McCalls 5478
Here is the pattern:
http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M5478.htm
One of the main reasons I have never sold patterns is that with patterns come sewing instructions. There are human errors, yes, and I can try to rush through patterned sewing projects because they always take longer than the things I pattern myself- because I choose patterns for difficult to pattern things, and because I pattern for my brain.
So, three hours of cutting and sewing and it is over half done. Criminy- it takes so long for one little jacket! Ah, the impatience. Part of the delay was realizing that I hadn't cut out the front panels, and that I was out of the heavy black linen fabric. Drat! I hoard a perfect black linen for a jacket, and then forget to cut the front panels when I finally use it! Arg. I took all of the scraps I had left and pieced the front two panels for the outside of the jacket, but that left the collar pieces. Then, the plotting began. I settled on using up more of my fabric stash- which has been getting smaller and smaller- and going for it with silk satin Chinese brocade in black with cherry blossoms. So, now the collar is silk- woot! That meant taking out the nice little linen corset detail I had added and redoing it in the silk, which also added time to the project.
That brings me to the sewing instructions. The collar doesn't lay properly, and I am not sure why. For one thing, they have you sew the bag lining all together and then the entire collar edge, which just begs for pressing/stitching errors in the notches of the collar, in my opinion. So, the collar went together my way, no big deal. But then, the lining of the collar drapes out, and falls on the bias in a very strange way. The inner collar piece is cut smaller than the outer- yes that is correct to how I would have done it. But the outer collar then drapes to be smaller than the inner? WTF? With all of the bias going on, I am not quite sure how I will fix it, under stitching by hand. I am also not at all sure what they mean for us to do with the lovely vent at the back. I will work that out somehow, too.
I think when I make another of these, should I do so, I will make some changes. I think I will cut the collar and collar lining on the same grain line, so that (hopefully) it will fall correctly. I will lengthen the jacket more than the inch I added for this one. I will cut the back lining either to include the vent somehow, I am still a bit confused as to how that was supposed to work. I do really like the shape of it so far- so perhaps it warrants adding all of my alterations. It occurs to me that lengthening it to knee length, it would be a super cute winter coat.
Still to be completed are sleeves, but those seem fairly standard two piece lined jacket sleeves. I am going to grommet through the garment in place of buttons at the vent, which will hopefully be as cute in reality as it is in my imagining it. I also have the idea of using the silk on the wrists somehow to show, but I already have the pieces cut on the linen, and it is fine with that.
Slowing the whole process down, of course, is trying to work day and night with bronchitis. Bah. I am hoping that while I am quite sick, and drained of energy today, I will be better for the weekend.
http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M5478.htm
One of the main reasons I have never sold patterns is that with patterns come sewing instructions. There are human errors, yes, and I can try to rush through patterned sewing projects because they always take longer than the things I pattern myself- because I choose patterns for difficult to pattern things, and because I pattern for my brain.
So, three hours of cutting and sewing and it is over half done. Criminy- it takes so long for one little jacket! Ah, the impatience. Part of the delay was realizing that I hadn't cut out the front panels, and that I was out of the heavy black linen fabric. Drat! I hoard a perfect black linen for a jacket, and then forget to cut the front panels when I finally use it! Arg. I took all of the scraps I had left and pieced the front two panels for the outside of the jacket, but that left the collar pieces. Then, the plotting began. I settled on using up more of my fabric stash- which has been getting smaller and smaller- and going for it with silk satin Chinese brocade in black with cherry blossoms. So, now the collar is silk- woot! That meant taking out the nice little linen corset detail I had added and redoing it in the silk, which also added time to the project.
That brings me to the sewing instructions. The collar doesn't lay properly, and I am not sure why. For one thing, they have you sew the bag lining all together and then the entire collar edge, which just begs for pressing/stitching errors in the notches of the collar, in my opinion. So, the collar went together my way, no big deal. But then, the lining of the collar drapes out, and falls on the bias in a very strange way. The inner collar piece is cut smaller than the outer- yes that is correct to how I would have done it. But the outer collar then drapes to be smaller than the inner? WTF? With all of the bias going on, I am not quite sure how I will fix it, under stitching by hand. I am also not at all sure what they mean for us to do with the lovely vent at the back. I will work that out somehow, too.
I think when I make another of these, should I do so, I will make some changes. I think I will cut the collar and collar lining on the same grain line, so that (hopefully) it will fall correctly. I will lengthen the jacket more than the inch I added for this one. I will cut the back lining either to include the vent somehow, I am still a bit confused as to how that was supposed to work. I do really like the shape of it so far- so perhaps it warrants adding all of my alterations. It occurs to me that lengthening it to knee length, it would be a super cute winter coat.
Still to be completed are sleeves, but those seem fairly standard two piece lined jacket sleeves. I am going to grommet through the garment in place of buttons at the vent, which will hopefully be as cute in reality as it is in my imagining it. I also have the idea of using the silk on the wrists somehow to show, but I already have the pieces cut on the linen, and it is fine with that.
Slowing the whole process down, of course, is trying to work day and night with bronchitis. Bah. I am hoping that while I am quite sick, and drained of energy today, I will be better for the weekend.