How to make a kids' coat

1. Materials & tools

Materials (size 110 cm)

• Main fabric (wool, quilted cotton or heavy twill) — about 110 cm wide × 150 cm (43 × 59 in)
• Fusible interfacing — for the collar and front facings
• Buttons — 4–5
• Optional: lining fabric

Tools

• Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
• Fabric marker or pencil
• Ruler and scissors
• Iron
• Pins or clips

2. Make the pattern (auto-generated in Katagami)

With the Katagami pattern tool, you just enter the finished size and it drafts a seam-allowance-included pattern, tiled to print at actual size on Letter or A4.

1. Open the tool
   Open the pattern tool and choose “Kids' clothes” → “Kids' coat” from the tabs at the top.
2. Enter the size
   Enter chest, length, shoulder width, sleeve length, cuff width, front overlap, neck width and ease. Presets cover 100–130 cm.
3. Set the seam allowance
   Use the slider at the bottom (beginners: 1.0–1.5 cm / about 3/8–5/8 in).
4. Print
   Press “Print (actual size)”, then in the print dialog set Scale = 100% and turn “Fit to page” OFF. Check the 50 mm calibration box on the first guide sheet with a ruler.

3. Cutting the fabric

1. Trace the pattern
   Trace the back (on the fold), the fronts, the sleeves, the front facings and the collar. Mark the button positions on the center front and the center-front notch at the neckline.
2. Cut
   Cut one back, two fronts, two sleeves, two front facings and two collar pieces, then fuse interfacing to one collar piece and the front facings. The buttonholes go through the front and the facing together, and the interfacing stops them stretching.
3. Finish the edges
   Serge or zigzag the shoulder, side and underarm allowances — thick fabric frays badly.

4. Sewing

4-1. Shoulders and sleeves

1. Sew both shoulder seams and press the allowances open.
2. Match the center of each sleeve head to the shoulder seam and sew the sleeve in while everything is flat.

4-2. Attach the front facings

1. Place each facing on its front, right sides together. Sew up the front edge from the hemline, pivot at the corner and continue along the neckline to the center-front notch. Clip into the allowance at the notch and trim the corner.
2. Turn the facing to the inside and press, rolling the seam about 1 mm toward the inside so the facing does not show. Baste the facing to the front along the rest of the neckline, inside the seam allowance.

4-3. Make and attach the collar

1. Sew the collar pieces right sides together along the top and both ends, stopping each end at the seam line 1 cm (3/8 in) above the lower edge and leaving the lower edge open. Trim the corners, turn and press.
2. Pin the outer collar to the neckline, right sides together, with the collar ends on the center-front notches and the collar center on the center back. Sew, then trim the neckline allowance narrow, clip the curve and press it up into the collar.
3. Turn under the allowance of the under collar to cover the seam and topstitch around the collar.

4-4. Sides, hem and buttons

1. Sew from the cuff along the underarm and down to the hem in one line.
2. Turn the cuffs and hem under twice and stitch, catching the lower end of the facings in the hem. In thick fabric, slip-stitching by hand handles the bulk better.
3. Work buttonholes on the center-front marks of the upper front and sew the buttons on the other front — large ones are easier for small hands.

✏️ Thick fabric needs a bigger needle. A size 14 or 16 will get through wool and quilted cotton; a universal 11 will snap where the seams cross.

5. Tips & variations

• Big buttons: 2 cm (¾ in) or more, so a child can button the coat without help.
• Add a lining: cut the same pattern in lining and it slides on over a sweater instead of sticking.
• Add a hood: borrow the hood from the kids' hoodie and attach it to the neckline instead of a collar.