SEQUINS ON MY SHOULDERS - VINTAGE VOGUE 8450 SWING COAT IN ALPACA BOUCLE & SEQUINS
The finished coat!
Vogue 8450; published 1972. Misses' Coat. Loose-fitting, flared coat, mid-knee or tunic length, has shaped collar and wide raglan sleeves with turn-back bias cuffs. With or without welt pockets. Purchased pants.
Featured in Vogue Patterns December 1972/January 1973
My pattern envelope for Vogue 8450 features an alluring illustration.
PATTERN SIZING:
Only one size per envelope, as is typical of patterns from this era. My envelope is size 12. There is a large amount of style ease - it is meant to be very oversized and full. You could size down if you don't prefer such ease, but in that case I might suggest that you choose another pattern, with a slimmer fit.
Sequins AND snow!
INSTRUCTIONS:
I love the instructions. Step three is "Make buttonholes". The pattern assumes you know how to sew a coat, that you know basic hand stitches, and how to pad stitch. On the back of one of the pattern instruction sheets is an advertisement for the Vogue Sewing Book, which I own. Every technique mentioned in the pattern is further illustrated and/or explained in the book, making it an ideal companion if you need a little help.
The order of operations is good. The garment is fairly simple, but as with all coats, it's possible to make things as complicated as you want.
LIKES & DISLIKES:
I made this because I was charmed by the illustration. Now that I have sewn the pattern, here is what I like: the shoulder shaping, everything about the collar.
Dislikes: My issues with this pattern are not the fault of the pattern - the proportions and swinginess are impractical for my lifestyle and bulky in my fabric choice.
After a fair amount of trail and error - all of which is documented on my Youtube channel - I settled on all silver sequins, featuring these large flowers as the main motif.
MATERIALS:
• Alpaca (possibly wool blend) boucle that I scored in a fabric swap last summer. There were 3 and 1/4 yards, and I do not have any usable scraps.
I used a decorative stitch as my edge stitching where the lining meets the facing.
• Lining is a heavy-ish polyester satin from Mood.
• Buttons are vintage (antique?) carved shell, purchased on eBay. I also used little clear backer buttons from my stash.
Inside of the unlined coat, you can see a variety of different interfacings and techniques. I catch stitched down all seam allowances to avoid bulk - the texture of this fabric made that a real concern.
• For interfacing I used a soft 100% cotton muslin, fusible weft insertion, as well as a very lightweight fusible in a few places that needed it. The collar and cuffs are interfaced with light weight hair canvas. Rayon seam binding (Snug Hug) was used in staying seams where called for by the pattern.
• This project used a lot of thread: Mettler Seraflex for construction, as well as topstitching thread and silk thread in various places.
• I added sequins to this project to take it to the next level. I was inspired by the idea of a dusting of snow at the shoulders. I have a *ahem* robust sequin stash. I did a deep dive and settled on all silver. Glass beads are also from stash.
Wearing my new coat out in a snowstorm!
PATTERN ALTERATIONS:
I won't bore you with too much process here, but some changes need explanation.
The sleeves are very wide, which I love, but they were kicking out at the outseam. I took them in at the underarm, 1" blending to nothing by the armpit. This removed 2" from the circumference of the sleeve hem.
My reduced cuff size still has enough of an exaggerated proportion to make sense with the other design details of the coat. I added top stitching per the pattern.
IMHO the sleeve cuff is insane. Does it look dramatic and amazing in the illustration? Yes. Is it practical to have 3 layers of lofty boucle, plus hair canvas, plus seam allowances swirling around my wrists as run errands? Unfortunately, no. I think the cuff could work in a lighter fabric such as Harris Tweed or similar. I reduced the cuff to 2 layers of bias cut fabric, with one layer of hair canvas inside. My finished cuff is 3" wide.
Bound buttonholes and antique Mother of Pearl buttons.
The welt pocket in this pattern is fine, but not my preferred method, and the pocket bags are small by modern standards. I used my favorite welt pockets instead. I raised the placement up 2.5". Note that the shorter view of this coat does not get pockets because they are placed so low that the pocket bags are longer than the coat. Ridiculous! Move the pocket up or offer a different pocket option!
After constructing, let the coat hang for 48 hours, as you would a circle skirt. I needed to trim off a few areas, mostly at the side seams, to achieve an even hem.
Even after reducing the sweep of the coat, it has a soft, swingy shape. The boucle fabric has so much texture that you can’t find the darts I added unless looking for them close up.
I found the swing of this coat to be too much for me personally. This, combined with the hem issue explained below, motivated me to reduce the fullness. Removing at center back causes a bad drape, removing from side seams messes up the grainline. I took out a long dart on each back piece, halfway between Center Back and each side seam.
I made a big mistake with the length. I cut 4" off the hem early on in the process, and then wanted to add back some length later. So I added a hem facing. For whatever reason, my fabric HATED this. The hem flipped out horribly. I finally got things to behave with a combination of fusible interfacing, steam, catch stitching, and sheer, unadulterated annoyance. I think this is 2.5" shorter than as drafted. It was not worth the fuss.
All the fun details!
I enlarged the back neckline facing and added my label and a loop for hanging.
I modified the lining to have a 2" deep pleat at center back, and added a jump pleat at the hem. Note that the pattern does not include either, likely because it is not at all a fitted garment. But I still think it's best practice to have them.
I pressed most seams open and catch stitched them down to keep things flat and reduce bulk.
Oh, and I sewed sequins along the shoulders and upper back of the coat!
Sequins along the upper back of the coat.
DO I RECOMMEND IT?
I recommend this pattern if you like the vintage look and truly enjoy a swing coat with quite a bit of volume in the back. Personally, I won’t sew this pattern again, but I might borrow the collar pieces for a different project.
I brought my beloved indoor cat, Coco, out to see the snow (she was not a fan).
CONCLUSION:
This coat is extremely warm and a bit heavy. If I wear it in the snow. I look like one of those dogs that likes to sleep in the snow - it piles up on the coat, unmelted, while I remain warm (maybe even too warm) underneath! Will be good in the icy dead of winter.