Happy new year everyone! I want to make a head start and give you the post I’ve promised.

As stated in another post, I finished my first exam piece for this years exam. The brief was to make a childrens coat. It does not matter how it looks, as long as it’s for children and it isn’t too easy to make.

Well, I think it quite fits the bill! I’ve never done a sailors collar, never done anything double-breasted and it was the first time appliqueing those white stripes, which makes the coat all the more fancy, don’t you think?

My sister got to choose the coat design, and since she’s a big fan of anime (think japanese schoolgirl outfits) she had to have one of those collars.

The hardest part was by far that collar. I had to baste the side of the white strip, pull the fabric threads closer together and pin and baste everything in place so it wouldn’t go all bananas on the inside curve. I totally think it was worth it though! This coat looks so fancy with those strips of white and gorgeous dark blue fabric.

I thought it would be nice to take pictures in a nearby forest. They turned out pretty, if only we didn’t get lost on our way back! That really didn’t happen, *cough*.

Beyond the whole forest escapade these pictures are amazing coming from my humble digital camera. Amazing what good lighting can do to photo’s!

The lighting was less awesome here, so it was a pain to not make the white flash as much as it does now!

The second hard part was matching all those lines at the front (collar, waist-seam, white bottom strips and hem). I had to reposition the buttons three(!) times, before everything was aligned right. It truly means I’m becoming way more patient with my projects, and it also makes me want to make it perfect.

The best thing is that my sister loves her new coat, and I can see her glow every time she tries it on. For me that is more important than any grade I would get! It also makes me want to forget all the bumps in the road making it. Now, the only downside for her is that she has to wait until after march the third before she can actually wear it 🙂

Do you also get this feeling when someone is happy with something you made for them?