A new (frock) coat for me!

October 31, 2025 6 Comments

by Molly Hamilton

Every few years, I sew a new coat for myself.  Usually, it is because I have an awesome fabric that I love and want to make a coat from.  Not because I need a new coat.  I made the 137 Australian Drover's Coat with a cotton jacquard.  And I made a Basics Overcoat from a gorgeous UK-grown/dyed/woven wool plaid. When I made both of these coats, I had to make quite a few adjustments to be able to make them with the fabric I had (which was not enough for the full coat).  

A few months ago, I decided to make a coat from this incredible double-sided wool that we had in stock at Folkwear. I thought I would make a sample that would show off this amazing fabric and help the fabric to sell (it hadn't moved in over a year).  And, as soon as I cut the amount I needed for our 263 Countryside Fock Coat and started cutting out my fabric pieces, it all sold out.  Isn't that the way of the world!?

I still wanted to make the coat, but there was less urgency, and I finally finished the coat last week.  I thought the tailored look of the 263 Countryside Frock Coat would be great for this thick wool fabric and give me options for showing off both the grey and pink sides. I made the main body of the coat from the pink side of the fabric and used the grey side for the trim pieces.  I made the pockets from a small section of a Liberty of London lawn.  And, I finished most of the seams with bound seams, cutting the bias binding from the same section of lawn.  

This coat came together much faster than I expected. The thick wool was a little challenging to press, and I used interfacing to give even more body to the collar, cuffs, and front plackets. I ended up using a clapper (really just the wooden base to my sleeve pressing stand) to help press seams. 

This was my first time doing bound seams, and I just went with what made the most sense to me, but if anyone has tips for sewing bound seams, please leave them in the comments.  You can see I am not showing my seams. They look ok from a distance, but aren't really pretty up close.

I had a hard time picking buttons for this coat (see photos below), and finally decided on the shell buttons because of the hints of pink in the shell.  Since they were so flat, I made fairly large thread shanks for them.  For lots of info about buttonholes, shanks, and more, read our detailed buttonhole post.  I also went with fewer buttonholes than the pattern calls for.  

I had a great chance to wear this beautiful coat just a few days after it was finished when a cold front came in, and the weather called for a warm wool coat to wear.  

I really love this coat.  The color, the design, the buttons.  It is warm, pretty, and feels a bit luxurious (to me).  Now I don't need to make a coat for a few more years!

Let us know in the comments if you have bound seam tips, want to let us know which buttons you would have chose, or have general coat-making advice!

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