I Am Merlin Unlined Coat Hack

I’ve realised a bit late that I have failed to keep to my resolutions and blog regularly! But I am really keen to get up to date by early next year so will be sharing some of my favourite sewing projects and other things on the blog soon. I’ve also set up a new mailing list which you can join here. The first one is due at the end of the month so please look out for that!

So to start off with, I have a new coat to share! It’s the I Am patterns Merlin coat. I actually made this coat last year and really enjoyed the process. You can see last year’s version here:

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This time around, I found a beautiful double faced wool fabric from M Rosenburg at the Knitting and Stitching Show. I didn’t have any plans to make a coat but thought this would be a great fabric for a warm casual coat, in a fairly neutral shade of dark khaki green with a very soft navy jersey backing (most of my coats are very bright!). I used leftovers from my Shepherd skirt for the pockets and some binding in mustard Liberty Capel for the finishing.

I made a straight size 38 in this pattern, but reduced the length of the sleeves. I used the welt pocket tutorial from I AM patterns which was really helpful for learning the technique. I also took in the shoulder by 1/4″ at the apex, tapering back to the normal seam allowance after 2-3 inches. It’s a lazy way of doing a narrow shoulder adjustment but it seems to work for me! I also moved my buttonhole much higher than in the pattern, by about 3″. It’s a good idea to try on the coat and check where the button fits as its quite low in the pattern. I think I will probably go back and add another higher button to my lilac coat eventually.

I made the shell of the coat exactly as instructed. After this I made the collar and the facing and sewed it to the outer coat. After this, I finished the facing edge with a Hong Kong seam and then hand sewed it all around the inside of the coat for a neat finish. I also applied a bias bound finish to the pocket seams, and overlocked the sleeve and bottom edges before hand sewing them up inside the coat. This was all quite time consuming but I enjoyed getting a neat result on the inside.

You can see the full coat inside here:

This coat has a really oversized slouchy fit which I really like, it’s perfect for a casual look. This one is lighter in weight compared to my lilac coat so I will be able to wear it in Spring and Autumn as well as winter. There is plenty of space to layer a thick jumper inside as well.

A few people have mentioned being scared of making coats, but I have found both versions of this coat really straightforward to make. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a chic casual coat!