The thing about making a jacket is that it takes time. Normally when I get the shell of a garment finished, I know that I will be done soon. Ummmmm, not so much with a jacket. There are still a million and one steps to do to finish the jacket...okay I'm exaggerating but if you've made one you know what I mean.
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Basically my pattern alterations to the jacket shell worked...I ended up sewing the seams 1/2" instead of 5/8" from the waist down on the jacket front seams. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the shell went together and how well it fit.
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The bands were next. Since I didn't alter the pattern pieces for the bands until after the jacket was assembled this took some fiddling to get them to work. I wanted the seams for both the jacket & band to match. To achieve this I took the pattern pieces and laid them on top of the jacket to see where I needed to make alterations to the band pattern pieces.
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My front band ended up with a curve since it mimic'ed the curve of the jacket front.
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My lining was cut from rayon bemberg lining that I bought from Elegance Fabrics in NYC. The lining had a little more body to it than the bembergs I've bought in the past. This was great because my jacket body is a little drapey so this lining should give the jacket a little substance.
The sleeves were constructed out of order. Probably because I was concerned about them sliding over my bodacious biceps! This was the only challenge I experienced because I overcompensated the width needed. See even my biceps have changed with the weight loss. All of the extra that I added had to be removed because the sleeves didn't hang correctly.
So here is a picture of the sleeve pattern pieces with the added space...
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Now as an experienced sewist I know that adding to the sides of a garment affect the hang of the garment. That's what the problem was with the way I added to the sleeve pattern pieces and once I removed the extra, I no longer had an issue.
I can honestly say that the most challenging part of constructing the jacket was adding the sleeves...because I still had to cut lining fabric and set in four sleeves.
Some other thoughts...
...as always more later!
Here's the jacket so far on Lulu - almost done!
Basically my pattern alterations to the jacket shell worked...I ended up sewing the seams 1/2" instead of 5/8" from the waist down on the jacket front seams. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the shell went together and how well it fit.
The bands were next. Since I didn't alter the pattern pieces for the bands until after the jacket was assembled this took some fiddling to get them to work. I wanted the seams for both the jacket & band to match. To achieve this I took the pattern pieces and laid them on top of the jacket to see where I needed to make alterations to the band pattern pieces.
My front band ended up with a curve since it mimic'ed the curve of the jacket front.
My lining was cut from rayon bemberg lining that I bought from Elegance Fabrics in NYC. The lining had a little more body to it than the bembergs I've bought in the past. This was great because my jacket body is a little drapey so this lining should give the jacket a little substance.
The sleeves were constructed out of order. Probably because I was concerned about them sliding over my bodacious biceps! This was the only challenge I experienced because I overcompensated the width needed. See even my biceps have changed with the weight loss. All of the extra that I added had to be removed because the sleeves didn't hang correctly.
So here is a picture of the sleeve pattern pieces with the added space...
Now as an experienced sewist I know that adding to the sides of a garment affect the hang of the garment. That's what the problem was with the way I added to the sleeve pattern pieces and once I removed the extra, I no longer had an issue.
I can honestly say that the most challenging part of constructing the jacket was adding the sleeves...because I still had to cut lining fabric and set in four sleeves.
Some other thoughts...
- Can I say this is one time where saving the scrap pieces of fabric from a previous project worked to my advantage. I had some very large scrap pieces that I used to cut the bands and the collar for the jacket from. Just one tip, make sure that you are cutting the pieces on grain. My scraps still had the selvedges attached so determining grain was easy.
- I will use this jacket pattern again both without the shawl collar. I think it will work well with both skirts and dresses, as well as, thrown over a pair of jeans or leggings.
- I don't like constructing jackets. They take a really long time and challenge me in ways that I don't enjoy. So I'm gonna try and make a few more this year. This is something I need to get better at so I'm going to use some of those patterns from my pattern collection.
- This jacket is very basic. I've removed the welt pockets and sleeve bands for this version so that it will go with just about anything in my wardrobe. Also the fit is okay...not perfect. I think it's good through the body but the shoulders and sleeves still need some adjusting...not a lot but some.
Pictures of the jacket with the altered pants - the legs are just too wide now - and with the brocade skirt will be up next.
...as always more later!