An Extravagance - Untouched World Zephyr Ecopossum Coat Cardi

This winter I bought a long-line coat cardi from Untouched World in a dark charcoal colour (graphite). It has been such a popular garment for Untouched World that they have remade it a number of times through the season. This was very lucky for me because I initially rejected it when I tried it on in April, before our trip to the UK.  My mind must have been on the travel wardrobe and warmer climes. In June having returned to the harsh realities of winter I was keen to add this to my wardrobe but had to wait for a new batch to be manufactured.

This has been an absolutely essential garment for me this winter. It has been worn so much.  Here are just two examples of it in daily wear.

Left: Cut Make Trim Tee with Andrea Moore Endless Love trousers
Right: Moochi Enclose Tabard with self-drafted leggings

You may wonder what my love for the graphite Ecopossum Coat Cardi has to do with a sewing blog. Well you see the other base colour in my wardrobe is navy and it hasn't seen much wear this winter because of my aforementioned love. Enter the Untouched World winter sale where an Ecopossum sweater dress size large and a Bleep scarf both in colourway zephyr (navy) become an Untouched World Zephyr Ecopossum Coat Cardi. Does this count as upcycling?

Photos courtesy of Untouched World™

The finished garment

Apologies for the photographs - it has proven very difficult to accurately represent the zephyr colour of this coat cardi.

Zephyr Ecopossum coat cardi worn with the Meandering Chrysanthemum Swirl top and French Dressing jeans

The fabric

No actual fabric just two ready-to-wear items made into something else!  I know it might seem scandalous to take a perfectly good knee length dress with a roll neck and chop it up especially when the dress itself did look good on. However I have reached the age for layering. A very warm cosy dress is no longer practical as I can't take it off for those extreme heat moments. Work have a pretty relaxed dress code but work colleagues shouldn't be exposed to some things.

Untouched World themselves recommend you recycle, upcycle or compost your garment at end of life.  Not sure they would consider end of life as five minutes after purchase.

The pattern

No pattern either, although I did have my original coat cardi to get an idea of the shape I wanted.

The dress laid out on the cutting board

Cutting lines marked and ready to go

The cut up dress

The ribbed scarf marked by pins on the cut line

...and the scarf cut in half

The waste and my new favourite quick unpick (thanks Cheryll)

Untouched World believe in striving for zero waste and I came pretty close to it with this re-make. All that was left is the V removed from the front body to achieve the v-neck and two 9" half scarf pieces. You might see the two 9" half scarf pieces feature in a future garment as they are big enough to use as a sleeve cuff, even though the rib is running in the wrong direction. Can't think of an obvious use for the V piece.

The roll neck is not included in the waste as it was chopped off complete and I intend to bind the cut edge with fold-over elastic so it can be worn as a neck warmer.

The sewing

Super easy to overlock the short cut end of the scarf pieces and place that seam at the centre back neck. The scarf is then overlocked all the way around the cut edge of the dress to make the cardigan band. Et voila the zephyr Ecopossum coat cardi.

About Ecopossum™

Ecopossum yarn was first developed by the parent company of Untouched World in 1992. The first new natural fibre to be used in a textile in over 100 years. It is a blend of fine Merino wool, luxurious Brushtail possum fibre, silk and sometimes angora. Air is trapped both within the hollow fibre and in the fabric when blended with fine merino, creating a cashmere soft, featherweight, exceptionally warm, pill resistant garment that washes extremely well.

About Possums

The Brushtail possum is an animal introduced to New Zealand in 1837 from Australia. It is only found in Australasia, and is not to be confused with the North American Opossum, which is a different animal. The possum is New Zealand’s biggest ecological threat. They are legally classified as pests. In their native Australian environment, possums do not pose a threat, but in New Zealand they have no natural predators.

• Possums eat their way through 17,000 tonnes of native vegetation each night, leaving just bare branches.  The damage is so severe, possums can defoliate entire forests within 20 years
• With no flowers, berries or nectar left, native bird populations have nothing to eat
• Possums are omnivores and also consume the eggs and chicks of our endangered native bird species, attacking adult birds in the nest in order to reach the chicks and eggs
• They prey upon our rare native invertebrates such as weta and land snails
• They have contributed significantly to the registration of several new species of native birds on the endangered list

Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

About Untouched World™

In their own words...

At Untouched World we believe you don't have to give up style and luxury and great design to be good to the planet. Our New Zealand made collections are designed with a less is more aesthetic – to be easy care, easy wear and easy on the earth.

We are the first and only lifestyle fashion company in the world to be recognised by the United Nations for sustainability. We achieved this by getting basic things right from the get-go.

We design our garments and accessories with sustainability in mind. From our luxurious Ecopossum™ to fine machine washable Zque™ Merino and certified organic cotton, we only use the highest quality sustainable fabrics, fibres and yarns that are easy on the earth. We're into fashion not fads so we design everything with the entire product lifecycle in mind, creating multi-tasking pieces that will stand the test of time.

Untouched World™ cafe interior - scones on the counter by the coffee machine!!

The Untouched World cafe also makes a wonderful scone.  I often pop in on the drive home for a cup of coffee and a scone.

In conclusion

If I wasn't so impatient I could wait for Winter 2019 when Untouched World make this coat cardi in the navy colourway.  But I am impatient and waiting is less fun. Fiscally the outcome is probably neutral. I did end up with a unique version of the coat cardi which I am really happy with. My coat cardi garnered many compliments at work this week and a bit of disbelief that it was made from a dress and scarf.

I should add that winter has not been harsh this year. It has in fact been remarkably mild. It is surprising that my original coat cardi has been such a hit given my (over)heating system and the mild winter.  Must be the snuggliness of it.

Special thanks to Lee-Ann at Untouched World who always knows what will suit my wardrobe.