Pilvi Coat in ponte knit – my 4th version of this pattern

Hi, I made another Pilvi Coat! It’s my fourth version of this pattern from the book Lotta Jansdotter Everyday Style (affiliate link here). This simple pattern is an unlined coat with raglan sleeves and in-seam side pockets. It works well with a variety of fabrics.

I’ve made this coat using home decor fabric and other heavyweight fabrics:

• Pilvi Coat in a blue corded home decor fabric
• Pilvi in a fun print of big faces
• Pilvi in a painterly home decor digital print

Here’s a photo of my first three Pilvi Coats plus a red one by Laurel Dismukes of Laurel’s Quill. Laurel does all the sewing for Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley. We spoke to the Bay Area Sewists meetup group in January at Sips N Sews about patterns and fabric choices.

When I got this ponte fabric at Britex Fabrics yard sale last fall, I wasn’t sure what I would make with it. The print is huge and continuous. The leaf-like design goes down the entire length of the fabric in one continuous design in three parallel rows. Here’s the 58″ wide fabric spread out on the floor.

I pondered making a skirt or a dress, asked for ideas on Instagram and then decided to make another Pilvi Coat. I lengthened the pattern by 10 inches to take full advantage of the print. I also added an inch of length to the sleeves because I have long arms.

I cut the back piece first, placing it in the center of the center leaf design. I cut each piece individually so I would know exactly what part of the print would appear on each sleeve and front piece. I wasn’t trying to match anything. My pattern placement was focused on taking advantage of the design.

In this photo I had already cut one front pattern piece and then I placed that piece on top of the fabric to test placement. One side of the front pattern piece folds back to form the facing. So after I cut one front piece, I placed it on top of the fabric to see what the front edge would look like on the opposite side. On the right side of this photo, I’ve folded back the facing to see where the print would land on the pattern piece.

I wanted different parts of the leaf design to appear on the front.

I like the abstract design. Here’s what the back looks like.

And here’s a side view. The photos were taken at Britex Fabrics in San Francisco. I was there last Monday and asked the store manager to take a few photos with my phone. This famous fabric store moved a few blocks away from its prior location on Geary Street, to Post Street. The first floor is spacious and really shows off all the wool and silk fabrics. I’m standing in front of an enormous wall of wool. It goes from floor to ceiling!

I hand stitched the facing and hems because I didn’t want to see a seam. The pattern calls for topstitching the facing and hems. I folded over the facing and machine stitched the edge before I hand stitched it in place. I switched thread colors even though no one will see it – navy and off-white thread using a zig zag stitch. This is my first project with ponte, which is a stable knit and easy to sew.

Here’s a close-up shot of the hand stitching. You can see the different color threads. I matched the thread according to the color in front.

It was tedious but I’m really pleased with the results.

Here’s a summary of the materials and construction details:

• Pattern: Pilvi Coat from the book Lotta Jansdotter Everyday Style, size XL
• Adjustments: Added 10 inches of length to the coat, 1 inch length to sleeves
• Fabric: 3 yards ponte from Britex Fabrics sale ($12/yard)
• Interfacing: very lightweight knit interfacing for facing
• Thread: Gutterman
• Needle: Schmetz stretch, 75/11 HS
• Sewing: zig zag stitch and hand sewing

Have you made anything with a huge print or with ponte knit? What was that like for you? I really enjoyed working with ponte. It’s easy to cut (doesn’t shift or curl up) and easy to sew with a zig zag stitch. Big prints are fun. You just need to take care in placing your pattern pieces.