Latest Make: Woodland Wanderer

Over the last few weeks, spring has definitely sprung. The evenings are getting lighter, and some days it actually feels warm. Plus, British Summer Time has just started, so that means summer is just around the corner. Hopefully. Last week my ten year old came home from school and announced that she needed a new coat. Apparently the mahoosive winter one that is actually designed for snow is now far too hot, and please could I make her a coat for spring? Well, actually no I can’t but when I can I know just the pattern.

A few days later I went for my follow up appointment at the trauma clinic. They told me to start trying to use my hand a bit more, but no crochet for at least four more weeks.

Next up, Waves and Wild needed testers for the Woodland Wanderer coat pattern re release.

Alright Universe, I can take a hint.

I agreed with my daughter that if she did the cutting, I would do the sewing. Surely that won’t be so hard one handed?

We got out the soft shell that I had bought for another project a couple of years ago, thinking it would be perfect for this coat.

It was perfect until we discovered that we had enough for everything except the sleeves. Cue a frantic trawl of the internet to try and find just one more metre. Nope. Nada. Zilch. It is out of stock everywhere.

I posted a plea for help on social media. Kind people responded with various suggestions of places that had had it in stock. They don’t anymore. My daughter and I decided that we would order some different fabric and save the balloons for another day. By bedtime, we had narrowed it down to two fabrics, but couldn’t quite decide which one to go for. My daughter decided to sleep on it and see how she felt in the morning.

An hour or so after bedtime I got a message from the lovely Anna of Foxtown Threads, who lives not far from me. She had a scrap of the balloon fabric that would just about fit the sleeves on. I may or may not have done a happy dance.

And so, after all that palaver, I introduce to you my latest make: a woodland wanderer.

As agreed, my daughter cut the fabric for me. I tried the rotary cutter once, but it hurt my wrist too much to do any more. Besides, this way my daughter earned her new coat, right?

I made my ten year old a size twelve, so there is a bit of growing room. The pattern is designed to be lined, but as my soft shell is fleece lined, and we wanted a lighterwight coat for spring/summer, I decided not to line it. This meant it was super quick to sew up. If you have two functioning hands, that is. After about half an hour my arm was starting to hurt more than it has for a while. I couldn’t stop though, as my daughter was beyond excited about being able to wear her coat to school.

We decided to go with the button option, and my daughter chose to have mismatched buttons on her coat. This did not surprise me, given she only ever wears odd socks. We also discovered that my amazing new sewing machine can sew on buttons, which was a huge relief. There’s no way I could hand sew buttons right now.

I am so happy that I can make my kids clothes, and although I may have knackered my arm for the next week, making this woodland wanderer was worth it. Now I just need to persuade Waves and Wild that they need to do an adult version of this pattern. Who’s with me?

To celebrate it’s re-release, the Woodland Wanderer is currently on sale until 2nd April.

This pattern is the latest to be rebranded to Waves and Wild. I received a free copy of the pattern in return for my feedback and proof reading. All opinions expressed are my own.