Tutorial Time: A Crafty Little Fox Coat

There is something about Fall that makes animal feature coats extra cute.  Maybe it's so many sweet woodland critters to pick from?  My middle guy needed a new fleece jacket, so I raided my stash and whipped up my fun Crafty Little Fox Coat for him with just a basic pattern, fleece and a little initiative:

Clever like a fox thanks to a fleecy fox coat

This little fox's ears prick up at any sign of danger...

...or food:

He likes peeking around corners to see who's around, so he had to have a fun tail like a real fox:

The tail is even 3-dimensional for some extra realism (and cuddly cuteness):

There are also cozy front pockets to keep hands warm.  I deliberately made the sleeves a little long too, so we could roll up the cuffs for a little color detail (and get some extra wear time as he grows).

A fox coat is so much fun for pretending in and making the everyday a little more magical:

I used this base pattern previously to do my Just A Giraffe Fleece Coat:

It was complete with ears, horns and a swingy tail:

Now onto this season's critter - the Little Fox!

How I made it:

For the coat itself, a basic fleece zip-up hoodie pattern was needed. There are lots out there, but I used Simplicity 5362.  That pattern was ideal because it's easy to sew (and includes kids & adults sizes).  I drafted up some ear pieces that were about 3 inches wide by 4 inches high and cut out two pairs: one each from my red and cream anti-pill fleeces:

I stitched my ears together (right sides facing) with a 1/4 inch seam allowance and then trimmed the seams down with pinking shears to make it easy to turn them right side out:

I stitched together the hood pieces and I clipped a small line on either side of the hood just 1/2 inch smaller than the width of each ear and inserted them in.  I wanted to have a little fold in the front to give the ears a little curved shape when sewn in.  

On the wrong side, I stitched across the opening to close it and sandwich the hood & ear layers together. 

For the tail I freehand drew a bushy & curved fox tail on paper to make a pattern to fit my coat's back panel.  I drew an irregular zig-zag  near the top for the white tip.

I cut out the main tail piece from my red fleece and then cut off the tip section and used it to cut out that portion  from the cream fleece.  I cut that piece just slightly larger than the pattern (maybe an extra 1/8 inch all the way around) so that it would totally cover the red piece when put together.

I top stitched the white tip onto the red tail at the zig-zag.

Then I pinned the tail to the back panel and topstitched them together from one side of the tail, up and back down to the other, leaving the bottom section open.

I gently stuff the tail with polyfill to give it some body and then basted the opening closed:

I followed the pattern directions to put all the pieces together to make the actual coat.  This pattern happens to be unlined, so I made two jackets - the one with the fox features and a second one with cream fleece sleeves for the lining. 

To attach the outer & lining, I did the sleeves first by folding the sleeve cuff of the lining right side out and inserting it into the corresponding sleeve of the outer: 

Then, I pinned them together, matching up the seams and stitched them together:

To put the main parts of the coat outer & lining together, I pinned, then sewed the lining and outer together around the front, hood and bottom edges, leaving a few inch gap at the bottom to turn right side out.  I turned everything right side out, pushed the lining into the outer coat and then slipstitched the opening closed.

I rolled up the sleeves so the creamy lining would show at the cuffs.

Now my little guy is ready to be as clever and warm as a fox this Fall: