Over two months ago, I began working on what would become our first Mood Sewing Network project: a sleeveless Sapporo Coat by Papercut Patterns. Believe it or not, when I first started the muslin and fitting process of this coat (see instagram stories here and here), it was actually still cold outside! While I had originally intended to make a long sleeved version in boiled wool, but with spring well underway – that just didn’t make sense anymore. So of course, while browsing the fabrics at Mood Fabrics I started looking for linens, and everything snowballed from there!
Mood Sewing Network Details
Before we dive in, we just wanted to share that Sew Altered Style is proud to announce our new partnership with Mood Fabrics as a part of their Mood Sewing Network. This partnership enables us to select incredibly high-quality fabrics to use from Mood Fabrics in our posts. This helps us continue to bring you the valuable sewing content you have come to expect from us here at Sew Altered Style. That said, we do want to share that all opinions expressed are our own.
Why Sew a Sleeveless Sapporo Coat Now?
As you all know, a lot has happened in the world in the last couple months (Covid-19, cities locked down, in-person school cancelled in lieu of online substitutes, etc.), and it was nice to roll my sleeves up and invest in a meaty (albeit slow) sewing project like a coat. The slow stitching allowed me to drown out the noise of today’s environment – even if only for a short while.
A meaty sewing project deserves an even meatier blog post, so I plan to split my blog posts. My plan for today is to walk you through the design decisions I made, as well as to talk about the fabulous fabric that I received from Mood as a member of the Mood Sewing Network. Then, in my next post, I plan to dive into the specifics of taking the pattern and adapting it to my petite frame. Of COURSE, you know that our firm belief here on Sew Altered Style is that you should have clothes that fit you well, and the best way to get there is to start with a muslin (see our posts here and here on the importance and mechanics of making muslins).
About the Sapporo Coat
The Papercut Sapporo Coat was originally released in 2016 with the Papercut Sakura collection. It has been made countless times, with 3,700+ posts on the hashtag! In December of 2019, Papercut re-released the pattern as the Sapporo 2.0. According to their website:
The NEW Sapporo Coat/Jacket comes with 2 different sleeve options, a new length AND a new extended size range. Make it a full-length coat or a shorter jacket, use a soft fabric for a cosy coatigan, rock it in a linen for all your summer cover-up needs, or a boiled wool to keep you warm in the winter.
The pattern is a fully-lined, cocoon style jacket with pockets cleverly hidden in the front seams
Sleeveless Sapporo Design Details
With the warm weather rapidly creeping up on us, I knew I wanted to give a sleeveless Sapporo version a try. I agonized over the decision, put up a poll in my stories about it and crowdsourced perspectives. Ultimately, I was given a great piece of advice: “sew it for the season you are in, so that you will get lots of wear out of it!” Simple advice, but it immediately made it easier for me to make intentional design decisions.
I wasn’t sure how I would finish the sleeves, but I figured that was a minor detail I could worry about later. I was sure I would be able to finish the sleeve as written in the pattern (this step-by-step tutorial on Papercut’s blog makes it seriously SO EASY!), and even if not, I could always bound the sleeve hem with a bias binding anyway.
All About the Colorblocking
I knew I wanted to “colorblock” the jacket, but still keep it neutral (does that make it a “neutral-block, instead of a “colorblock”?), so I wavered between using two darker linens and two lighter linens. Ultimately, I thought the lighter linen colors would be better for Spring and Fall and probably go with more, so I just dived in.
The two linen colors I used were the Wide Ostrava Sand Linen Woven for the upper and sleeves, and the Wide Ostrava Natural Linen Woven for the bottom and center back.
What’s nice about the two fabrics is that from the front the colors just kind of blend into each other, but from the back – the two shades against each other really help to highlight the design details. Look at the way it curves in the back, just about kissing the seam line in the front. So, so good, friends!
Did you notice that you can just BARELY see the handsewn blind hem stitches I completed? I really took my time with this make, and hopefully it shows. Now, while the coat exudes simplicity at it’s finest (in its elevated yet subtle outside design), the REAL punch is in the lining. I went ALL OUT there!
About the Lining
I selected the Mood Exclusive Kernel of Truth Cotton Voile Fabric for the lining and it was even better in person than I could have ever expected! The fabric pairs quite nicely with my Papercut Array Top (additional photos here and other versions here) and Anna Allen Persephone Pants (blogged here). That’s right, I am in 100% me mades for this photo shoot!
I love this fabric so much, I have considered wearing the coat inside out!
And honestly, with all the enclosed seams (and mitered corners, swoon), I just might!
Final Verdict on the Sleeveless Sapporo
In conclusion, I am THRILLED with this sleeveless Sapporo coat! Every moment spent working on it has been a JOY! Now you tell us, what has been your favorite part of the process? Have you been following along with the series on Instagram? Would you wear the coat inside out instead? Let us know in the comments below!
