The Octave Sew Along is live and it’s time to start sewing! Today, we will be assembling the body of our Octave Coats. The beautiful lines of the Octave Coat may look like a complicated sew, but I’m here to tell you that it’s easier than it looks! Even a confident beginner can do this! Just take your time and go slow and anybody can have a beautiful Octave Coat in their wardrobe!
Sewing the Octave Coat
I know that the majority of us love our sergers. However, with the Octave Coat, I do highly recommend that you do all of your construction with a traditional sewing machine. Using a sewing machine will allow you to maneuver around the tight turns that create the gorgeous inseam pocket. Also remember that the Octave Coat has a HALF INCH seam allowance. I do not recommend that you trim down your seam allowances on this pattern. The wide seam allowance adds strength to your seams. If you are using a fabric that is prone to heavy fraying, I do suggest that you finish the cut edges with either a serger, a zig zag stitch, or overlock stitch. If you use a serger, do NOT trim the seam allowance. This can weaken your seam. I prefer to finish the edges prior to sewing so that I can press my seams open to reduce bulk. However, you don’t have to finish your seams since all the raw edges are enclosed in the fully lined coat. If you are doing an unlined coat, you may opt to finish the seams with an overcast stitch, zig zag stitch, serger or even bias tape.
Preparing to sew and interfacing
Before we sew, we need to prepare our fabric pieces. It is very important to not skip this step! Step one of the pattern tells us how we need to prepare our coat front pieces. For interfacing, I prefer a light weight interfacing, something like SF101. However, today, I’m using some vintage Pellon Fusible Interfacing from my stash. Pay careful attention to which side you place down on the wrong side of your fabric! The rough side is the glue side and then side you place against your fabric. When you iron the interfacing in place, you actually want to PRESS it in place. When we press, we don’t push the iron around on the fabric. We set it down and then lift it up and place it in a different area until the entire piece of interfacing is fused in place.. This keeps us from stretching the fabric out of shape and keeps the interfacing and fabric lined up. Using fusible interfacing, I also trimmed the interfacing down to omit the seam allowance before fusing to my fabric. This will reduce the bulk of the seam allowance.
Stay stitching is a straight line of stitching done in the seam allowance. It keeps your fabric from stretching out of shape. This is super important in the pocket construction! Don’t skip it! After you staystitch, clip perpendicular into the seam allowance at the inner corner of the front piece, as instructed. Don’t clip the stay stitching though! (I did go back and stay stitch closer to the stitching line. I sadly forgot to take a new photo though!)
Sewing the pocket
This step is probably the trickiest part of the entire pattern. Don’t fret though! The pattern includes a video tutorial of this step! You can also find this video on the Love Notions YouTube Channel.
Assemble the body
After the front is constructed, follow along with steps 4 through 7 of the instructions. If you are planning to use the belt, don’t forget the belt loops in step 5! When you are done, you will have the entire body of your Octave Coat complete! Can you believe that?! Tomorrow, we will be sewing the sleeves of our Octave Coats. We will learn how to sew a set in sleeve.
PS. How cute is this mini version I’m using for some of the photos!!! Much easier to photograph than an entire full size coat!
Let’s sew with friends!
If you love sewing with friends, be sure to join our Facebook Event! There, you will be able to share your progress as you sew your Octave Coat, see what fabrics others are using, and even ask questions and encourage others! We we also be having a give away in our Facebook Group for those sewing the Octave Coat with me! One random winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to the Love Notions pattern shop (only valid on pdf patterns) and a $50 (£40) gift certificate to Minerva Crafts. You must sew a complete Octave Coat during the Sew Along to qualify.
Did you miss the live Facebook video? Don’t worry, you can still catch it on our YouTube Channel!
Octave Sew Along Schedule
Monday: Fabrics, adjustments, cutting
Tuesday: Body assembly and pockets
Wednesday: Sewing sleeves
Thursday: Shawl/hood, hemming the unlined version
Friday: Lining assembly and finishing BONUS: How to add a zipper
