lining was much shorter than the jacket. I’m not sure how that happened, maybe I was sleepy when I cut the lining. I had a bit of trouble with the vent and the lining. This led me to run out and buy double fold bias tape to enclose the raw edge of the hem. I simply did a narrow hem on the lining fabric.

The vent of the coat was no issue but I wasn’t sure how to work the lining into the vent. So I sort of made this part up. I sewed the vent of the duster as instructed and then simply folded back the vent on both side of the lining. It doesn’t show but I know this is not the correct way. I will be researching a proper way for the future, but for this project I made do.

I did omit the flaps because I don’t quite get the “faux flaps”and the stripes are busy enough. I really like this duster and the only change I would make in the future would be to lengthen the sleeves by an inch and make the pocket larger. This pocket is teeny. Maybe I shouldn’t have used a 5/8” seam allowance but even if I had made the seam narrower I still believe the pocket isn’t deep enough. I will fit my large Samsung S7 but my hand does not fit comfortably. Then again I do have big hands.

Pattern:  Simplicity 8177

Pattern Description: duster length coat or vest, long or short sleeve knit top and wide leg pants with cuff and high waistband.

Sizing: 10-18, 20W-28W. I cut an 18

Difficulty: 3/Intermediate

Fabric Used: Midnight Navy/Cream 100% Poly Striped Boucle Suiting from FabricMart

Does it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

Likes:  I think the length, no closures

Dislikes: The small pockets and the lack of a lining.

Pattern alterations or any design changes made: I added a lining and omitted the faux flaps

Would I sew it again? Yes, I will make it in a solid at some point.

Would I recommend it to others? Yes, if you are looking for an open woven duster.

Conclusion: Nice simple duster