Make Nine 2019: Love Notions Octave Coat

Pattern Stats: Octave Coat

Pattern designer: Love Notions 

Pattern level: 5/10

Time start to finish: 4.0 hours

Suggested fabrics: Coating such as boiled wool, melton wool, boucle; stable knits such as fleece

Options: Shawl collar or hood; belted or button closure

My fabric: Fleece from Joann

Price: $8 on sale through Sunday November 24, 2019 then regular price of $10

What I thought was a very lofty goal for 2019, was to sew a coat. My first coat actually. You know what, I did it! It would have happened earlier in the year if I'd found that perfect pattern. I kept searching and nothing was quite right. I knew I wanted a hood since it rains so much in Oregon but needed pockets too. I kept toying with the idea of hacking a hood onto some gorgeous coat patterns but hacking my first coat seemed intimidating. 

Then it happened. I feel like this has been happening a lot lately. My exact vision in a pattern was released as a tester call. I feel like Tami was calling out to JUST ME when she designed this coat. Meet Octave, the perfect coat for me! Now I'm going to show you Octave in fleece and a shawl after telling you I needed a hood. The pattern comes with a hood option too but I didn't order wool ahead of time to get my final version done. I'll go into more details about my makes in a minute. 

Pattern Details

Tami from Love Notions has been working on perfecting the Octave Coat for some time. She kept it simple with clean lines but it has a great shape. There's limited options to this coat. You can choose to either make the shawl collar or dramatic hood. Both versions have directions for making it fully lined or without lining. Then choose to have a single button closure or belt. What I really love are the pockets. They aren't optional but rather an integrated part of the coat's construction. They are large enough to fit my hands and phone but don't sag with extra weight. 

The Octave boasts the Love Notions new sizing of size XS-5X. It also features standard and full bust front pattern pieces for those with a fuller chest. Due to the construction of the shawl or hood, it does take quite a bit of fabric. The fabric recommendations for the Octave include boiled wool, melton wool boucle and stable knits like sherpa, fleece or sweatshirt knit. Keep in mind different fabrics will give you a different looking coat. I'd recommend making a muslin to get down the construction and any modifications you might need prior to cutting into your large yardage more expensive fabric. The coat is drafted for winter wear so has ease and room to wear a hoodie or thick sweater under it. 

My Makes

I made two versions of the Octave during testing. Both versions I used fleece from Joann Fabric. My first Octave was with the dramatic hood using lux plush fleece which is about double the weight of standard fleece. You can see some of my tester fit photos below. I love how soft and cozy this fabric is but ultimately the additional weight of it made for a too heavy weight and drape. The hood lays beautifully when it's down but pulls the collar from the weight. I intend on making the hood version with a wool for an everyday winter coat. 

My second Octave was again with fleece but this time it's a standard fleece. It's not as soft and plush as the Lux but it gave a much better look and fit. I had every intent on making another hood version but kept being drawl to the shawl collar too. I decided testing was the perfect time to give it a go so that's what I did. 

As you might notice, with both of my Octave's I used plaid fabric. It definitely adds a bit more of a challenge to the project. I wanted to match the princess seams as best I could and did that by lining up the front and pocket pieces across the same line. Then I clipped the pocket onto the front with right sides together before sewing to see if I was lined up. After that, my only priority with the plaid was to make sure I was cutting everything mirrored on the same lines. I found with plaid, it's busy enough that it doesn't need to be perfect and line up everywhere. 

I learned quite a bit from my first Octave to my second. First, when working with fleece or bulkier fabrics, topstitching is very important. I ended up topstitching around my collar and belt which helped flatten the seams. The belt prior to topstitch was fluffier and gave more of a robe look. 

Second, I did trim down my seams to reduce bulk. I also found using a combination of my serger and sewing machine was ideal. There were some points that I sewed through 5 layers of fleece which my serger was not happy about. 

So let's talk about the elephant in the room... Does it look like a robe? Well some people feel that way. I think some people just associate fleece with robes or blankets and that's fine. I was going for a casual looking coat and achieved what I wanted. Could you extend the length and make it a robe? Absolutely. 

The Love Notions Octave Coat is on sale for $8 during it's new release through Sunday November 24, 2019. This a beginner friendly pattern and great fitting coat that I'd recommend to anyone! After the sale, the price will go to $10.  

Make Nine 2019

My original Make Nine list had the Twig and Tale Women's Forester coat on it. I've decided to replace this make with that pattern since it didn't seem quite right. I intend on actually making a third Octave in wool with a button when I make a decision on what fabric I want. 

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