Breezy wrists: revisiting the zero waste Jedi coat

Regular readers of this blog may remember the zero waste coat that looked like a Jedi costume. It was adapted from the tessellated coat + dress from Zero Waste Sewing. Here’s the coat from the book:

It was one of those garments which I was very happy with and thought I’d nailed every aspect: pattern, fabric, fit, sewing etc. However, I wore the coat several times during Me-Made-May and decided that the sleeves were too short for a winter coat.

I noticed it first when I was driving and my arms were bent to hold the steering wheel (yep, it’s the kind of car where one needs to wear a coat to drive in winter). Sure was breezy around the wrists! Then I wore a different coat with a better length sleeve, leaving me dissatisfied with the ones on the Jedi coat.

The problem lies with the cut of the body/sleeves. The sleeves are cut as an extension of the body, which works well if one walks around with one’s arms out horizontally.

However, when the arms are in a more natural position, the top of the sleeve is too short while the part next to the thumb is okay. If the sleeve is already a bit too short, it’s now even shorter.

See how the wrist of the coat is angled?

It sounds obvious now I’m writing it, but funnily I have other clothes with similar long sleeves (for example the Tuta) and haven’t noticed it.

And, I should say I don’t actually mind the “sleeve kicking out” shape – it looks cute on short sleeves and I quite like it on actual Jedi costumes too!

The solution: I unpicked the coat’s cuffs and put new ones on 4cm longer. Then I put a dart in the front of the elbow, shaped like a vertical eye.

Here it is on me. The sleeve on the left has the dart, which I’ve left pinned. It sits a lot straighter around the wrist now, and the length is far better!

Zero waste has kind of gone out the window, but while zero waste is a worthy goal, it shouldn’t be at the expense of fit and appearance.

I liked this coat before, but now it’s just right!

Cheers!