Linen + vivid floral print = joy! I fell in love with this joyful linen fabric from the first sight. On Fabricville.com this print keeps coming every spring-summer season. It has several iterations, with black or pale yellow backgrounds, but this crisp white background is my favourite hands down. The print has a watercolour vibe, but the colours are super vivid!
I did not have a project in mind when I bought the fabric. However, an opportunity materialized when my model was travelling to the Middle East, and more specifically the capital of UAE, Abu Dhabi. In the hot weather, linen performs exceptionally well, providing coverage from the harsh sun or conditioned air and at the same time cooling the body in the heat. There were several options on the table, such as a dress, pants and a suit. However, given the limited yardage, we settled on a joyful linen summer coat, which could give a bit more versatility. It can be worn as a dress or as an extra layer with a blouse and pants or skirt.
The pattern(s) came from vintage Burda magazines which I inherited from a German sewer. I put together 2 patterns, one for a coat body, and one for the neckline and collar.
Sewing the garment was not difficult, thanks for detailed Burda instructions. I fused the fronts and collar with the weft insertion fusible. However, I probably made a mistake, and there are a few places where the main fabric bubbles. I used commercial thin wadding should pads. The buttonholes are made on a machine, because I was in a bit of a rush. The coat is lined in white Bemberg.
I hope joyful linen summer coat reflects and sentiment I felt while making it!
Filmed primarily in and around Beach Rotana Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE.