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Update 13/02/2020. In this post, I am sharing my Grasser men’s coat NO. 639 pattern review. But first, this story starts with the Thread Theory Goldstream Peacoat – My first men’s tailoring project was the Goldstream peacoat.

Jump to Grasser Men’s Coat Sewing Pattern Review

Back when I was a baby seamstress I decided to put on my big girl panties and make a coat for my husband – it was a baptism of fire. I selected the Goldstream peacoat as it had tonnes of sewing instructions and a sew-along.

I even sewed a toile garment and while at the time I was incredibly proud of the outcome (the coat is still around and now being worn by our oldest son) I was looking at it and oh my days! How far my sewing skills have come!

Read: Six more McCalls M6044 Shirts – From Star Wars to Tropical Dragons

Growth in sewing skills

Don’t you just love it when you can look at your past sewing projects and be able to say that “wow I sure have come a long way!” . That’s one of the reasons I love sewing so much – you have the tangible evidence right in front of you of how much you have grown your skill.

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For the Goldstream, I didn’t do any understitching, or tailoring canvas or much interfacing apart from the single interfacing. And yet the coat still functions today – makes me think and realise that I do in fact overthink a lot of my sewing projects …. but I digress.

So, enter this cashmere project which had me in fits of giggles as this was the first time I have ever sewed with cashmere. In all honesty, it was also the first time I have ever touched cashmere wool.

Cashmere Fabric – The Epitome of Luxury

Cashmere is one of those textiles, like silk – that I have associated with incredible wealth and luxury. My most recent memory of cashmere was reading about how Nigella Lawson would buy cashmere jumpers for £500 a pop while she was on trial. Titillating stuff.

So when I had the opportunity to sew a coat for Minerva I jumped at the opportunity to work with cashmere. 2019 was all about being out of the comfort zone and sewing with a scary fabric was one of those things.

Cashmere wool mix fabric.

I did quite a fair bit of research into how to actually sew with cashmere fabric. Not much info out there given its expense.

This fabric is a mix of wool and cashmere. According to what I read – you do need this to cashmere give it more strength.

Like most, super expensive things it is not necessarily that it is a super fabric but its the fact that it takes so much to create 1 meter of the fabric.

Exclusivity adds value.

The fabric is very soft to the touch and incredibly light. It has an almost imperceptible nap that becomes evident when you cut it in the wrong direction!

In terms of interfacing, I used a medium weight woven interfacing, fusible horsehair for the breastplate, knit fusible interfacing for the hems and sleeve heads.

You can see here the picture of all the work that went into the interior to make the structure.

I referred back a lot to my favourite tailoring classes on Bluprint as I was sewing this coat – in particular, Alison Smith’s Couture finishing techniques.

Tailoring Details

I actually started an finished it within 2 weeks – I know this is the sort of thing that may be annoying to hear but its true tailoring can be easier than sewing a dress. The prep work is the most important when sewing a coat. You just need to make sure that you have all the interfacing and linings ready to go.

The thickness of the cashmere fabric responded well to the structured requirements of tailoring.

Lining

The lining is medium weight satin that I bought from The Shuttle in Shipley. I did a burn test and its a synthetic for sure. It does look like liquid metal.

More Indie Sewing Patterns Reviews

Grasser No.639 Men’s Coat Review

Did Grasser No.639 look like the photo on the website?

Yes, it did. The picture is very like how it turned out even the narrow lapel collar. The welt pockets have the same angle of welts.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Grasser online sewing patterns are PDFs that come with instructions in Russian. So far they do have an English site which they are slowly adding patterns with English instructions. If you know your sewing techniques then youare fine. I have sewn tailored coats before so I was able to do this pattern.

Would you reccommend Grasser #639 sewing pattern?

Yes. On the proviso that you are experianced with doing tailoring. If you are an adventurous beginner than with books and online videos, you can do this by taking your time.

Would you sew Grasser #639 again?

I’d sew it for another person in my household. Having sewn it with a cashmere fabric this is a coat for life so I dont believe that my husband will need another one.

Conclusion – A great coat pattern with the sizing just right. The case for Grasser sewing patterns is that they get the fit right if you get your measurements right.
I hope you enjoyed reading this Grasser pattern no. 639 pattern review. Have you ever sewn with cashmere?

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