The Reconstructing History Banyan becomes a house coat/opera coat thing

The first day I wore this coat, I never saw how I looked in it. I gave my full length mirror to my teenage daughters and so shoulders-up is all I get anymore. I had my 13 year old daughter help me cut my hair into a mullet that morning, then I threw the jacket on over an all-black outfit. Even though I didn’t know how I looked, I FELT good in this thing I had made, with my badass hair, and I glided out the door to an appointment feeling like a boss.

I felt like I’d put the confidence on. People literally stopped and stared at me while I was out. I had that elusive special SOMEthing.

I’ve been pretty tired lately and not feeling productive. This opera coat/house coat was in the “easy win” sewing category and got bumped up the list of To Makes. And wearing it feels good! It is cozy, but also a statement. I was inspired by opera jackets (see a 1950’s example below, photo linked to its source on Etsy) and house coats through the ages. I feel like it works equally well as an around-the-house coat and as a out-and-about coat. I made this using the Reconstructing History Banyan pattern, widened a bit at the hem. I used the Burnley and Trowbridge method of cutting it out. Then, I added a collar instead of making a shawl collar. The collar started out about four inches high, but I cut it down and reinstalled it because that was just too much drama.I cut into some of my batik fabric from Rwanda, and lined it with a beautiful shot plaid cotton from Anuprerna. It’s technically reversible, but the Rwanda batik is a thicker fabric and kind of feels like it “belongs” on the outside.I mostly machine sewed this, but hand sewed the sleeves together, and did the buttonholes by hand because I wasn’t sure about trusting my sewing machine to the beautiful, lightweight cotton of the lining.I think I achieved the silhouette I was going for. Now we are having a super hot and muggy October and a jacket seems like a terrible idea. …But fancy housecoat, your time will come.