Friday, April 22, 2016

Simplicity 1688 : Striped #epicjacket


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Is there something you've always wanted to sew, but you haven't sewn it yet?  That item pops up on your "to sew" lists over and over, but the only place it is finished is in your imagination?  I can think of a few such items, like a raincoat I've been wanting to make since 2012 or a red denim jean jacket that's been on the list since 2013.  I'm not sure how long this Cynthia Rowley boxy cropped jacket has been on the list, but it's been at the front of my "jacket" box for ages now:
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And now, it is sewn.  :)

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So how can this be an #epicjacket if there are no cuffs, no collar stand, nary a collar?  Mainly because it was 19 pattern pieces and it took three weekends to sew.  I continue to massively underestimate how long it will take me to sew garments.

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Exterior pattern pieces, pinned to the front and back of my dress form, so I don't lose any of them.

Fabric
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Tomasa captured me on the hunt for denim.  There's my neoprene backpack in action.

The exterior fabric is two coordinating denims from Mood, purchased during the MPB Day Winter Frolic in early March.  The darker of the two has incredible drape, and I wish I could buy more of it for a denim shirt dress.  The interior fabric is a luscious rayon bemberg, also purchased at Mood the same day.

Piping
Based on seeing a PR review where the seamster piped it, I made my own piping using this continuous bias tutorial from The Seasoned Homemaker.   The cording is from Joann's.
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Making piping
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Clipping the piping on
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Piped sleeve edge

Sizing
I traced the lining pieces (basically view A) in a size 12 onto Swedish tracing paper and sewed the tracing paper as my muslin, but couldn't get the jacket on easily without dislocating a shoulder.   I wound up going with a size 14 and then tapering in the side seams of the real deal.

Stripes
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So, those stripes....the line drawing shows the stripes match all the way across the front and the back but when I sewed the first sleeve in, they did not match.  At first I thought I did something wrong, but was perplexed because the sleeve seemed pretty decently set in to me.
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 Then I realized the line drawing and pattern do not match.  You can see the small circles do not correspond to the same stripe.  On the front, this difference is only .25" but in the back the difference is about 1.5".  Earlier this week, Simplicity asked me on IG to email them to discuss the issue offline, and I did, but I haven't heard back.  Anyway, I had no more fabric to recut the sleeve, and no real interest in redrafting the pattern, so I forged ahead and finished the jacket anyway.

Sleeveheads
I added sleeve heads as per this tutorial to give some support in the shoulder area and make up for some slightly imperfect sewing there.  Drafting and making the sleeve heads is honestly a piece of cake.
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Sleevehead sewn in
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Sewing the lining to the jacket
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It takes a village...of wonderclips to help set in the sleeve.

Instead of following the instructions, I think I basically bagged the lining, so the only part that is handsewn is the bottom of the jacket.

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Before sewing the lining in...
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With the lining in, my tag, and the Mood tag
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Hooks and eyes
This might merit its own blog post.  I think I'm going to sew the hooks and eyes in again.  I didn't do any RTW research before sewing them in; instead I went by my 1960's sewing books.  The bottom set of hooks and eyes keeps coming undone as I wear the jacket.
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Styling
I've paired my jacket with my Sewaholic Davie navy blue dress.  I think it's a great combo.
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Be well!

45 comments:

  1. Kyle your jacket is amazing. I think your sewing is impeccable! I hope you are pleased because it looks so terrific. I think it will be very useful.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Summer Flies!

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  2. Love it - you've done a great job on this jacket.

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  3. Dude, AWESOME.

    (And pinning your pattern pieces to the dress form is a great idea! I'm always losing track of mine.)

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    1. Thanks duck bucket! I like pinning the pieces on my dressform so I don't lose them and also so I don't cut any samples out of them!!

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  4. Nice work! And congratulations on tackling an "epic" project so successfully. I don't know why I am stalling on the topstitching of a fly front zipper. The longer I wait, the harder it gets!

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    1. Thanks Pencil Girl! You can totally do the topstitching--just go for it!!

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  5. Wow, what a project. I admire your patience in creating the stripes for this smart effect. Your jacket has turned out beautifully, and looks terrific with your skirt.

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    1. Thanks kbenco! I was wondering if this is what it's like to be a quilter--cut up a bunch of fabric and sew it back together again. :)

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  6. Love this Kyle, what a fabulous style for a versatile denim jacket. I can envisage this in all sorts of fabric combos, but the denim does look absolutely amazing!

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    1. Thanks Dillander! I was thinking this would look fab in black and gray too.

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  7. Gorgeous, and beautifully made as always.

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  8. Love, love, love this jacket!!!

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  9. Your jacket is EPIC indeed! Beautiful!

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  10. Wow! I love it! The piping makes it really special. I have a RTW jacket with those same hooks and eyes and they are sandwiched between the lining and outer fabric. It looks really nice. I've not used them in a garment though, so I don't know how hard that would be.

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    1. Thank you Amanda S! I love the piping too. Mainly I think I need to move the hooks and eyes to be further away from the edge. My 1960's books showed the eye extending beyond the edge but the RTW jackets I looked at had both the hook and the eye back away from the edge a bit.

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  11. Kyle, I have no words. This jacket is AMAZING!!!

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  12. The work on this jacket is amazing. It looks nice and fits well.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words Sew Jean Margaret!

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  14. The workmanship on this jacket is amazing. Beautiful. And it fits you so nicely too. Kudos to you as well for not giving up on the jacket once you discovered the issue with the stripes. You now have a fabulous jacket.

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    1. Awwww thank you so much Tomasa! I have wanted to make this jacket for a long time, so I just kept going.

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  15. Wow, your jacket is absolutely gorgeous! It looks wonderful with the dress that you are wearing it with. It looks like a versatile piece that could be worn dressy, and casual. I love your blog! I just found you and have saved you to my Favorites!

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    1. Hi Patricia Brown! Thanks so much for your kind words and saving my blog to your favorites!!

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  16. Wow, your jacket is absolutely gorgeous! It looks wonderful with the dress that you are wearing it with. It looks like a versatile piece that could be worn dressy, and casual. I love your blog! I just found you and have saved you to my Favorites!

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  17. Wow, 19 pieces, lining, hooks and eyes, and piping. No wonder it took 3 weekends, You are amazing! and so is this lovely jacket.

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    1. Thank you so much Mary for your kind words! It took a while but was worth it!!

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  18. Well done! Thank you for the peek into the inside. I really enjoyed watching your progress through the process.

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    1. Thank you Anna Christina! I love IG for all of the in-progress shots. :)

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  19. Well done! Thank you for the peek into the inside. I really enjoyed watching your progress through the process.

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