Stripwork Tutorial for THE Coat Pattern by Amelie and Henri
/Today we have our friend Jessica from Snickerdoodle Stew visiting us. She's here to show off her gorgeous stripwork version of the Amelie Coat and teach us all how to recreate that look! We also have an awesome giveaway from Hypernoodle Fabrics and Amelie and Henri and a sewing challenge for our readers after the tutorial!
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Hello! It's Jessica from Snickerdoodle Stew and I'm here with a great tutorial for you! By now (unless you live under a rock and are not up to speed on the latest PDF patterns) you have probably heard about THE Amelie Coat from the amazingly talented Kerri of Amelie and Henri Patterns. This coat has been the talk of the town and I was so excited and honored to be a part of the group that tested it. I was also given the opportunity to tweak the design a little in return for a little how-to. It's hard to improve upon this coat...really. It's classy and sophisticated, but also very approachable! I had the idea to do a stripwork skirt for the coat, so when Robin sweetalked me into sharing how I did my coat, I was happy to write this up! After all, it gave me an opportunity to show off the oodles of gorgeous photos from Rebecca Laurel Photography!
The very first thing to do is buy your pattern, and then start gathering your fabric and supplies. Use the chart below to figure out how much fabric you'll need to replace the given ruffle/skirt pieces with your stripwork pieces. There are 2 long pieces of fabric
for the ruffle (skirt) and you'll swap those out for 2 or more coordinating fabrics for your stripwork
portion of the coat. You can use up to
8. I used 4 for mine, which means my
layout repeated 2 times. (I’m using different fabrics for this tutorial, and
the pieces are a little smaller, but you’ll get the idea.) You can divide them up however you like.
And I’m feeling rather “mathy” today, so I’m going to give you the measurements you’ll need to make ANY size Amelie Coat, including the slimmed down mama version!
Click HERE to access the Stripwork Cutting Measurement Chart.
Let's get started! Using your rotary cutter and mat, cut the pieces you'll need for both the outer (main) stripwork skirt and the inner (lining) skirt. Set the lining aside because you'll need that later to line everything up. Arrange them in the order that you want them in your skirt, paying attention to directional fabrics when necessary.
Don't worry, those sweet chubby fingers were out of the way when I was cutting my pieces. He just wanted to photo bomb my tutorial.
If you can visualize these as pairs, that will help you! I have mine paired up in light and dark. With your light piece facing right side up, take the dark piece to the right and place it on top, RST (right sides together). The image below shows you 2 of those pairs, since my pattern repeats itself. Sew or serge down the right hand side.
Iron your pieces so that the seam goes toward the darker fabric, then topstitch to add extra durability. You should now have 4 pieces instead of 8!
Now take your right hand blocks and turn them over, on top of your left hand blocks, RST, and sew down the right hand side. Open up your pieces and iron them, making sure the seams are all laying the same direction and topstitch. You now have 2 pieces! Almost there!
Take one section of blocks and stack them on the other section of blocks, RST. Sew down the right hand side, iron the seam the same direction as the other seams and topstitch! You now have your ruffle (skirt) piece for your jacket!
The last step is to take your stripwork piece and center it with your lining piece. You will have some extra from your lining, so cut off the excess and continue with the pattern instructions as written.
The possibilities are endless and you can go safe by using fabrics that are sold in a line together, or go bold by making your own combinations. I literally have a collection of black and cream prints that I just get a yard or two of here and there, and I add to it. The fabrics from this coat came from that stash and they are some of my favorites. The script fabric actually has the names of classical composers on them and I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry when the last of that is used up.
I spy with my little eye Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Dvorak.
Love these Charlotte Pantaloons from Violette Field Threads in corduroy paired with Jocole leggings in stretch lace.
THE Amelie Coat by Amelie and Henri Patterns.
Who's up for an Amelie challenge?
We'd love to see you try out Jessica's tutorial and share your work, and Amelie and Henri Patterns has more gorgeous patterns in the works they're dying to reward you with...so here's the deal:
1. Make a stripwork version of the coat (Yay! Use up that scrap stash)
2. Post a photo of your creation on the Amelie and Henri Facebook Page no later than October 1st, 2013 Midnight EST
That's it! 1 lucky winner will win the next 2 pattern releases!
Everybody loves a giveaway!
Now that you're dying to make this coat...how would you like to win the fabric and the pattern to make it??? Just enter the Rafflecopter below. Thank you, Hypernoodle Fabrics and Amelie and Henri for offering this wonderful giveaway to our fans!
4 Yards of Fabric + THE Coat Pattern
Courtesy of
What exactly IS a Hypernoodle?" ...a Hypernoodle is "an overactive mind"--which is what most of us sewers/quilters/crafty folks have! Anybody that has ever had 2 or more projects going at the same time or a never ending list of projects that need to be sewn and/or completed is a "Hypernoodle."
Have a few projects spinning in your Hypernoodle? Be sure to visit the Hypernoodle website for the perfect fabric for all those projects! While you're there, sign up for their newsletter to stay in touch! And check out their Facebook Page for updates on new fabrics, promotions, and giveaways.
