Welcome back to Wovens 2 Knits, our monthly series where we take a pattern that was drafted for wovens and see how it translates in comfy, cozy knits. This month is extra exciting, too, as it’s the first post that’s being sponsored by the fantastic Raspberry Creek Fabrics. I’ve bought designer wovens from them for years, but they’ve recently skyrocketed in popularity thanks to the super soft and reasonably priced french terry that they keep in stock (and regularly re-stock) along with a nice selection of other knit apparel fabrics. And did you know they’ve got their OWN fabric line now, too?? They call them their CLUB fabrics, and the first collection has included 6 cotton/lycra prints and one in french terry. The price is fantastic (under $11/yd!) and the quality is even better. I’ve washed and worn a few of the prints that I had preordered, and they’re still looking great.

For this post, I wanted to make a duffle coat for my little guy, and envisioned it in a nice fluffy fleece. I love the classic look of a wool duffle coat, but “Dry Clean Only” isn’t really a label that’s compatible with my three-year-old. ;) I picked out a navy blue fleece remnant from my stash (I like to stock up on Anti-Pill fleece solids at Joanns when they’re in the remnant bin) and Diana from Raspberry Creek generously sent over some yardage of the light grey arrows and triangles CLUB fabric that I used for the lining. It is heavenly, and soooo soft!

I used the Downton Duffle Coat from Peek-a-Boo Patterns for the coat, and since my little guy was right between the size 3 and size 4 (which is consistent with what I’ve found with RTW styles lately too) I opted to size up to the 4. Usually with knits I’d consider using the smaller size, but in this case since the coat was going to be lined and for layering I figured it would be ok. And it was, for sure. (Added bonus: hopefully this will still fit him in the spring, too!)

Construction was straightforward and well laid out in the tutorial, and the coat came together pretty easily. My machine wasn’t playing nicely with the faux-leather on the toggles I’d picked up from Joanns, so I ended up taking those tabs off and making my own with leather scraps that I had in my stash from an old pair of baby moccasins. If you’re sewing a jacket with fleece, I highly recommend topstitching with a long straight stitch as it makes for a nice, finished look. The three piece hood is probably my favorite feature of this coat, it’s a great place to show off a small piece of contrasting fabric (or use stripes in different directions). I opted to leave off the zipper this time, since my kiddo is very into getting himself dressed these days and I thought the toggles alone would be easier for him. And they are, but the coat doesn’t stay completely closed all the time - if I do that again, I’ll have to adjust the toggle placement a little to make sure the coat stays nice and snug instead of floating open behind the toggles.

This is one of those patterns that I’ve had in my stash since it was released nearly two years ago, and have never gotten around to sewing it until now. I’m so glad that I did - it was the perfect pattern for my vision of a fleece duffle coat, and the full lining helped everything look great on the inside, too. Make sure to check out RCF for their Club fabrics and more, and join all of us over on Facebook to share your latest Wovens 2 Knits creations!

Until next time,

Rachel