You know you've found a winner when as soon as you finish one you want to make another, and that's exactly how I felt when I made my first Papercut Patterns Nova Coat.
I made the coat version in a cozy warm wool for my #makenine in 2021, and now in 2022 I'm making a lighter jacket!
The Nova Coat/Jacket is incredibly popular and it's easy to see why - it's a really well-designed pattern, it's satisfying to put together, and it looks fantastic on pretty much everyone. Oh, and Papercut Patterns has recently released a Curve version!
I've already had a full winter's wear of my wool version (made in fabric from Tessuti Fabrics, a splurge but it was thankfully included in their January sale last year) and it quickly became my go-to, dressing up any outfit even when I was feeling rather anti-fashion in the middle of lockdown.
Before cutting out your fabric I recommend thinking carefully about the kind of fit you want for this jacket or coat, and in general I also recommend sizing down. It's quite an oversized fit (of course if this is what you're going for don't size down!) and I personally found it to be a little too big when I made what the size chart told me to when making it the first time in my heavier wool (a size 3 or 4).
In the end I needed to take some time bringing the sleeve up, and the nature of this pattern is to have a lot of fabric under the arms. In my slightly-too-big woollen coat I felt a bit overwhelmed so I also reduced the fabric under my arms so it's closer to a 90 degree angle. Honestly with the weight of the wool it still has an almost identical effect.
I took the lessons I learned about sizing on board when I put together my second version for my #makenine2022, which is in a lighter cotton gingham from Spotlight. I knew for a long time that I wanted to make a summer version of the Nova Coat but waited until I found the right fabric, and this one is perfect because it's subtle and neutral, but in no way boring. It's lined with a remnant also from Spotlight, which I think is a cotton/rayon/flax blend in a similar natural colour.
This time, for the jacket length version (but still with long sleeves), I re-printed my pattern pieces and cut out a size 1, which I now realise is what I should have made the first time around! No modifications were needed; I made it exactly as written and it's perfection. The excess fabric under the arms is no issue here since my cotton is lightweight and it drapes nicely.
As an aside, the Nova Coat is somehow cursed for me?! No problem with the pattern itself, rather it's me - with both versions I managed to cut out one pattern piece with part of the paper pattern folded under and I needed to patch in an extra piece because I'd rather some patchwork than wasting fabric by cutting it all out again (the pattern pieces in this one are rather large).
On the coat, it was the back lining, and on the jacket it was the outer back, and so both have earned a 'Perfectly Imperfect' label from Kylie and the Machine.
Like I said at the beginning of this post, the Nova Coat/Jacket is a great pattern; it's straightforward and stunning. I highly recommend you make one (or two!).
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