Cozy Warm Wool Coat

Step 4 Pattern Selection and Modification

I created a pattern to accommodate my design ideas but it is not difficult to modify a commercially purchased or downloaded pattern.  When making warm apparel items, one big thing that you need to pay attention to is the thickness of the materials you use.  

I created a lining for my coat from wool yarn that I knit to fit the coat.  I knit a test swatch to find my gauge and measured the thickness of the sweater lining.  The sweater lining was 1/4" thick.  That is enough that you need to ensure the pattern you selected has enough ease to still fit once the sweater lining is added. 

To measure the thickness of materials, place something large, flat, and moderately light weight on top of what you are measuring.  Measure from the surface the item is sitting on to what you placed on top. 

To determine if the final garment measurement is large enough to accommodate the desired lining, let's use circles and diameters. The idea is to take your bust measurement, add a circle the thickness of your lining material, and find out what the bust measurement of your final garment should be. 

- Take your bust measurement and divide it by 3.1415  = this is the diameter of the circle if you were exactly round. 
- Add the thickness of your lining material around the full circle. Your bust diameter plus 2x lining thickness = your new bust and lining diameter.
- Multiply the new bust and lining diameter by 3.1415 and this number is the smallest bust that will fit around you.
- See the 5th image in this step for a visual representation and example

The hood of my coat is lined in sheepskin- which measures 1 1/2" thick.  I had to make many adjustments to accommodate that much fullness (but it was worth it).  I backed the neckline off 1 1/2" all the way around, and made sure the measurements for the hood made sense and could fit fur between the fabric and my head.