Miracle

A double Christmas present, the fabric was a gift a few years ago!

Well now, would you look at this.  I have actually made two of the items I had planned to do lately..  This from someone who doesn’t plan!  I finished this jacket on Tuesday, but the weather was not playing ball for photos.  With a breather in the clouds and rain today, Daughter No1 & I decided some fresh air and photos was in order.  I still had cards to deliver too!

Delivering Christmas cards in my new jacket!

This is the pattern I made back in November – last year!  I had been toying with the darted sleeve head idea and ran up a toile, but realised with the extended shoulders that the rever and collar were going to need adjustment. No problem, but I couldn’t make up my mind on the fabric.  I eventually used the original collar and rever and made a different sleeve, which resulted in this jacket.

Jacket unbuttoned.

I finally chose a fabric to use for the darted sleeve version,  a duck-egg blue fine wale corduroy from Ditto Fabrics that a friend had given me for a Christmas present.  But I had no lining or buttons so it languished in the cupboard for a while.  More than a while, actually!  If you check out the other jacket photos you will see the difference in the collar and revers.  I actually prefer the width of these ones, I think the previous revers were too narrow for that jacket too!

A walk in the park, loving my big shoulders!

I did lengthen the front of this jacket, something I noticed after wearing the other one was that it could have done with being about 2-3cm longer in the front. I also added welt pockets.  I realised at the first fitting that the jacket was looking a little plain and boring, so I quickly got cracking with the welts!  Note to self – decide on pockets before making up fronts and attaching to backs…     The pocket bags use some left-over silk from my Pattern Magic blouse.  I know you’re supposed to use some of the shell fabric so the lining fabric isn’t seen, but this is way too pretty to hide!

Dotty silk from the Pattern Magic blouse

The extended sleeves have some fusible wadding sew into the sleeve head seam to add support, and I moved the shoulder pads over slightly too, nothing worse than a collapsing sleeve head!  The lining was a bargain from the Fancy Silk store in Birmingham, Jaeger cupro for just £3.99/m!  Buttons are metal from Fred Winter’s in Stratford.  I would have prefered to have a matching set, but so few places sell the same styles in different sizes.  So I have horses on my sleeve vents and pretty ones down the front.

Lining & pretty silver buttons

Silver horsey buttons, appropriate for living in the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this jacket.  I love the colour, love the fit and love, love, love the sleeves!  What is it with me and sleeves?  :s  Anyhow, I now need to move onto the herringbone twill for Daughter No1′s biker-ish jacket from the Burda mag, but I will be pattern cutting it to her measurements.  Maybe I will wait a couple of days first, something tells me there is an important date approaching sometime next week.  ;p

So, Happy Christmas to everyone, I hope you all get loads of what you’ve asked for (fabric & some new books in my case…).  Enjoy spending time with your families and friends. 

In action, the “Rise Above This” Jacket

Ok, as promised, here are some photos.  I realise the one I used in the previous post didn’t show the fabulous sleeves!!  Oh no!

So that’s that project done, and the next one is on the drawing table now, a grey jersey dress.

Rise Above This

Ok, so the 2 for 1 jacket finally has a name!  Sometimes you just need some space and good music to get the ball really rolling.  And I have to confess to having a most bizzar collection of tunes.  The one that got my steam up was Seether’s, Rise Above This.  Does anyone else listen to music while they sew?  I cannot work when it’s quiet.  So here is the rest of the jacket.  I must also confess that I sort of lost track of taking photos as I got more and more into the making up process!  Oops!  I will be better next time, promise!

I had left of the last time at the shoulder stage, ready for the collar. The under collar is cut on the bias in two pieces, and is slightly smaller than the top collar.  If you have a pattern that uses the same pattern piece for both, trace it off and put a seamline down the centre back of the under-collar and change the grainline to bias.  Add between 2.5 and 5mm on the outside edges of the upper-collar to allow for turn of cloth.  Do not be tempted to just make the under-collar smaller.  I interfaced the under collar with weft insertion on the bias, then sewed the two together at the centre back.  To ensure a good stand, I use a fusible canvas on the under collar.  This is cut without seam allowance, on the bias.  The upper collar gets a lighter interfacing, I used the fine sheer, but if you find your collar is not keeping shape, you could reinforce with some fusible canvas.

Under collar showing interfacing, already applied to jacket neckline

I clip the neck edge of the jacket at approx. 1.5cm intervals to the stay stitch line and then pin the collar on from the centre out – from the jacket side, not the collar side.  the clipping helps to open out the curve and allows for easing.  When you sew the under-collar on, start and stop exactly on the podmark for the collar attachment on the neckline.  Next pin the upper collar to the under collar, taking care to line up the outside edges.  Because you have cut the upper larger than the lower you will have to ease the extra in.  Pin parallel to your edge, instead of perpendicular as this will help to avoid catching tucks.  Then snip the neckline edge of the facing and sew the upper collar to the facing.  There will be a teeny tiny gap at the junction of the collars and the revers.  This you hand hand-stitch closed.  Layer your collar and neckline seams and press them open over a ham.

Upper and under-collars in place, seams trimmed and pressed open

Now we come to the part where I got carried away with the making and forgot to take pictures!  With the collar done you can sew up the side seams of the jacket and do the sleeves.  The sleeve heads should be interfaced with a crescent shape, 10cm deep at the centre.  You can’t see all of this so clearly on my sleeves because I inserted a contrast pleat panel.

One piece sleeve with contrast pleat back showing interfacing on sleeve-head

And that was my run of photos!!  I will take some of the next jacket I do, from the sleeve stage onwards, promise!!  Basically from here on the sleeve seams need to be joined, and the gathering stitch on the head.  Now for jackets you can follow the normal 2 rows of gathering stitch, or try something different.  I do one line of gathering, 2cm from the edge of the fabric.  I ease the fullness along this line, making sure there is no actual gathering, no tucking or puckering.  What I am after is for the sleeve head to form the sort of shape it will have when in the armhole.  When the shape is right, I pin it into the armhole from the sleeve side.  Once the sleeve is in, I use an interfaced bias cut strip, about 5cm wide of jacket fabric and fold in half lengthways.  Then this is sew into the sleeve head to support the cap.

I was going to try to continue without pictures, but I don’t think it is working!!

Here is the finished garment!

The finished jacket.

It was a rather windy day to take photos, I kept getting hair in my eyes, or my mouth!  there are more pictures on Burdastyle, until I pop more on this blog, but they will be in their own post.

And I promise to take a better photographic record the next time!

2 for 1 jacket update

While I was “away” making curtains and doing alterations and making nice things for other people, this project was burning a hole in the back of my mind!  Now the new year is here, the kids are back at school and making for others has quietened down a bit, I can finally get cracking again.  I decided to track the progress of this jacket, to show the internal workings of speed tailoring a jacket.

First things first, if you have a wool or wool blend fabric, you need to prepare it.  During the making the fabric will be subject to a lot of heat and steam, and it will inevitably shrink.  There are different ways of going about this.  Usually I cut a  10x10cm piece, zigzag or overlock the edges and pop into a basin of warm water.  If the water doesn’t get absorbed, there is a coating on the fabric, and it will need to be dry cleaned.  If water is absorbed, pop it in the washing machine on a cool, woolens or handwash cycle.  Then check it, has it shrunk?  Has the finish/feel of the fabric changed?  Has the colour run?  If the answer is yes to any of these, dry clean only!  For preparation you will need to steam this fabric.  If not, you can wash it.  Now some fabrics can be shoved in the machine, and others need a different approach.  (Most of the wool I buy gets the machine wash.)

I have a cashmere that is definitely not going in the machine.   I dampened down 2 double flat sheets (you could use old duvet covers) and sandwiched the wool between them.  I rolled the whole lot up like a Swiss Roll and left for the damp to get through the wool.  Then opened it up and draped over a balustrade/handrail.  If you have to use the washline, first cover the wire with a towel, and if possible, drape over two lines, not just one.  Leave to dry, then dry iron to remove creases.  Iron on the wrong side, and check for any imperfections.  Mark these so you can avoid the area when laying out the pattern pieces.

It really is worth taking time when preparing wool for a jacket.  The fabric is rarely cheap, and considering the amount of time you will take to put the item together, it will be pretty soul-destroying to have it go wrong.

Your next job is the interfacing.  I use a speed tailoring jacket pack that I get from Gill Arnold.  On this particular wool I have used her Weft insertion on the jacket shell and the fine sheer fusible on the facings.  I have also used some iron on canvas, and some non-iron canvas.  I interfaced the “T-zone” and all the hem edges with the weft insertion.  This covers all the areas of the jacket that are put under strain or will be sat on and crinkled!  Then I made up the fronts and back.

The next step was to apply a fusible cotton tape to the front seam, this prevents stretching on the front seam.  It is applied about 5mm in from the fabric edge and if you have a curve at the bottom, you will need to snip into it to take the corner.  Once that was done, I made the canvas chest pieces.  This is done to plump out the hollow in the chest that women have just below the shoulder.  You will need the non-iron canvas and some weft insertion for this part, and each pattern needs a different shape chest piece.

The pieces are cut on the bias.  The weft insertion interfacing is a different size to the canvas.  It is 1cm larger on the armhole side, and 2.5cm larger on the neckline side.  Fuse the canvas to the weft insertion, taking care not to attach the overlapping interfacing to anything.  Trim the top corners, cut a box 1×2.5cm and 2.5×2.5cm.  Place the chest piece on the jacket front with the armhole side on the edge of the fabric and fuse the overlapping interfacing to the jacket on both sides.

Preparing the canvas chest piece

Chest piece fused in place

Taped breakline

Next fuse cotton tape to the breakline of the rever.  This helps the rever to fall in the right place, and to stay there!  There is no need for padstitching the create the fall. Now staystitch the neckline on the facings, jacket front and back.

Once that is done, pin on the facing.  The facing is between 2.5mm and 5mm bigger/wider than the front on the rever up to the breakpoint only.  This is to accommodate the turn of cloth.  You don’t want to see the seamline or any of the fabric from the front rever peaking out.  The fabric needs to be manipulated carefully so you don’t get any puckering, pinch the excess at the corner and pin the “blister”.

Sew the front facing on from the podmark for the collar join to the hem.  Snip the seam allowance at an angle at the breakpoint and layer the seams.  Trim both of the seam allowances down by 5mm.  Then trim the seam allowance of the front facing by a further 5mm.  The rever needs to be trimmed too, but trim the front by a further 5mm, and not the facing.  Press the seams open and then  flat.  Ensure you roll the fabric when steaming so there is no seamline showing.

Seam layering on front and facing front

Now for the shoulder seams.  Pin the canvas away from the shoulder line and pin the fronts to the back.  Stitch and press open over a sleeve roll.  Remove the pins from the canvas and let it extend past the seamline onto the back.  Turn the right way round and put your hand under the shoulder seam.  Pin along the seamline, going through all the jacket layers as well as the canvas.  Turn to the inside and pin the back seam allowance to the canvas.  remove the pins from the outside and then stitch the canvas to the seam allowance, close to the shoulder seam line.

Canvas pinned back, shoulder seam sewn and pressed open

Canvas extended over back seam allowance and pinned from right side

Canvas stitched to seam allowance, close to original seamline

So that’s the body of the jacket, ready for the collar and then the sleeves.  Happy sewing until next time!

Friday – busy day!

Wow, I can honestly say I am gobsmacked!  This little blog of mine has been ticking along with a handful of visitors, when suddenly the tracking spiked!!  Thank you so much to BurdaStyle for making me featured member of the week!  Another big thank you to those who have added my blog to their subscriptions lists, and those who left me comments.

New Blocks

So back to work!  I have re-drafted some of my personal blocks.  After making the jacket this last month and having way too many adjustments to make, I gave in.  So yesterday I drew a new Jacket Block, Coat Block, Close Fitting and Easy Fitting Bodice Block.  They will all be used this season!  I still need to toile and fit them, and draft their respective sleeves, but in the mean time I thought I’d share what I intend to do with them!

I have a lovely purple georgette that has been begging for something pretty and floaty.  I am going to use the Easy Fitting Bodice Block to make a loose-fitting top with a dropped shoulder and ruffles along the neckline.  Isn’t that top cute?  And purple will make a change to my usual grey, black or blue!  The georgette is not silk, unfortunately, but I loved the colour when I saw it on Ditto Fabric‘s website, so I had to have it!

Purple Georgette & Ruffle Top

Next, the Close Fitting Bodice Block will be converted into a One-Piece Dress Block and then I will adapt the bodice and sleeve to form a Kimono Block.  I have FINALLY decided what that green and turquoise silk is going to be!

Silk Graphic Kimono Dress

The Coat Block is going to be a hip length Pea Coat in the most beautiful pale, ice-blue cashmere that I bought at Fred Winter back in January on their winter sale!  I already knew I wanted something different, so I also got some Liberty silk for the lining and some Dupion to make piped details!

Cashmere and silk for Pea Coat

And the Tailored Jacket Block??  Something simple.  A cropped jacket with 3/4 length sleeves, possibly cut on the bias to take advantage of the burgundy/maroon flecks in the grey wool I got last week at Fred Winter.  I was really good, only getting 1.7m instead of going for the remains of what was on the roll, 2.5m!  I am sure I would have used it somewhere, but if I had got 2.5m I just know I would still be procrastinating this time next year!  I am going to use the last three buttons from my antique shop purchase, the others are on the Spotty Jacket.

Grey wool and Jacket sketch

So that’s that!!  Busy me!  Have a fabulous sunny weekend (if you are in the UK) I will be making winter goodies! 

Spot That Jacket

Ok, apologies need to be made….  I have neglected my blog.  It’s not that I wasn’t doing anything else, I just didn’t have much to write about until I had finished this project.  I know I had posted that fabulous green and turquoise silk, and I will still make it up.  Although it may not be along the lines of the dress posted!  While indecision plauged me though, I had something lined up!

Black and ecru grossgrain

I had bought this spotty cotton and silk grossgrain from my favourite fabric shop, aaaages ago.  I won’t even try to calculate how long I have had it!  Anyway, I had seen a jacket in a shop, about 2 years ago (!) that I liked the neckline of, and I quickly sketched it.  This was the basis of the jacket I have just made.  Sorry this is a bit blurred!

Jacket with Peter Pan Collar - Sketch

I wanted something that would fit snugly in the back, and also provide some sort of indication of shape at the waist (a bit of a cheat, as there really is none!).  I made the basic tailored jacket block and had husband draw on the panel lines, with me checking in the mirror!  Then I cut the block up and transferred the lines onto the paper pattern.  I closed the darts and voila!  The front is plain, just two panels with welt pockets.  There wasn’t much point in doing anything fancy as it would detract from the collar.

Jacket toile - back

Jacket toile - front

The toile was cool, the shape worked really well and I love the curves on the back.  Although, thinking about it, you can’t really see the section seams that well amongst all the spots!  Oh well.  Another thing to think of is the collar.  When I toiled the jacket I only did one layer, and it seemed ok, but…..  In the finished garment the narrow ends near the centre front seem flat.  I am going to have to tighten up the neck edge of the collar pattern to encourage a bit of a rise there.  But it is no train smash, perfectly wearable!  lol.

Jacket Panel Pieces

So, the structure – I used fusible interfacing from Gill Arnold.  I used the weft insertion on the “t-zone”, the hem edges and the upper cuff and collar.  The facing, under collar and cuff were interfaced with the fine sheer polyester.  This is to reduce bulk while still ensuring support.  I made a pattern for a chest piece and cut the canvas on the bias.  I didn’t use any canvas in the collar, perhaps once I fix the pattern and make another I may use a bit on the lower edges, just to make sure the shape is held properly.  Cotton tape was fused down the front opening edges to make ensure a sharp fold.  The shoulder pads are a felted tailor’s set, also from Gill.

And this is the finished product.  Daughter no 1 thinks it’s really cool to take photos at an angle, so no need to adjust your sitting position while viewing the pics!

Spot that Jacket!

Front Detail

Jacket - Back

I seem to have spots on the brain, as I am making a blouse now, a black and white spotty silk chiffon!