Fabric: Navy Blue Wool and silky turquoise lining
Pattern: Vogue 8884 View B
Year: Classic (this design dates back to the 1700’s)
Notions: Gold metallic buttons with a blue center
Accessories: Hand crocheted scarf (made by me)
Time to complete: a few weeks
First worn: January 20, 2016 on a walk around the neighborhood
Wear again? Definitely! It provides just the right amount of warmth
Total price: The fabric was thrifted, buttons, fusible interfacing, and thread came to around $20.ooIt wasn’t my intention to make a pea coat or even title my blog post as such, but after wearing it and doing a bit of research on the history of the pea coat, I was reminded of the one I used to have. The buttons on my new one add a little sparkle to the solid mass of blue and the turquoise lining would not be found in the traditional pea coat. So mine is a version on the classic pea coat that has suddenly brought back memories of being a teen in the 70’s.Pea coats were all the rage in the late 70’s. I loved mine, and not just because it was popular, but because of the fit, style, and the color.

We were sophomores on a school outing to the coast in August 1970. Besides taking pictures of each other, we thought the hippies in the VW bus were “far out” so they ended up in my album.I love my modern day wool coat because it looks so similar to the classic pea coat of long ago.This was a stash busting project and a pattern test. I used Vogue 8444, a pattern I’ve had for awhile, and a piece of navy blue wool and turquoise silky “something” that I bought at our local Senior Center Thrift Store. The store is a gem for people who love fabric. All fabric is $1.00 a yard, no matter what the content. Many cuts are vintage and rare. I’m always in heaven on a day when they have a great selection.I followed the directions to the letter, and found the construction logical and easy.  I underlined all of the wool pieces with Pro Weft Supreme Medium-weight Fusible Interfacing from FashionSewingSuppy.com. Wonderful product! The lining is a really a fun color with red, gold, and blue diamonds. I like the inside surprise!The one thing I did do that was different from the pattern, is fuse the hem of the coat and sleeves with Stitch Witchery before slipstitching the lining in place. I don’t think I would do it any other way. It holds the hem in place perfectly, without a bump or stitch to tell the tale.I have a machine set up only for making buttonholes and I can trust it to make perfect ones every time. It’s just an inexpensive mechanical machine, with the manual 1,2, and 3, dial that you turn to stitch back, forward, and bar-tack. Unfortunately, my computerized  Pfaff isn’t smart enough to do a decent one. The buttons I used have a large shank, so on the side of the coat with the decorative buttons, I made buttonhole, cut a tiny hole in the buttonhole, pushed the shank to the inside and tacked them tightly in place. Now they look like they are functional and not just dangling oddly on the outside of the coat.On to the next project, lesson, or alteration!

Peace, Love, and Understanding!