I love plaid so hard. I have so much plaid in my stash I could open a kilt shop. But, I hardly ever sew plaid because I’m terrified of matching.
I was inspired to make this waterfall coat for two reasons. I have too much coating fabric that’s not getting sewn (eight cuts and counting). And, I saw a very cool Burberry poncho that I couldn’t afford. I made my friend Sheryl go to Burberry with me to try this on. It was flawless. I also tried on a duffle coat and had small tears in my eyes when I put it back on the hanger.
This fabric (ostensibly Burberry) was $5 or a yard during my ‘trench coat with wool liner’ phase about five years ago. I never made that warmer but the fabric remained. I in fact have it in a second camel color way (that will hopefully become a poncho next season).
I sewed this coat in bits and pieces over two weekends. Which is really good for me. It allows me to not mind techniques taking a bit more time. I thread traced my darts instead of just marking (or eyeballing) them with chalk.
I actually did all the flat fell seaming with my terrific Bernina foot. And, for all these small touches, it made a big difference in my construction process.
Because I don’t sew Butterick often I wasn’t quite sure what size to go with. Based on the finished measurements, I sewed a 14 grading to a 16 in the thighs. I did baste the side seams to make sure I had a fit I could live with. I also decided to forgo an FBA because the coat isn’t meant to closed and there’s a ton of drape / ease here at the front. Overall, it’s got a very modern blanket coat vibe and I could have probably gone down one size.
I made only one alteration which was to shorten the shoulder seam. Of course, I shortened it after I’d sewn in the sleeve 
One main sewing tip if I may. If you have a walking foot, use it. I think nothing will ruin the lines of this coat more than waves / wonkey narrow hems. Plenty of steam and a walking foot will keep the bias under control.
I’m feeling pretty accomplished that I sewed a revered plaid coating. I didn’t get the plaid quite right at the front (sad trombone). But, I figure in movement it’ll be hard to tell.
Miss Celie's Pants 
I love that I have no idea what half the words mean in your blog posts, but I still enjoy reading them! *That coat looks great on you! You’re amazing!
Beautiful coat and you look great.
That coat is a fabulous look! And the plaid looks excellent b/c it is so so flowy! You look great!!!
As my six year old tells me, ” Wear it loud and proud!” It’s beautiful! I love ponchos/blanket coats/wraps, etc. as heavy coats make my head hurt. I’d love this! You did a great job. 🙂
Wow. This coat is amazing! What a way to finally break into the plaid coating–it’s so chic and so beautiful on you. Love, love, love it.
Yep this is a great look on you. The fabric is fab and looks very classy. I really want to make this coat but want to make a spring version. Hmmm…
I just can’t wait for spring and lighter clothes. But seeing this makes me want to hang on to winter just a little bit longer. Fabulous coat!
I love this coat – have you tried styling it with a leather belt? I see something Western-ish (but not with a big buckle). Love that you can style it a bunch of a different ways, sleek big city, casual weekend, or more rugged and Clint Eastwoodish (if that’s your jam!). Nice work.
I don’t have a belt big enough, but, I did save a bit of material to make a sash. It looked good! But, definitely needs solid belting. On Feb 28, 2016 04:41, “Miss Celie's Pants” wrote:
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Wow! What a beautiful coat! I can’t see any flaws 😀
This is very chic! I love it more than the original coat! 🙂
You did a great job. I like it a lot!
This is gorgeous! I have this pattern and I was thinking neutral solids but now… maybe plaid!
Great job on pattern matching. And it looks perfect for this time of year.
This coat looks great. I think you did a wonderful job matching the plaid, no flaws are noticeable.
That looks wonderful! You’re time and effort definitely paid off!
Ugh. Your not you’re. I have to learn to read my posts before hitting the button.
OK. Now I feel guilty. I TOO have a whole coating stash. Light-weight spring … heavy-weight winter. I even had a whole bunch of tan/burgundy Ralph Lauren plaid that I scarfed up during Fabric.com’s RL phase. Still in the tub under the bed. But your coat looks fantastic.
Very nice!
fantastic! great use of the fabric and you know I love a plaid. the fit looks spot on, tres chic.
Amazing!
Well done! This is an incredible plaid, and you did it justice!
You look wonderful and gorgeous, in your new coat. Such a fantastic plaid and you did a fantastic job on it. Would you recommend this pattern to someone who has a similar figure to you, but is barely 5’2″?
Thank you! Yes, I could recommend it to someone shorter. Because, if it’s overwhelming, it’s easy to take some of the drape out and shorten if after basic construction. I was kind of worried about all that fabric on my chest. But, it falls away nicely creating a visual line through the middle.
On Sun, Feb 28, 2016 at 1:26 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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Thank you so much! I have it in my queue at Vogue patterns. I have so many yards of coating fabrics.
Excellent – that is a great way to deal with plaid Good on you!
It looks great, love the drape but having proper sleeves, very wearable 🙂
This is magnificent!
I LOVE THIS! Good work!
Better than Burberry!!!
It is a gorgeous coat and you wear it beautifully! And it is going to be cold enough to wear this week!!
I think you did a nice job on the coat, and had you not said anything, I would not have noticed the front. The only photo I can see the wee mismatch is in the one you posted to point it out.
So after this rousing success, you’re planning to sew up the rest of the plaid in your stash rightthissecond, I’m sure! 😉 Seriously, this looks fantastic on you, but plaid man…it is the most beautiful and most evil fabric, and I can’t resist it’s siren song either.
Yessss. I have a teal plaid that I say I’m going to sew into a duffle coat for next season.
On Mon, Feb 29, 2016 at 10:51 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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This is so cool! It’s so chic! I hate hate HATE matching plaid, but like you, maybe half my stash is a plaid or some other print that has to be carefully matched… why?????
I have a teal plaid earmarked for Grainline’s Cascade. I did try on a fitted and straight duffle at Burberry and I was in LOVE. I just need to figure out the FBA on Cascade.
On Mon, Feb 29, 2016 at 10:52 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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I feel the same way when it come to plaids, you are brave. My goal is to be able to conquer my fear’s with plaids, Great job, gorgeous ….😇👍🏽
Your coat is beautiful. Looks great on you. I’ve wondered about that Butteirck Lisette pattern for myself too.
This is AWESOME! Not that I’m surprised, since it’s on your blog. Seriously. I always love reading about your projects.
Girl, I have been eye-ing that pattern. Love it! Can I be a copy cat and make one just like yours? Love it!
I think it looks great! You did a great job and the plaid layout looks fine – you’re just being hyper critical of your own work. We all do that, but it really is a nice coat on you. Great job.
Just to enable a bit, check out the Sydney Jacket Pattern from Tessuti. Same idea, just a slightly different shape, in case you want to change it up a bit.
http://www.tessuti-shop.com/products/sydney-jacket-pattern
Beautiful!
Very, very nice! I love the color and how the coat falls in the front. The matching on the plaids are spot on!
Wow, very nice coat! I know you’ll get a ton of wear of it too! That second “camel colored” fabric poncho is going to be fabulous too…I can’t wait to see that one!