Named Isla Trench Coat

If you’re looking to make a classic trench coat, I don’t think you need look much further than the Isla sewing pattern. It’s an intricate and advanced pattern with loads of lovely design details.

From the extensive topstitching to the gorgeous cape features, it really does make for a smart coat. And being fully lined it looks beautiful inside and out.

This project is a bit of an undertaking, though, so it’s probably best to tackle it in short bursts and expect it to take you several sewing sessions. But it’s definitely achievable and you should end up with a lovely trench coat for all your efforts.

I used a showerproof cotton-blend twill, underlined with lightweight cotton calico, for my trench coat. It is lined with viscose in the body and with a viscose twill lining fabric in the sleeves. I made a straight size 38 and shortened the pattern pieces by 4”/10cm.

I found the drafting and the instructions to be generally really good and easy to follow, although the vent instructions/diagrams could have been a touch more detailed. In the end I chose to hand stitch the lining around the vent and hems, as I often do for outerwear, to avoid the risk of any issues with the bagging out method.

My more detailed review on my blog (www.michellesews.com) will include video on how I dealt with the lining and some further thoughts and tips if you’re making this pattern. But, long story short, I fully recommend this pattern and hope to make a wool coat from it one day!

The Isla Trench contains all the classic tailoring and construction of a RTW trench and wouldn't be out of place amongst its Burberry peers. This will be a staple in any wardrobe and will be worn year after year, so you will justify the amount of time needed for the construction.

I would say the only down side of this pattern is that the pieces are overlaid, so I opted to get a copy shop print out and still had to labour over tracing out the pieces, that's my personal pain point, so if you can stretch to printing out two of each sheet, it might take the pain out of some of this part of the process.

The instructions are thorough and there are plenty of them. I re-read them hundreds of times! This project is advanced and not for the faint hearted. If you have lined a jacket or coat before though, I think you could take this project on and it takes you from confident beginner to advanced sewist.

It was my first time making welt pockets, so I found this a bit tricky, mine are far from perfect, despite making a toile, if I were to make this again, I would toile the welt pockets in a scrap of my shell fabric to match the weight of the pockets for the finished garments.

Aside from that it comes together well, not quickly in my case, I stitched away at this for weeks and weeks, but could easily come together in two weekends if you put your mind to it.

I love all the top stitching detail and decided not to use a top stitching thread, as my machine kept eating it up and secondly to save time switching between threads.

A great project to get your teeth into, one you'll wear 80% of the year int he UK let's be honest. One I would make again, maybe in 10 years or so and maybe in a wool for colder climates.

More photos on my make and construction over on my blog: https://makersgottomake.co.uk/2019/06/28/isla-trench-coat/

Hi all! This is by far the biggest project I've ever undertaken, but I'm so glad I saw it through. I love my finished Named Clothing Isla Trench and would absolutely make it again (if I had a need for multiple trenches in my wardrobe)!

Approaching the project isn't for the faint-hearted. The PDF pattern is HUGE, so lots of sticking together, and some of the pieces are overlapped so there's still some tracing to do. The jacket is made up of 24 pattern pieces in total, many of which you have to cut out multiple times in the outer fabric, lining and interfacing. One positive though, and a bit of myth busting here: seam allowances are included in the PDF version of the Isla (phew)!

It's not the cheapest project to embark upon either; requiring 3.5m for the outer alone (I used mid-weight denim for mine), plus lining fabric, over 2m of interfacing and notions. Seeing the results come together has made it absolutely worth it though!

Once all the prep was done, the whole jacket came together surprisingly fast! The instructions are very clear and methodical. I felt like could approach the make one element at a time - first the welt pocket, then the cape, then the collar - and breaking it down made the project feel much more manageable.

There are lots of little details (nearly every edge is double topstitched too) which are really fun to construct and make for a really professional finish. The whole sew was smooth, even the lining/bagging out stage, which I had expected to be difficult based on previous bagging out confusions. Joining the inside of the vent to the lining was probably the hardest bit to sew neatly, but luckily is hidden away on the inside.

The only thing I'd do differently is to make bound button holes for a better finish as the regular ones don't quite cut it, particularly when the rest of the jacket is finished to such a high standard.

I'm absolutely thrilled with my finished Isla and couldn't recommend the pattern any more. It's actually turned out to be my favourite jacket sewing experience ever, and might just be my favourite Named pattern too. Don't be put off by the 5-scissor difficulty rating, just give it a go. When I eventually got started, it took me a little under 2 weeks of evening/weekend sewing to finish.

There's a full review and LOTS more pictures of the little details on my blog now if you'd like to see more: http://www.magnificentthread.com/2017/11/named-clothing-isla-trench-coat.html