Winter has been wearing this coat for the last two winters. She wanted a vintage-looking wool coat that was very warm. She couldn’t find what she wanted, so she chose to sew one.

She could not find a coat pattern to sew she wanted either, so she chose to adapt an out-of-print dress pattern (Vogue 1149) that was the closest shape to what she envisioned, with princess seams and a large collar. She chose a larger size than she would wear in a dress so that it would work with thick fabric as well as fit over her clothes.

She chose view A for its collar and long sleeves. She wanted a very specific collar shape, and this pattern came closest to what she had envisioned. She took in the collar and curved it more.

She altered the pattern quite a bit.

The original pattern was for a mid-calf dress, which on her was ankle-length. She shortened the pattern to be right above her knee.

She took in the waist and added more flare to the skirt, to give it more of an hourglass shape and to make it easier to move in the coat. She rides her bike in a skirt with her coat over 5 miles each day.

The skirt is nice and full, perfect for wearing over a full skirt or dress, and perfect for twirling.

She couldn’t find fabric heavy enough to make her coat, so she instead bought two 100% wool blankets from Amazon (they were $24.99 each when she bought them).

The buttons are from Hobby Lobby, purchased with a 40% off coupon.

The lining is silver lining fabric, bought on sale from Hobby Lobby for $3.49 a yard.

She loves that her coat has an actual silver lining.

The total cost of materials for the coat was $64.43.

If you’re willing and able to put in the hours to sew, you can make just what you want!

She’ll need this warm wool coat a lot more often, because her university school of choice reopened their admissions for both spring and fall terms.

Monday night, Winter applied to the university.

Tuesday afternoon, Winter received her acceptance!

She will leave for school in April!!! She will be attending Brigham Young University-Idaho and will be studying apparel entrepreneurship.

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49 Comments

  1. Oh look out world, I’m on my way!!! So very best of wishes to Winter, it has been a joy watching you in photos grow into this self confident young woman. (My favorite will always remain the $1 ball gown). My best wishes for all the success in the world to you.
    Ann Lee S, Vancouver island, BC Canada

  2. Hi Brandy, well those photos are just beautiful and how talented is Winter? Talk about walking the walk, she will excel in her chosen field of study. Congratulations Winter, I wish you well in your future studies. That last photo in particular is just so stunning, you have captured her looking into her future life.
    Fi

  3. Beautiful coat! Many blessings to her in this new journey, and to you and your husband as you let her fly.
    Patricia Fl

  4. Winter is so talented and is obviously going to be studying the exact right subject for her! Best of luck as she heads off next month!

  5. Congratulations to Winter! She is exceptionally talented! Brandy, your entire family must be so proud of her!

  6. Congratulations Winter! What an exciting new chapter of her life….and one that she has worked very hard to make happen.

    Will Winter consider doing an occasional post from college around frugality?

    The coat is so impressive. An excellent showcasing of Winter’s talents. A proud Mama moment too!

  7. What a beautiful coat Winter created! I would have never guessed that the design was originally a dress pattern. I love the “silver lining” idea too, LOL. She did an amazing job.
    Congratulations to Winter on being accepted to University! Wow, that a really quick turn around, though. I know you have been preparing for this for a while. How do you plan to get her, and all her things to her new “home”? I’m sad I will miss your post on how it went. I’ll have to make sure to read about it on my return from Europe! I’m sure you and your whole family will miss her immensely.

    1. Rhonda – is it really that time for you to go to Europe? It guess Spring is really upon us – bon voyage and have a grand time.

  8. Just beautiful. If she is ever wanted to make some side money she could sell her creations. It really is a lovely coat, the other things you’ve shown us that she made were beautiful too.

    1. Her time is worth more than people are willing to pay. Even if she only charged minimum wage for the hours she spent on the coat, people will not pay that much. A bespoke piece is hundreds of dollars.

  9. Gosh, the coat is so beautiful and so feminine! It’s perfect on her and she is so lovely. I love seeing young women dressed like women! And so impressive that she made it herself.
    That’s great about BYU. She’ll certainly need that coat in Idaho!

  10. I was admiring her coat in your previous post. It’s lovely. I imagine the lining was not part of the original pattern and perhaps not the pockets, either. Well done, Winter, and congratulations on her acceptance!

    1. Being a dress pattern, it had neither a lining nor pockets before. Those were things she had to make.

  11. Congratulations! Not only beautiful but talented. My son went to BYU-Idaho (Rick’s then) and my oldest daughter to BYU. Great schools for a great education.

  12. This young lady has truly been gifted with design talent! Yet, also, she has worked hard to develop and improve these gifts! How exciting to know she will be learning more and more soon!
    That coat is lovely!

  13. Congratulations to Winter! And it’s a lovely coat. Good thinking on the blankets, too; for some reason, manufactured coats in this type of style these days tend not to be very warm.

  14. Congratulations to Winter on being accepted so speedily into her university of choice. And also congratulations to you, Brandy, and your husband for raising such a remarkable daughter. Her creation of the coat just boggles my mind–to think of altering (so extensively) a dress pattern and using wool blankets for material certainly illustrates that her major is perfect for her!

  15. Congratulations to Winter on her acceptance to her choice of school! I know she has worked very hard to make this happen. How fantastic and exciting! And congratulations to you and your husband for raising such a beautiful, smart and talented daughter:).

    The coat looks really great, thank you for the photos. I loved the photos of her spinning around, made me smile and it is a great start to a day to hear good news and see a talented young woman wearing something wonderful that she made.

  16. What a beautiful coat! Changes are coming for Winter and your family. It looks like one change was braces for Winter too. You can be proud of your girl!

  17. The coat is absolutely beautiful. Congratulations to her on being accepted to her chosen school. How exciting for all of you — but I know you all will really miss having her at home.

  18. The coat and Winter and both beautiful. Congratulations to her on heading off to college! More adventures await. I’m sure it’s bittersweet for you to see your daughter leave home….

  19. I also attended Brigham Young University-Idaho (back when it was Ricks College) then I did the online program to get my Bachelors many years later! I hope she will enjoy it as much as I did. It is cold in Rexburg. Sometimes getting in the negative temps. She will stay warm in that beautiful coat. Great job!

    1. My husband attended Ricks as well and then transferred to BYU in Provo. Making sure she is warm is one of our priorities! We’ll be visiting the thrift stores to look for a few more sweaters and some jeans for her.

  20. Congratulations! What wonderful news and such an amazing accomplishment onboth your parts! The coat is lovely and so stylish, she did a beautiful job!

  21. Congratulations to Winter! And what a beautiful coat! My mom used to mix patterns to get what she wanted, but I guarantee you, nothing turned out like Winter’s coat! (Mom would never have had to courage to adapt a dress pattern to a coat).

    My son and daughter-in-law just bought their first home in Victor, Idaho, which is about 50 miles from the college…and it is cold over there, And is going to still be cold in April. I hope she can leave her winter things behind for next year when she finishes in the spring. Lots easier than hauling them back and forth.

  22. Congrats, Winter! Wonderful news! Love the gorgeous coat. Sewing is just the best, and it allows you to make things you can’t find anywhere else.

  23. And think what she can do with the heavy-duty sewing machines, steam pressers, and all sorts of professional-grade equipment!
    She is on the verge of great things. Having strong roots means she can grow tall and strong.

  24. She did an amazing job! I sew a lot, so I really appreciate what she has done there. Congratulations on the school acceptance, and the nice, warm coat to wear while she is there.

  25. Gorgeous girl gorgeous coat, fabulous school. I think she will be famous for a clothing line one day. Well done.

  26. Wow! These sewing skills will be so very helpful in life. I had to learn to sew well, adapt both clothing and patterns and design my own if I wanted to be a well dressed teenager after my father became ill. Useful skills to be sure.

    Congratulations!

  27. Wow! Awesome job, Winter! A beautiful coat for a beautiful young woman. Congratulations on the college acceptance, too! Big changes ahead.

  28. Winter has such excellent taste – very elegant, yet not stuffy. I think she will go far. There are many, many women who want to be stylish, yet modest. Her style is very European as well. I have a feeling that she has a great future ahead of her. I remember Cristian Sirano (hope that is close to the spelling) who won one of the first Runway competitions. He also has a classic eye and his passion for creating lovely fashion for women of all sizes has really opened up a lot of minds. Clothes that are well made, elegant, stylish and timeless are hard to come by and I think there is a market for them!

  29. Please add my congratulations to all the others – first on Winter getting her first choice of Universities (and being accepted so quickly) – and on the beautiful coat she designed and sewed for herself – it is just charming – and she certainly knows how to put a whole “look” together!

  30. Well Brandy if I can stop sniffing and riding the roller coaster of emotions long enough to send CONGRATULATIONS to Winter, you and your family for all the accomplishments KNOWING full well how much work and sacrifice goes into preparing for college, patiently waiting for a suit… etc etc the pictures are the BEST, I have enjoyed myself so much seeing the coat-hearing how it came about and then the green dress! OHHHH my gosh….stunning doesn’t cover it
    thank you thank you for sharing, it is such a delite

  31. Congratulations! Winter is amazing and so very talented to be so young! I agree with another comment, the last picture portrays her looking to her future – and she looks fearless!

  32. Lovely young woman, lovely apparel. You read my mind when you reported she would need this heavy coat at college.

  33. Congratulations to Winter! Her hard work and dedication to make things just the way she wants them will serve her well in life.

  34. The coat is beautiful and Winter has done an amazing job. She is so blessed to have been homeschooled and given the opportunity to develop her talents. Way to go Brandy!
    Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

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