McCalls M6175 and a bit of knitting too

I gave myself a deadline yesterday, due to my abject failure at actually finishing any sewing projects so far this year - as we were going out to see The Great Gatsby in the evening, I decided I would finish my practice trench coat in time to wear it.  And I did (although this involved some rather quick finishing with less attention to detail than was wise).  However, I was very happy with the result, slung over a patterned summer dress for a breezy esplanade walk at Redcar pre dinner and film:

This was entirely a "process" sew for me, as I have never made such a complex garment before (and in fact it is not that complex as has no buttons!)  It is McCalls M6175:

rated "easy", and actually it was ok, although there are a lot of steps, and I did find the collar tricky (although it was a first for me, so for those who have done one before it would probably be fine).  I did View D, which is the yellow coat on the cover, I cut a size 12, and used stash fabic from a charity shop for both the beige/brown poplin outer and the viscose patterned facings.  I did the facings in contrast fabric as I did not have quite enough of the brown poplin to complete them.  It is unlined, so a very lightweight jacket (particularly for the north of the UK), but works well in high summer, and would work on holidays to warmer climes.  The pattern is actually written for vinyl, but also allows for lighterweight fabrics.  It is fastened with only a sewn belt.

I did not cut as well as I would have liked, and will work to improve my cutting in future sewing projects, and made some rooky mistakes (attaching the collar the wrong way first time, scorching the viscose lining while pressing, twisting the belt as I sewed, not doing quite an invisible enough job on sewing the facings in etc), and I probably have about another hour or so of sewing to just tidy things up a bit. 

But - wearable, flattering (according to the husband, who is a good critic of my handmade things) and rather vintage-y - my practice trench coat might get some wear after all!  I also have some vintage upholstery material set aside for the "real McCoy" later in the year.

Next on the sewing list?  Well, I am behind on the challenge I set myself at the start of the year, but have a skirt to finish (or rework) and underwear to finish as well.  I would like to sew a navy dress to wear with the trench coat this summer, and a Chanel jacket out of some lovely wool fabric I have in stash.  I also have my eye on a summer top.... finishing the trench has been a much needed boost.

As for knitting - this week saw me finish the Rustling Leaves Beret from Coastal Knits, tucked away until autumn (I hope!), and continuing with a pair of summer socks:

and the Gatsy-esque cardigan (Berocco's Stella) off, and on.  More about these as I work towards finishing them.  I've also wound skeins and added two pattern repeats to my handspun Rocky Coast Cardigan, although need to tink a few rows back tonight as lost a stitch somewhere.