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It's fall and time once again for the latest in ovine fashions to be unveiled prior to coming in off pasture and into the corrals for winter hay feeding. Fashionable sheep will be sporting the latest in ovine coats for the winter as designer and manufacturer Oogie M is feverishly working on her new line to debut later this week. All the best ewes will be wearing coats this season to protect their valuable wool from contamination.
This season the watchword is patchwork. Last season's mid range coats are being refreshed with a variety of colorful patches across the body especially prevalent along the sides and around the neckline. Many are made even more eye catching with the addition of contrasting overstitching in black, white and brilliant purple. New this year is the addition of taupe overstitching to highlight some of the more colorful patches. While there are still a few styles with gathers at neck and tail the most stylish coats now sport attractive tail darts instead. Mid range sizes include darts at the girth for a better fit along the forequarters and shorter body hugging leg straps.
Young ewes are forgoing the girth darts in favor of a lean look with only a single pair of tail tucks. Their main colors this year are black and red with white and black stitching visible along all the seams and edges. A few edgy ewes have opted for purple edges making a classic statement against the snow and hay. Leg straps can be in many colors with purple and khaki most common this season in addition to the standard red and black.
We haven't forgotten our plus size ewes with a new line of maternity wear. Styled like their younger sisters' coats these new pieces include ample belly room and discrete darts at the girth to prevent unsightly gaping. The same short leg straps are in evidence but large sizes now sport two pairs of tail tucks. A few of the styles include additional girth darts that can be easily let out as needed.
Fabrics this year are durable, rugged and easy care. Designed to survive harsh Colorado winters they are sunlight and manure resistant. 120 denier nylon Oxford weave is the standard for this Fall collection. Machine washable and built to survive the rigors of fences, this season's new line of sheep coats is sure to be a big hit with all the ewes.
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Hey, Oogie, I would love to hear more about the coats!
ReplyDeleteLouise
bischow@aol.com
I make my own. They come in even sizes based on the length in inches from the neck to the tail. Most of our lambs will wear a size 28 or 30 but we have a few that need a 26 and a few that need a 32. Most of the adult ewes wear a 32, 34 or 34W size.
ReplyDeleteFor the small sizes (32 or less) the leg straps are 12 inches long. Larger sizes have 15 inch leg straps. A standard coat is at least 2 inches wider around the girth than it is long so a 28 coat will have a 30 inch girth measurement. Wide sizes are at least 4 inches wider or more.
Unlike most commercial coats I add a front chest piece to mine as my sheep are rectangular and without it they get cramped and the shoulder wool felts on the sheep. I also make the chest pieces much taller than the commercial coats that do have them.
Pictures and directions are here.