Mara's Winter Coat

This coat was a process, let me tell you.
I started with yet another beautiful Heidi and Finn pattern, and although I have a good deal of wool at my disposal, they weren't in the color pallet that I find Mara most ravishing in.
(I guess that's because I think "Mara" is a highly romantic name and therefore associate the same manner of colors with it.)
So I got inventive - and I took my Cream Wool, and dyed it!
I was going for a more 'wine' color and got more of a 'mulberry' but it is still in the same pallet I was after.
Story about the dying of the wool, Michael had promised me a night out for a while, and one night after Mara went to bed I convinced him to take me out - to the laundry mat! I wish I had taken pictures of the actual dying process, but below is the piece drying.
Dont mind the stuffed garage, it houses most of our belongings :)
oh and Mara was safe at home with her Omi and Opa, in case you were wondering to yourself.
Note: the color is not quite true to life in this pic, for a more accurate look, see the last group of pics.

Heres the pattern printed out.

[like my toenail polish? Its new :) ]

I did alter the patter, just in size. I took a few inches off the sleeves and a few off the length as a whole. Not so much because the sizing was off, but because the smallest size was 12mo-2T, a bit big for this years wearing.
Here are the two layers. The liner is some stuff I got at a yard sale that worked with the color family beautifully. It's a knit, to try and get just a lil more warmth out of the deal (not that Mara needs it, just like her daddy, runs hot.)
Because the wool was 'washed' (although not dried) it did have a different texture to it and was quite stubborn to press. If I used a hot enough iron to press it, it would leave marks on the fabric, but any cooler and nothing happened. So I used a 'press-cloth' of an old t-shirt and it helped a ton. I could use the iron hot enough, and not scald the wool.
And heres the finished product!
I think it turned out beautifully!
As you can see in the pic below, I added some sewn on snaps to the top collar to help support and close the top of the coat. Nice thing about sew-on snaps, is that you can sew then just so, so you cant see any stitches on the front side.
So this is where the journey ends, for now. I did however, dye enough to make a coat for myself... Sew we'll see ;)

Ps: how are we liking the "finished product" shots? I love them. Beautiful background and perfect lighting. I wish I could say it was all my doing, but its just a small benefit of having your husband taking pictures for his portfolio for hours on end. "hey, take a picture of this while your at it!"
;) Much love
N