University of Fashion’s new lesson: Drafting a Women’s Wrap Coat

The temperature is dropping, the leaves are falling and you’ve been looking for your next challenge – well, here it is! Why not draft and make your own coat or cape? We have just added a wrap coat lesson and a cape lesson to make that happen. Our wrap coat lesson teaches you how to draft a women’s belted wrap coat with an oversized collar, set-in sleeves and patch pockets. You will also learn how to draft a full lining for the coat. Wrap coats are great. No button and button closures to deal with (sigh!) and it is one of the most casual coats to wear. Whether you choose a soft wool gabardine or a medium weight cashmere, or even a velvet so you can wear it for formal occasions, a wrap coat is versatile. If you are a skilled sewer, why not even consider making it in faux suede?

In the lesson you will learn how to interpret our wrap coat sketch to determine such things as: the coat’s length, the collar width, the pocket size and placement, the belt width, and the amount of wrap underlay and coat sweep.

University of Fashion wrap coat illustration by Steven Broadway

University of Fashion’s new lesson: Click to view the lesson preview: Drafting a Women’s Cape Coat

Our women’s cape coat lesson includes a hood and a full lining. You will learn how to interpret the cape sketch, starting with the cape’s length, its sweep, the pocket placement, hood height, button and buttonhole placement and how to draft a lining.

Capes can be formal or casual when made in either velvet, or a wool and wool plaid. And if you’re up to it, why not make it reversible, with one side out of a water-repellant material and the other side a lightweight wool? There are so many design options with this style. Let your imagination take over!

It All Starts with the Sloper Library

University of Fashion lessons on how to convert Basic Slopers to Suit & Coat Slopers

As every smart designer/pattern maker knows, it all starts with the right slopers. Our coat and cape lessons are based off the slopers that we teach on the University of Fashion website. Starting with sleeves: how to draft a basic straight sleeve sloper from measurements, then how convert it to a fitted sleeve, then how to convert that fitted sleeve to a suit sleeve.

For the body, we start with drafting a basic bodice from measurements, and then convert it to a torso sloper. From there we convert the torso sloper to a suit jacket sloper, and then the suit jacket sloper gets converted to a coat body & sleeve sloper. Once your sloper library is complete, you’ll have a ball designing coats (and suits) to your heart’s content!

Share your cape and coats with us on Instagram @uofprojects. We’d love to see how creative you can be!