L-M-N-O Pea Coat: A Flip of the Study Hall Jacket

I'm linking this one up as part of my signature look over at Project Run and Play because this is truly Clara's signature look...color, pattern and a little flare. She had her hand in it all and it really does represent her well.

Here's the post from the "Flip" I wanted to put up, just to have here because I love this coat. It's finally cooled down enough that in the mornings it's a little chilly. Clara was wearing this coat today as she rode her scooter to school...it was so much fun to walk behind her and see the fun colors up ahead.

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Sally here, from Daisy Chain Creations and can I just say how much fun I've had doing this 'flip'?  It's truly been a collaboration of minds with my 5 year old, which has made it rather fun...if not interesting. First we consulted on which of the 4 patterns to pick from the Pattern Anthology.  After we picked the coat, then we consulted on what we liked about the original and how we wanted to 'flip' it and finally we went shopping together to pick out fabric and buttons.

All of this team work resulted in the:

L-M-N-O Pea Coat

Here's a picture of the original 'Study Hall Jacket':

And here is the final result of my 'flip' a little reminiscent of the big thick wool pea coats worn by the Navy (I wore my dad's all through high school).

Now you might be asking why we picked the coat.  Well this little gal has grown a ton and she remembered that she had outgrown her favorite double breasted denim jacket she wore all of the time last winter.  She needed a coat, but we live in the South, so not too much of a coat.  That was what was nice about her denim jacket and that thinking led us to the L-M-N-O Pea Coat.

It's a nice loose fitting double breasted jacket that will allow her to wear sweaters on colder days, but not be too heavy during the mostly mild winter days we have here.

I cut the jacket out to a size 8, which she mostly fell under anyway (she's off the charts tall and solid), but  it still was on the loose size, again perfect for wearing a sweater if needed.

The biggest change was not using the waistband, but instead adding a few inches to the length.

  Even with all of my changes, the instructions were a dream to follow.

The outer fabric is a soft corduroy from the Brother Sister line carried by Hobby Lobby.

Some things that she wanted to keep were the zipper and the hood, so I did.  However, she doesn't like tight fitting hoods, so I left out the called for elastic in the hood.

The zipper stayed in it's original place, but I added a panel to the lining and a couple of extra inches to the outer piece in order to get the double breasted look, with actual buttons and button holes.

For the pockets, she really liked the ruffled welt pockets, so we kept those as is, but chose to do the ruffle from the lining fabric.

The sleeves I made a couple of inches longer and decided to forgo the ribbed cuff look. That way I could cuff them, again showing the lining (and allowing for her to continue to grow...without outgrowing the coat too soon).

For the lining, I used a pink flannel.  One thing she really wanted was an inside pocket, like dad's suit coat.  And she got exactly that, which she loves!  Just so it's not too hidden, I used the outer fabric for the pocket.

Not only will the coat keep her warm without being too warm, but it allows her to have room to play...always important for an active kindergartner.

Here you can see the hood as well as the little back sash with 3 more blue buttons and you can see the little split I made to the back so that she could move a little easier.

And there you have it, my L-M-N-O Pea Coat.

Here's a run down on the way I 'flipped' the original 'Study Hall Jacket' pattern:

1. I made it double breasted by adding a panel to the lining after the zipper and adding a couple of inches to the outer piece (this actually ended up being easier than I thought it would be--I might just do a tutorial on this step).

2. Added a hidden/inner pocket.

3. Made the sleeves longer and cuffed them instead of doing a ribbed cuff.

4. Added extra inches to the bottom of the jacket so that it hits at her knees, but added a split in the back to allow her to run and play.

5. Made a loose fitting hood and added a back sash.

 And here is the look that says "Mom, it's 85 degrees out and I'm wearing pants, long sleeve shirt and a coat...can we please be done?!"
And with that, we are done and I just have to say thank you to Ashley and Emily for having me be a part of this fun series!