Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Mary's Jacket

My jacket has been finished for two weeks but I had not taken pictures until today.  I used Vogue 1859, a Claire Shaeffer pattern and eliminated the stand-up collar, the buttons/buttonholes, and shortened the sleeves.  I made these changes because I saw a RTW Chanel jacket that I liked and wanted to duplicate that.  The B/W fabric came from Fabric Mart, the braid from PA Fabric Outlet and the lining from Joanns. I used the 'shortcut' method for a designer jacket as described in Threads #128 and followed those directions instead of the pattern instructions.

All-in-all I think it turned out pretty well, however if making another Chanel type jacket, I would make it longer since I think the sleeve length and the jacket body being the same make it look somewhat boxy.  The fabric I used was not heavy but combined with the lining and quilting, it is a bit bulky.



This was a challenging sewing project as I normally don't make close fitting garments but prefer looser styles.  I had to make 2 muslins before cutting into my fashion fabric and the close fit of the 3 piece sleeves were difficult because of the extra wide seam allowances.  However,  I would recommend a sew-along to anyone who wants to improve their sewing skills and make new and lasting sewing buddies.