[Ashley]

I am planning on making the School Days coat with an interlining this fall, but am not sure what to use for the interlining. Has anyone made this coat using a cotton flannel interlining? If you used Thinsulate, did you find it too bulky or warm? I live in the Northeast and bought coating weight wool for the outerlayer, and am planning on using cotton quilting fabric for the lining. I’d like my child to be able to wear the coat on chillier fall days and average winter days. He has a warm ski jacket for really, really cold days. I saw some older posts here that talked about using Thinsulate, but didn’t see anything about other types of interlining. While searching online for ideas, I found this conversation on another website, and am now worried that Thinsulate may be too warm or bulky. http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/sewingclasses/board.pl?t=32897

[Todd Gibson]

Here’s a version of the coat that Liesl made with a Thinsulate lining. It didn’t turn out to be either too warm or two bulky.

http://www.oliverands.com/blog/2009/12/her-new-winter-coat.html

[Liesl Gibson]

Thinsulate comes in many thicknesses, so check it before you purchase. And I always hand wash wool in cool water before I cut is so that way I can hand wash the coat, too. It works very nicely, and the Thinsulate really does make a nice coat. Good luck!

[Rpankow]

Ashley:

I too had just made this coat, actually just got done with it a week or so ago. I live in NE Iowa, where it gets quite cold and windy here in the winters. I had made my coat with wool as the exterior fabric, it’s a substantial weight, not too thick or thin. Then I lined it with quilting cotton and lining for the sleeves to help those little arms get in and out better. But, I made the sleeved “vest” insert as well. I used quilting cotton for the complete “exterior”, ie what goes against the coat, and used lining on the inner sleeve again and quilting cotton against the my daughter’s midsection. I sandwiched the thinsulate between those two layers. I got it from vogue fashion fabric store online at http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/3M-Thinsulate-Thermal-Jacket-Insulation.html I had a ton left over, you don’t need much. The “vest” does not add much heft to the coat, mostly the wool does. It’s a very light weight thinsulate. I did modify the “vest” sleeve and added elastic inside the binding so not to get snow up into those little arms while playing outside.

I had also made the raincoat with the vest with out the sleeves and there I quilted together quilting cotton and a nice minky-like fleece. She seems quite warm in it when the temperatures are cold, but not cold enough for it to snow. So, depending, that might be a possible option.

I personally do like using the removable “vest”, that way the coat is more versitile and can transition nicely between fall, winter and spring. Also, I’m lazy and thought it would be the easiest way to add a warmer layer. The idea of having to wrap my brain around attaching a layer inbetween the wool and lining just wasn’t working for me at the time. 🙂

Either way, I’m sure what you end up doing will be beautiful and adored by those little ones. I hope this helps a little bit, or at least you can try to take what you can from someone else’s experience. Take care!

Rebecca

[Violaisabelle]

Ashley,

I have made several coats over the years, but not this pattern. I really like Thinsulate, but I live in Canada where we can get some bitterly cold winters. Based on the reviews I read in your link and what has been shared here, I think the trick in all this is to make sure the Thinsulate is stitched to the lining, not the coat fabric. By stitching it to the lining, it leaves the coat fabric to drape nicely.

If you add cuffs or not, but especially if you add internal cuffs to the lining, I would strongly recommend that you use your ‘turn of the coat’ at the sleeve lining.** This is assuming that the lining hem and hem of the coat are attached! By that I mean, when you are sewing the lining and coat together, leave the one sleeve lining seam open about 6″ or 8″, depending on the size of the coat, you can turn your whole coat there. 🙂 Once the coat is turned, you can close up that seam by carefully stitching from the right side of the lining fabric by turning the seam allowance in on itself and edge stitching the seam closed. 🙂 Check your lined coats, that do not have adjustable cuffs (such as on leather coats) and see how the lining, from one sleeve or the other, is stitched closed. Again, this is if the coat and lining hems are stitched together and not left open.

I have used a flannel back twill to insulate a wool coat. Oh my word! I thought my poor daughter was going to fall over backwards. 😛 The wool coat had pleats so there was a bit more weight to the back from the front. The coat was beautiful and she did fine, but on her first ‘try on’ I laughed so hard. The flannel back twill was heavy compared to Thinsulate. Thinsulate is my choice of insulation, but I have never used the lambs wool, which sounds like it could be quite lovely.

Go back to your link and read the information posted on the instructions the lady wrote on how to construct the coat for ironing purposes. Since the lining and Thinsulate would be sewn together, iron from the lining side of the jacket, not the Thinsulate side.

Carol

[meleliza]

I have made this coat (at a workshop with Liesl which was so so educational) in wool with a cotton lining. http://queenoftheflies.blogspot.com/2011/02/snow-days-coat.html I dislike traditional lining fabrics and the cotton was nice, but next time I will use bemberg rayon or silk in the sleeves because it wasn’t easy for him to get on by himself. It’s a wonderful coat. I would also use thisulate. The only reason I didn’t was timing. Good luck with it and be sure to post some photos when you’re done!