This master class is suitable for pattern 3217 (height 164–172 cm) — a women’s lined coat made from faux mink fur or similar fabrics. The model is a moderate oversized straight silhouette with a dropped shoulder sleeve, a stand-and-fall collar with lapels, and a hook closure. The garment can be worn with or without a belt.
Ease allowances (for standard measurements): +20 cm at the bust, +12 cm at the hips.
Main fabric: faux fur on a knitted backing (faux mink or similar). It is important that the backing is stable enough and does not “run” or spread from small cuts.
Lining: a slippery medium-weight lining fabric (viscose/polyester).
Interfacing: fusible interfacing for the front facing (up to the fold line) and for the collar pieces (under collar and under stand); fusible stay tape/grainline tape to stabilize the front edge, lapel, shoulders, and neckline (if needed).
Notions: fur coat hooks — 3 pcs.
Tools: a utility knife (or very sharp scissors for cutting only the backing), a brush for combing pile out of seams, a fine needle/awl to “separate” fibers for eyelets/loops.
| Size | 42 | 44 | 46 | 48 | 50 | 52 | 54 | 56 | 58 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main fabric (width 1.5 m) | 1.60* | 1.60* | 1.60* | 1.65* | 1.70* | 1.75* | 1.80* | 1.85* | 2.15* |
| Lining (width 1.5 m) | 1.15* | 1.15* | 1.15* | 1.20* | 1.20* | 1.20* | 1.20* | 1.25* | 1.25* |
| Interfacing (width 1.5 m) | 0.45* | 0.45* | 0.45* | 0.45* | 0.45* | 0.50* | 0.50* | 0.50* | 0.50* |
* Material requirements are given without allowances for shrinkage, skewing, layout gaps, and other technical waste.
Before you start, determine the pile direction and place the pattern pieces so that the pile looks neat on the finished garment (most often, it is directed “down”). Marking is best done with tailor’s chalk or an erasable pen. Do not make snips/notches with scissors on faux fur — the knit backing may spread, and the cut can grow. Mark balance points with small marks instead.
Faux fur often reacts poorly to steam. If you use fusible interfacings, work without steam and touch the iron very carefully. Ideally, fuse using the edge of the iron and avoid covering the entire piece. If the fur is damaged even this way, stabilize it without fusing: hand-baste the tape or stitch on a thin stabilizing strip.
It is recommended to stabilize (if needed): the front edge, the lapel fold line, shoulder seams, the front neckline, and the back neckline. The armholes may be left unfused if the backing is stable. The hem can remain soft and unfused if you plan to hem by hand and the fabric does not distort.
Step 1. Cut the faux fur with the fabric folded right sides together. Cut the front pieces separately for left and right, and the back pieces separately as well (by halves). Cut the sleeves the same way.
Step 2. Cut only the backing, without cutting the pile: use a utility knife or the tip of scissors, sliding “under” the pile and cutting only the knit backing. This keeps the underfur intact and makes the edges neat.
Step 3. If necessary, stabilize the key areas (see “Preparing…”). This is especially important for the shoulders so they do not stretch under the weight of the fur.
Step 4. Sew the shoulder and side seams of the outer coat. The pattern includes a seam allowance of 0.3 cm for these areas. Stitch with a zigzag (approximate zigzag width 4 mm), fairly dense. While sewing, use your finger/a ruler to keep the pile out of the seam so it doesn’t get caught in the stitching.
Step 5. Open up the seams visually: use a needle to gently pull out any pile caught in the stitching, then brush the seams. This makes seams less noticeable.
Step 6. Mark the hem: measure 5 cm for the turn-up and draw an extra guideline 10 cm above the hem — this helps you keep the hand hemming even.
Step 7. Lining: interface the facing up to the fold line (a dedicated interfacing pattern piece is included). Work without steam. Sew the facing to the front lining, then sew the lining shoulder and side seams. Sew a hanger loop into the back neckline of the lining.
Step 8. Prepare the front edge and lapel for joining with the lining: to reduce bulk, trim/cut away the pile along the future seam line within the seam allowance. A good guideline is 6–7 mm (no more, to avoid bald spots). Do the same on the facings and the coat front edges.
Step 9. Join the outer coat and lining at the hem: lay the coat right side up, place the lining right sides together, and sew along the hem with a 1 cm seam. While sewing, push as much pile as possible inward, away from the stitch line.
Step 10. Join the front edge and facing along the front and lapel: place pieces right sides together, keep the pile away from the seam, and stitch. The lapel has built-in easing: the upper lapel is larger for the turn of cloth, so ease the upper lapel onto the lower while stitching.
Step 11. Clip at the point where the collar will be inserted (lapel-to-neckline transition): clip up to the start of the seam line, stopping about 1 mm before the stitching. Trim excess seam allowances if needed (on the facing/lower lapel side) to reduce bulk. Turn right side out, pull the pile out of the seam with a needle, and brush.
Step 12. Shape the front edge and lapel by hand to set the turn if the fur cannot be pressed: with matching thread, make small stitches catching only the backing, controlling the turn of cloth. Spacing between stitches is about 1.5 cm. Do not pull the thread tight — there should be slight ease. Secure the facing side in the same way.
Step 13. Prepare the collar pieces: the collar consists of an upper and under collar and an upper and under stand. Interface the under collar and under stand: first fuse interfacing to a scrap slightly larger than the piece, then cut the exact pieces. Before sewing, reduce bulk by trimming the pile within the seam allowances about 0.7 cm around the collar pieces.
Step 14. Sew the collar: sew the under stand to the under collar with a 1 cm seam. Sew the upper collar (by construction) along the center seam and attach the upper stand. Stitch the upper and under collars together along the top edge and outer edge, keeping in mind that the upper collar is larger for the turn of cloth — ease it onto the under collar. Turn right side out, shape the edges, and brush the pile along the seams.
Step 15. Set the collar into the neckline, matching the balance marks. From the inside opening, carefully secure the seam allowances of the upper and under collar together with hand stitches close to the seam — this stabilizes the collar and improves the fit.
Step 16. “Hide” all seams with the pile: brush the seams first against the pile (pulling the pile out of the stitching), then with the pile. Go over the shoulders, sides, front edge, lapels, collar, and the collar insertion seam.
Step 17. Sleeves: mark the sleeve hem the same way as the coat hem. Sew the sleeve seam with zigzag using a 0.3 cm seam, turn, and brush the seam. Sew the sleeve lining separately. Insert the lining into the sleeve (right sides together at the hem), stitch, and form the hem. Hand-stitch the sleeve hem.
Step 18. Set the sleeves into the armholes, matching the marks, with zigzag using a 0.3 cm seam. While sewing, keep the pile away from the stitching; then brush the pile out of the seam.
Step 19. Mark and sew on the hooks (3 pcs.): place the bottom hook 20–25 cm above the hem, the top hook at the lapel fold line, and the middle hook between them. Sew hooks close to the front edge with dense hand stitches.
Step 20. Make loops/attach the corresponding part: determine loop placement by the pattern marks or by your preferred overlap. Form openings by spreading the fibers (with an awl/thick needle) rather than cutting slits. After installation, test the closure — it should click firmly.
Step 21. Closing the hem and the turning opening: make a turning opening in the lining of the left sleeve along the seam (about 20 cm) to access the inside. Through the opening, attach the lining to the hem, then hand-hem the coat along the fold line. Close the sleeve opening with invisible hand stitches.
Step 22. Belt (optional): cut 2 strips (preferably wider to make turning easier). Watch the pile direction: on both pieces the pile should be oriented so that when tied, the pile points downward. Sew around the perimeter with zigzag using a 0.3 cm seam, leave a small opening, turn right side out, close the opening by hand, and secure the edge with hand “pick-stitching” (setting stitches). If desired, the belt can be replaced with a leather one.