McCall’s M5513 Sewing Plans and Fabric Selection

Hi everyone! Due to circumstances beyond my control, I’m having problems working on my sewing projects. I had plans to work on and finish at least three sewing projects this month, but I still have yet to work on them. None the less, I decided to switch my attention to other sewing projects that create things I know I will like to make in the coming months.

One of the things I will need are coats. I already own coats, but after years of making due with the ill fitting coats I purchased, I decided to make my own. I already have plans to make two coats, but they are more complicated projects that will take more time than I thought it would. So, I decided to make two different coats using sewing patterns I’m excited to start using. The first pattern is McCall’s M5513.

McCall’s M5513 is a pattern from the Hilary Duff line of sewing patterns McCall’s released in the late 2000’s. For the last few months I slowly collected as many Hilary Duff patterns I could find. It’s been fun for me to collect the patterns and add them to my collection. It is also fun seeing how late 2000’s the fashions are so different than what is worn today.

Although the style of some of the clothes the patterns in the Hilary Duff line look a little dated, there are some that look very nice and have a more timeless style to them. Although the coat in M5513 is from the late 2000’s, I would love to buy this style of coat in store and wear it in 2020. Since I found and purchased the pattern second hand, I decided to make one for myself.

A week or so ago, I found fabric for the coat at Joann’s Fabric and Craft. I bought this burgundy flannel for the main coat…

This black flannel for the design on the back…

And these fabrics for the lining…

 

When I shopped for fabric, I wanted to make myself the coat in the colors it is pictured as on the envelope. After buying the fabric, I did some research online about the pattern and stumbled across photographs of other sewer’s versions of the coat. Their coats are made using a more understated black fabric. I loved the way they looked so much I began to second guess my color choices. I know I can’t go back on my color selection, but if I do enjoy making the pattern, I plan to make it in a more understated color, such as black.

I picked flannel as the fabric to use for the coat because it is readily available in the yardage I needed where I live and it is lighter than the other suggested fabrics on the pattern envelope. Arizona does not get very cold in the winter, so I wanted to use a fabric that is not heavy and creates a coat that can only be worn on very cold days.

Although I picked flannel for the fashion fabric of the coat, I also picked flannel to create the design on the back of the coat. The pattern suggests fleece for the back of the coat. I wanted the coat to be machine washable and, since fleece is not machine washable, I decided to buy flannel from the same line of fabric the fashion fabric is from. As for the lining fabric, I found it in the clearance, spot check, and discontinued fabric.

I’m very excited to make this coat, but I am worried I will not be able to finish it in a month or less. I’m back to my old habits of ignoring my sewing projects and sitting around and watching TV in order to relax. There are a few reasons, but I feel like I need to start pushing myself to sew even though I may not feel up to it. I hope working on this coat and the other coat I plan on making will motivate me to start sewing more again.

 

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!