It's hard to believe it started out as 2 separate (exterior & lining) 2-yards of folded over fabric.

My mom and I used this pattern a guide but before I made the first cut I told her I wanted to make changes and wanted it to look like how it turned out, rather than what the pattern calls for.

I learned with sewing, you really have to be willing to compromise and go with the flow. I went out looking for a solid black external fabric that was sturdy and warm and I wanted the lining to be patterned.

The first fabric store we visited had a great interior fabric but the only semi decent exterior fabrics were suit linings. And of course the interior fabric was about half of a yard short.

The second fabric store we visited had a great selection of sturdy exterior fabrics but I didn't find a interior one that matched, so it was back to fabric store #1 to find something new and make it work.

"Sew me like one of your French girls"

I debated going with a solid interior color, but I didn't find a color that really spoke to me. The greens were too springy and the red's too bleh. The polkadots really caught my eye. Mixing patterns is so in and I think the exterior's chevron-ish pattern is really complimented by the polkadots. Thank God, because I saw starting to panic leading up to sewing the pieces together.

My mom and I totaled it up and after all the supplies and trips to visor fabric stores, the coat totals around $50, which isn't that bad when you think about what something like this could go for in the store. All of the items we got were also on sale and/or had a coupon and/or military discount we could apply. The exterior fabric was 60% off, the lining 50%, the toggle and thread had a military discount applied to one and coupon applied to another. Savvy shopping for the win!