Fashion, Lifestyle, Pattern Hack, Sewing
Victoria Beckham Taylor Trench Coat Hack
Mar
Victoria Beckham
Taylor Trench Coat Hack
I fell in love with Victoria Beckham’s bright Yellow Trench coat the moment I first saw it a few years back. The lovely pleats that line the bottom, the wide 3/4 length sleeves, and the bright yellow color come together for a lovely new take on a trench coat.
I knew that our classic Taylor Trench Coat pattern (which comes in adult, children, and even doll sizes) would be the perfect pattern to use, with some minor hacks. In this blog, I’ll dig into hacking the Taylor Trench into the Victoria Beckham-inspired trench coat of your dreams.
Credit: Robert Kamau/GC Images
Cutting Guide:
The Taylor Trench Coat pattern comes with a coat length option that falls approximately mid-thigh and a trench length option that falls between the knee and mid-calf.
Pieces to Cut:
- 2x Front at Trench Length
- 2x Front Facing at Trench Length
- 2x Side Front at Coat Length
- 2x Side Back at Coat Length
- 2x Back at Coat Length
- 2x Lantern Sleeve Dress Sleeves
- 1x Top Collar
- 2x Collar Band
- 1x Under Collar
- 2x Patch Pockets Self Drafted or from Ultimate Patch Pockets pattern
You will not need to cut the front or back yoke pieces, coat lining pieces, hood pieces or belt loop pieces. Victoria Beckham’s original jacket did not have any of these features.
Assembling the Coat:
1. Start by following step 2 in the Taylor Trench Coat Pattern instructions to sew the front pieces.
2. Grab your self-drafted patch pockets or patch pocket pieces from the Ultimate Patch Pockets pattern. Finish the top of each pocket piece by folding it under 1/4 inch then another fold of 1/2 inch. Stitch along the edge. Turn and press the outer edges by 1/4 inch. Pin in place on the Side Front pattern pieces and stitch.
3. Continue with the Taylor Trench Coat Pattern picking up at step 5 and sewing the back pieces. Once you’ve completed step 5, do not sew the optional back yoke pieces.
4. Next, skip to step 8 in the Taylor Trench Coat Pattern joining the front and back pieces together.
Yay! You’ve just completed a large part of the trench coat! Go take a break, pat yourself on the back, and grab a cup of tea to celebrate!
Planning the Pleats:
Now that you’ve assembled the main part of the trench coat, we’ll want to prepare the pleats to fill in the gap between the long front pieces. Since the length of the pleated strip of fabric will change depending on the pattern size you’re using, we’ll need to measure this part.
Lay the assembled coat out flat on a table as shown in the diagram. Measure from inside the front pieces. Take that measurement and add a 1-inch seam allowance to the measurement. Now, double the measurement with seam allowance to ensure that you have enough fabric for pleating.
Making the Pleats:
There are many methods for making pleats, and you can use the method that you prefer.
- Pick up a 1-inch wide ruler.
- Measure and mark 1/2 seam allowance on both ends of the fabric.
- Starting 1/2 inch in from the end, fold the fabric over the ruler to develop a pleat.
- Pin the pleat in place and stitch. You can stitch either the top 4 inches of the pleat to hold it down or stitch down through the entire pleat as I did in my video.
- Repeat until you’ve created enough pleats to fill the opening in the coat. Be sure to stop creating pleats when you hit the 1/2 inch mark on the other end.
Finishing the Pleating:
- With the rights together, pin the top long end of the pleated fabric piece to the bottom of the assembled coat length side front, side back, and back pieces. Stitch together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
- Pin the sides of the pleated fabric piece to the front pattern pieces on both sides. Stitch the sides with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
- You should now have a full trench-length coat!
Assembling the Sleeves:
Just a reminder to grab the sleeve pattern pieces from the Lantern Sleeve Maxi Dress pattern if you want to follow my hack exactly!
- Make a memory hem in the sleeve by ironing a 1/2 inch up from the raw edge of the sleeve bottom.
- Fold another 1/2 inch memory hem in the sleeve bottom. This will set you up nicely for hemming the sleeve later on.
- Fold the sleeve in half lengthwise down the center, right sides together, and stitch at a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
- Align the sleeve within the coat, right sides together, and pin in place. Stitch with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
- Use the memory hem to easily stitch the hem in the sleeve.
- Repeat steps 1-4 for the other sleeve.
Finishing Touches:
- Follow the Taylor Trench Pattern instructions, starting at step 13 to make the collar.
- Add a few extra lines of top stitching to the collar for added detail.
- The original Victoria Beckham coat does not have buttonholes on the front of the jacket. You can add buttonholes to your jacket to make it more wearable, but I did not add them to my jacket. Use the buttonhole and button markings on the front pattern pieces for alignment.
- Stitch optional buttonholes or just sew on buttons for the faux button look.
Your new Victoria Beckham inspired Taylor Trench Coat is the perfect chic coat to pair with your favorite dresses or for everyday. Brighten my day and share your Taylor Trench Coat hack on Instagram by tagging @RebeccaJPage or joining our Facebook community.
