A Short Ulysses

I perused the Ulysses Trench pattern when it came out earlier this year, but wasn't truly sold until I saw this wool coat lookalike pop up on Pinterest a few months ago. While I have little use for a lightweight jacket this time of year, wouldn't it be fun to sew up this style in something warm and snuggly? 

Pattern: Victory Patterns' Ulysess Trench

Fabric: 3 yds Italian black wool stretch twill 

Cost: free/remnant

I had very limited yardage for this left over from another project, so I figured I would make a shortened version like my inspiration picture. I barely squeezed all the pieces out of my fabric and was left with just a handful of scraps, but I even managed to cut the "rain guard" overlay (just not on the bias). 

This was my first pattern from Victory Patterns and it was a pleasure to sew. Everything came together beautifully. She has great attention to detail, the most obvious one being the clever way that the "rain guard" overlay forms the belt loops at the waist. I also like the way the angle of the overlay seems to mirror the angle of the center waterfall front pieces. I tried to capture that in the photo below, where you can see that the same angle is carried over from back to front.

I made a few modifications to make this pattern work for a thicker winter wool. For one, I wouldn't bind all the seams in self fabric, as that would be way too bulky. For this version, I finished the inside seams with a serger and topstitched them down. I also used bias tape made from cotton shirting to bind the front and neckline edges rather than turning them under twice. After trying on the jacket, I also decided to line the sleeves in a softer knit fabric so the wool wouldn't irritate my skin. It is so comfy now!

 Finally, as this is a warmer winter jacket, I also plan to add some sort of closure other than the tie belt. I don't love how it looks all tied up and don't enjoy having the tie dangling when it's open. I have some snaps I could add, but I might pop into Stonemountain to see if they have any magnetic closures that I could add to each side to hold it in place without the belt. We'll see.



Overall this was a pretty quick and satisfying project. I wore it almost every day over the holidays after I finished it, as it was great for walking around and also lounging around the house when our heater went off. I also love the versions of the Ulysses I've seen in lighter fabrics, but for me this has been a much more wearable option with some unique details.