I live in the Windy City (Chicago) which really earned the nick-name due to politicians but the more literal meaning of the name is still applicable to the weather conditions during the winter. Waiting on elevated train platforms or walking around downtown (near the lake) will chill you to your core in minutes during typical Chicago winters.
A few months back I fell in love with a coat from Top Shop Chicago but had a realization when I looked at the price tag. For the cost of a coat made with all synthetic materials at Top Shop, I could purchase materials made with all natural fibers to make a much, much warmer, longer lasting, and better quality version of the coat if I was willing to put a bit of time and effort into the project.
To spend the time, money, and effort to make a coat from all natural materials was a big commitment. I wanted to create something with classic appeal so I could wear it the rest of my life. I don't want this item to be worn for one year and discarded - I wanted a heritage piece.
Which is exactly what I did.
- The coat is a simple princess line garment that falls to mid-thigh.
- The neck has sheepskin lapel
- Two toggle buttons are used for the closure
- The hood is fully lined in sheepskin
- The body of the coat is lined in knitted wool
- The sleeves are lined in knitted wool with rabbit fur lining the inside of the sleeve opening at the hand
- A layer of heavy weight cotton twill is used as an underlining to block wind and add extra warmth
A few months back I fell in love with a coat from Top Shop Chicago but had a realization when I looked at the price tag. For the cost of a coat made with all synthetic materials at Top Shop, I could purchase materials made with all natural fibers to make a much, much warmer, longer lasting, and better quality version of the coat if I was willing to put a bit of time and effort into the project.
To spend the time, money, and effort to make a coat from all natural materials was a big commitment. I wanted to create something with classic appeal so I could wear it the rest of my life. I don't want this item to be worn for one year and discarded - I wanted a heritage piece.
Which is exactly what I did.
- The coat is a simple princess line garment that falls to mid-thigh.
- The neck has sheepskin lapel
- Two toggle buttons are used for the closure
- The hood is fully lined in sheepskin
- The body of the coat is lined in knitted wool
- The sleeves are lined in knitted wool with rabbit fur lining the inside of the sleeve opening at the hand
- A layer of heavy weight cotton twill is used as an underlining to block wind and add extra warmth
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Signing UpStep 1: Why Use Natural Fibers?
In America, we have been taken over by synthetic materials. Polyesters, nylons, and rayons are everywhere. If you do a bit of research, polyester and vinyl are made from oil (source, source). Rayons (including bamboo) are cellulosic fibers from plant material that are put through a chemical process to turn them into fibers that can be used for garments.
These materials do not break down in landfills.
+500 years after each of us is dead, the synthetic fabrics and materials we use today because they are "better" than animal skins and hair, or natural plants will still be sitting in a landfill.
I, personally, am not okay with this. Especially when things like leather and sheepskin are a by-product of our food chain. Things made from leather and animal skin have a longer usable life than synthetics and break down naturally when discarded.
These materials do not break down in landfills.
+500 years after each of us is dead, the synthetic fabrics and materials we use today because they are "better" than animal skins and hair, or natural plants will still be sitting in a landfill.
I, personally, am not okay with this. Especially when things like leather and sheepskin are a by-product of our food chain. Things made from leather and animal skin have a longer usable life than synthetics and break down naturally when discarded.
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I was wondering if you could recommend a pattern similar to what you used? You said you made your own pattern, but I am not anywhere close to that confident with a needle. I really like the hood size and lapels though, so do you know if there is a term for this style of coat?
Thanks so much for documenting your work and sharing with others!
Materials:
- Wool fabric <--- This was processed and produced using synthetic materials. Exactly what dye was used?
- Silk for pocket lining <-- Same question as the wool
- 2 Sheepskin hides <-- other commenters have covered this, processing
- Wool Yarn <-- Same question about synthetic dyes
- Buttons <--- Material? Processing?
- Rabbit Fur (for sleeve cuffs) <-- Dies? Ethics of animals raised for fur?
- Hair interfacing <--- This is usually canvas, but how was it processed?
- Cotton Flannel <--- definitely processed, and I will bet the didn't use the old seed pods to produce the nap
- Cotton Twill Tape <-- made on a machine, probably processed, chemicals?
- Cotton Twill fabric for interlining <--- dyes? processing? weaving machine?
- Pearl Cotton (heavy weight cotton embroidery floss) <-- probably mercerized with a flame to make a nice sheen. That flame used a petro-chemical.
Tools:
Basic Leatherworking supplies:
- Leather Needles <-- your needles came in a plastic and paper package which used synthetic dyes/inks
- Leather/Fur thread - heavy weight thread coated in wax <--- what kind of wax? paraffin or beeswax?
- Straight edge blade <-- this is 100% the result of complex synthetic processes which produce a high quality, low cost metal blade. The handle is 100% petrochemical
- Marking tool <--- This is made of plastic, has a complex synthetic ink, the nib and feeding are 100% the result of complex industrialized processes
- Awl <--- this has a plastic handle. Petrochemical. Same comment about proccessing on the knife. Th
Sewing supplies:
- Sewing Machine <--- Machine. Lubricated with Petroleum Oil, MACHINE!
- Hand sewing needles <--- better believe these are made industrially using a highly complex alloy
- Thread <--- really? cotton or poly? was the cotton mercerized (with a petrochemical flame?)
- Pins <-- Adam Smith explained how these used to be made (by hand) and how that changed during the industrial revolution. Guess how your were made.
- Marking tools (chalk) <--- was this a raw hunk of chalk stone or a piece of tailor's chalk/chalk stick?
- Rulers <-- metal? wood? plastic? marked with ink? carved?
Unlisted material: That Computer you used to make this instructable and all the associated hardware. All sorts of synthetic, exotic, and novel materials there.
I have written this entire comment staring at the big red "be nice" policy. I know I am towing the line, but I hope this comment is at least as nice as the original mantra from the author of this instructable. I agree that many of the concerns of that mantra are justified, however the solution is rather narrow as pointed out by the many people who commented on the first page. My post was an attempt to logically extend the dialogue of this author's instructable and the other comments laid out on the first page.
I'm simply trying to reduce my use of plastics.
I never said anything negative about machines (and in fact admire machinery and the minds and skill used to create it).
Rabbits are not raised for their fur alone:
Source 1) http://www.chiggerridge.net/rabbitmeatforsal.html
Source 2) http://www.raising-rabbits.com/raw-meat-pet-food.html
Source 3) "In many parts of Europe and Latin America, the people there eat rabbits the way we eat chickens in North America. The skins are a by-product of the food-processing industry. The rabbits are raised for meat, not for their skins." See Where Do Rabbit Skins Come From here: http://www.chichesterinc.com/RabbitSkins.htm
The rabbit fur was not dyed. The buttons are antler tips. The hair interfacing is made from goat and horse hair. The cotton twill tape is 100% cotton and natural color meaning it was not dyed.
I can't acquire and use everything as an organic natural unprocessed biodegradable item. Does that mean I shouldn't choose natural material when I can?
This is a beautifully done Instructable! Congratulations!!! ;-)
Very professional looking
But I blabber.. I love this. Simple and beautiful.. also how awesome... knitted! I dont think I'm keen for the knitting but hey!! i know ladies who probably are ;D
thank you heaps for sharing this.
please keep sharing!
I like to buy/wear natural fibres where possible and I was rather interested to hear your comments on bamboo as I was considering some socks - I may have to rethink my purchase.
Again - a wonderful looking coat and would love to see either of my daughters or my partner wearing something like it.
Viscose fibers break down faster than cotton and typically require dry cleaning or light hand washing if you want to use/wear them for a long time. If you thought of buying bamboo because it has been marketed as eco-friendly it isn't a good idea. If you like the feel of bamboo yarn and want to make something that won't require much laundering (like a scarf or leg/arm warmers) then it could be a good solution. It is most certainly better than acrylic yarn.
Thank you for your comments on the coat! I wanted something pretty and classic and I think I achieved that!
Thanks! It's a very lovely coat.
The coat is fully tailored (hand stitched hair interfacing, hand tacked hem, etc.) and the lining is custom knitted. I pushed hard for 3 weeks get the coat done for the Sew Warm Contest deadline. It was a big project but I feel like it was completely worth it. There are ways to reduce cost and construction time for sure but I love tackling big projects and challenges so I enjoyed making the coat.
When I buy leather, it comes from Horween leathers - they process animal hides 8 blocks from where I live in Chicago.
Shoes are found in cemeteries where they were placed in the ground in a box. They weren't exposed to the elements. We don't have shoes made from animal hides for every single person that ever walked the planet but we do have every single plastic bag, polyester fabric scrap, and piece of faux fur and those aren't going away anytime soon.
If synthetics are not the optimal solution, and natural fibers aren't good either- what do you use?
I can not deliver a judgement on how your leather and hides are cured, but know that chemicals used in modern leather processing can under no circumstances be reused (since they get chemically altered and useless) and need to be disposed (it lies in the hands of the factory to do that responsibly). How we treat skins today is greatly different than our anchestors in caves: more chemicals, longer durability. An animals skin is not in all cases just a by-product of the meat - many farmers get a good income from the hides alone (of course depending on the sort of animal). In this case I agree that leather can be a more enviromentally responsible coice than a horrible polyester piece, but in my experience these are exceptional cases.
Also know that we now have biodegradable plastics, one-way-cups and fabrics which look like the plastic we produced 20 years ago, but is far better than that. The landfills and sea waste problems are not so much caused by artificial clothing but by the load of plastic packaging and hard-cased items we so thoughtlessly throw away.
Thank you for having thoughts on these important topics! <3
Viscose also known as rayon comes from plant material. It is made traditionally from trees which has raised concerns about deforestation and more recently from bamboo (which caused deforestation to make room to grow bamboo). Manufacturers have falsely advertised bamboo as being eco-friendly but effective in 2010 the Federal Trade Commission declared it not eco-friendly and it can no longer be marketed as such (see my original source in step 1 for bamboo).
A tremendous amount of energy and water is needed to make viscose. Many chemicals are used and, just as with processing animal skins, there are concerns about how factories dispose of the chemicals as well as air/water pollution.
Source: http://www.swicofil.com/viscose.html
Rayon is not readily available at fabric stores unfortunately. It has amazing characteristics (the hand and drape are beautiful) and I would use it if I could find it.
Also, viscose/rayon was created as a semi-synthetic silk - silk is not known for it's warm properties and again, using rayon to make a winter coat doesn't make sense if the objective is to stay warm.
It is fantastic that plastic is being recycled into fleece but I cannot imagine a world where I would want to own anything made from fleece - it doesn't match my personality or reflect my personal style. A fleece pullover I had in high school certainly didn't keep me as warm as the merino wool sweater I made for myself last winter.
Go through your closet - if your apparel isn't made from cotton it is probably polyester. Polyester is made from coal, air, water, and petroleum. (Source: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Polyester.html#b) Vinyl (synthetic leather) is made from petroleum, natural gas, and salt. (source: http://www.ehow.com/facts_4898704_what-vinyl-fabric.html). Modern synthetics ARE made from oil. Both of those sources were included in Step 1 of this project.
Synthetics are unavoidable and there are good characteristics and reasons to use them (like they can be 100% waterproof).
I know some animals are raised for their fur but at this point, the furs and leathers I use come from our food supply.
I'm just trying to reduce my consumption of plastic based materials. The chemicals used to process animal hides make them biodegrade slower than traditional hides (although many leathers are still vegetable tanned like tooling leather and shoe soles) but at least they won't be around as long as vinyl.
Have you thought about where that fur and leather comes from? What life did the animals it derived from, liive before they where slaughtered? Do you know anything about the products you are buying and the companies you are supporting? And it is far from all fur and leather that is a byproduct of anything, even cows are sometimes killed solely for their hide.
You say you prefere natural fibers, but what happened to plant fibers, not bamboo, but cotton, hemp and the like? They can be produced to be very weather resistant. And there are in fact 'fake' leathers and furs on the market that are just as long lived and strong as the real thing. Bark cloth is an example of that.
I just hope that you will think more about why you are using animal derived materials when so many other things are possible.
I do use cotton but it is considered the worlds dirtiest crop due to use of insecticides (source: http://www.ota.com/organic/environment/cotton_environment.html). Bark cloth is coarse and typically used in home upholstery applications - to make it usable for apparel it is as much as 65% rayon/synthetic.
The reality is, as a human being everything we consume has a consequence. My intention with this coat was to make one piece I will wear for the rest of my life. I eat animals to consume calories to stay alive - I wear animal skins to conserve calories forever and reduce future consumption needs.
Could you please provide me with a source for cows being killed for their hides that isn't an isolated incident?
Death for them may, if they are lucky, have been prevented from being painful by deriving them of their oxygen before they die. But the fear and agitation they go through before that is pain to me as well.
And even though ALL suffering cannot be prevented, it is possible to minimize it, at LEAST by buying animals that have lived a freerange life. But then again, there is the slaughterhouse, where they all eventually go no matter where they have been raised.
And of course if you finally do kill something, you should use all of it, but in this case, in an animal welfare discussion, that is not the main point.
About the single use of hides, yes the incidents are happily rare, and I should not use it as an argument, I apologize for that.
But that does not go for many other animals killed for their furs, like mink, fox, beaver and yes also rabbits. There are two main breeds of rabbits, one where all is used and one where only the fur is.
I agree with you on cotton that have NOT been grown organically and I see your point with bark cloth. I do not have all the answers on what subsitutes are the best.
But I do believe that searching for environmentally safe substitutes is far better than supporting a meat and leather industry that has run amok.
Hemp is one of the most resistant types of textiles and one of the easiest to grow in an organic way.
And everyday scientists are getting closer to using reusing the plastics we have created in the cradle to cradle theory. It already happened with polyester, the up till now number one bad textile.
Nutritionwise, meat is not crucial for survival.
Where did you get the sheepskin and for how much?
I purchased the sheepskins from Ikea. They keep them with the rugs and cow hides. Typically they have a big bin of them for $35 each. There are lots of sellers on Ebay and Etsy who sell sheepskins and places like this one: http://www.shearingshed.com/Rugs.html If you do purchase 2 hides from an online seller, you should contact them and ask if they can send 2 hides that are a close match in fur length and texture. Hides can vary and for a project like this you will want a close match.
The rabbit hide was purchased from Hobby Lobby for around $10. They keep them with their leatherworking supplies and kits. JoAnn fabrics also has them sometimes but they were priced at $22... so use a coupon!
There are lots of places on Ebay and Etsy that sell hides and places like this one: http://www.shearingshed.com/Rugs.html If you do purchase 2 hides from an online seller, you should contact them and ask if they can send 2 hides that are a close match in fur length and texture. Hides can vary and for a project like this you will want a close match.