Gry's coat

First, a few words about myself. My name is Gry and I live in Copenhagen, Denmark. I am interested in pattern drafting and have the last three years been taking evening classes in pattern drafting at Københavns Tilskærer Akademi. This was a school of pattern drafting in Copenhagen. Sadly, it closed last month due to lack of pupils. The courses I have taken almost cover the same curriculum as the full-time course, but of course there were a lot less exercises at the evening classes. So I know the theory, but lack experience in pattern drafting. So far I have only made simple designs for trousers and dresses, and this is my first big project based on a home-drafted pattern.

The coat is based on a jacket I saw at H&M last winter. I wanted to buy it, but since we were doing wide raglan sleeves at my evening classes, I thought I might try to do it myself. I made the pattern at classes and adjusted it, but never got as far as to actually make the coat. So when I heard about this sew-along, I thought it was time to take up the coat again.

The design is an A-line coat with wide 3/4 raglan sleeves and vertical intersections. The pattern was based on a well-fitting block, so I mainly did the muslin to work on the design. Overall, I am very satisfied with the coat. The raglan sleeves fit very nicely. Still, there are a lot of details to work with:

• The collar. Right now, I am most inclined to leave the coat collarless, but I have had about eight different collars up for consideration. A flat Peter Pan-style collar would give the coat a 60's look, a mandarin collar a 50's touch and a funnel neck-style collar a more modern look. I have also thought about more advanced collars. I will probably make a couple of different collars and try them out on the muslin.
• The intersections. I will try to alter the slope a bit and make the intersections a bit more vertical.
  
• Buttons. I like the look with just one visible button, but I don't know how to make the hidden buttons? In one BWOF magazine I found a model that used snaps instead of buttons, but I have also seen coats in shops with hidden buttons in different styles.
  
• Pockets. I have made in-seam pockets, but I am still considering the details (I don't know the correct English term for the kind of pocket I have in mind).
  
• Fabric. I designed the coat with a specific fabric from my stash in mind, but there is not enough fabric. It could work if I shortened the coat 2 inches, but I don't think I want to do that.
  

This the curse of home-drafted patterns. Every little detail must be considered, and there is no 'just doing as the pattern suggests'. The time spent on each project escalates rapidly as I gain more experience and get more options.