Do you ever have projects in mind that you mean to make for literally years and you somehow don’t get around to? I clearly do (as with my Sallie Jumpsuit) and this make is no exception! I’ve had it in my mind to do a coat hack of the By Hand London Victoria Blazer since they blogged the hack back in 2013!! And it’s finally come to fruition!

I honestly have no idea when I bought the fabric, but it was from Rolls and Rems in Holloway Road (which is no longer there) and it was a 3m ‘remnant’ of curtain fabric. The lining I think was also from there. I have had both pieces in my stash for years and always ear-marked them both for this coat. I kinda put off making it for so long because of the pattern hacking involved – not that it was especially complicated – and always pushed it to the back of the sewing queue in favour of a quicker or easier make.

As they recommend in the blog post, I traced the pattern a couple of sizes bigger than I made the jacket versions (which I’ve made 3 times, see the bottom of this post for links), so I traced the size 12. I also have not liked in my jacket versions how, because there is no facing, the lining basically always tries to flip out at the front. This hack would be really really simple if you don’t want a facing, but I added one and that was the part that gave me a little head-scratching!

I am about 5’3″. I added:

• 16cm to the sleeve length (they’re cropped in the jacket version)
• 25cm to the length of the coat
• I cut the lining 2.5cm shorter than the shell
• I cut the lining with an extra 2.5cm on the fold of the back piece, which I took out with a pleat to add extra fullness to the lining (which is how I prefer a coat to fit)
• I added 25cm to the lapels (though I think it should have been less, but I just stitched the bottoms into the hem to keep them in place)
• I used the collar as drafted for the size 12
• I didn’t use the cuffs
• I used the pockets as drafted, and placed them according to the markings on the longer jacket view. (the shorter one doesn’t have pockets)

To make the lining with a facing, I took the front piece and drew a straight line down to the dart point, then a straight line down to the hem.

You’ll then need to trace both pieces, adding seam allowance (I did 1.5cm, as with the rest of the pattern) from the dart point, outwards, to the hem.

You can then stitch the dart and the seam in one – following the pattern instructions, but just carrying on stitching the new seam all the way to the hem. The thin piece (on the left in the below photo) should be from shell fabric and the other piece (on the left) should be from lining fabric.

I stitched the facing to the lining, making the lining look like it would without the facing, then I attached the lining (and facing) to the shell along the front edge, as dictated in the pattern instructions.

Since it’s not quite totally freezing yet in the UK, this is a great jacket to have added to my Autumn/Spring wardrobe. I’ve been alternating between this jacket and the trench coat I refashioned as part of my Miss Fisher costume.

Sorry, not sorry for a bajillion photos!

I really like the loose, easy fit of this coat/jacket. I’ll definitely wear it basically every day it’s not too cold or too hot for it!

What’s the longest you’ve planned a make before it came to fruition – or are you still counting? I don’t really know why I procrastinated about this for so long – I thought the pattern hacking would be harder than it turned out to be!