Vogue 1364 Jacket

This is one of my latest completed projects. This is a Sandra Betzina Today’s Fit jacket pattern. I really LOVE this jacket! This material is a wool/poly blend (50%/50%), so it is dry clean only. Because I always like to prepare my fabric first and this isn’t washable, I used the damp towel with the fabric in the dryer method. I’ve done this before with wool and it worked out well. As soon as I saw this pattern, I knew I had the perfect fabric to use for it.

As you can see in the picture, I did add the optional pockets. Since the jacket is unlined, I serged the edges and seams to give everything a nice finish.

While I really didn’t make any major changes to the pattern, there were a few changes. I cut off about 3″ from the front length and tapered that to the side seams (this is actually explained in the instructions). I knew that I was going to do this because some of the finished jackets I saw online seemed a bit long.

For the back of the jacket, I didn’t add the cording (didn’t have any), but in the end it didn’t seem to matter since it looks like it’s there. I love the V of the back panel too.

And for the fringe trim, I actually used the selvage edge of the fabric since it was basically fringed already. I cut it the width needed, and attached it as stated in the instructions.

This is a very nice, easy pattern to make. I might do this again sometime in a solid.

Jenny T (again) with a twist…

I made another of my favorite T-shirt patterns, but this time it’s a little different. First of all, this is the first time I made the long-sleeve version. I made a number of the short-sleeve tees a while back here. But with Fall and cooler weather on the way, I wanted to try the long sleeve. If you’re not familiar, this Jenny T, by In House Patterns, is a PDF pattern so you get both the long and short sleeve versions.

For this particular one, I took the front pattern and split it. Then added seam allowance to the newly created seams. I had rounded the neck on this one also (the pattern is actually a V neck shirt). I used contrasting fabric for the center and created a new neckband.

I kept the back and sides solid. I’m fairly happy with the result, although the neckband is a bit wonky. I think I need to make the band shorter so that it fits tighter. But I just wanted to try this and see how it would look.

Overall, I think my experiment was a success and I will definitely wear it. Next time I will cut the sleeves a bit wider from the elbow down. It’s very fitted and I think I would like a little bit more room (maybe just an inch).

Anyway, that’s all for now. I’m almost done with my next project so I hope to show that to you next week.

Thanks for reading!

Sewing jeans…McCalls 6610

I’ve made a couple of pairs of jeans recently, and I have the third pair cut and ready to sew. I used McCall’s 6610 (View A). This was my first time using this particular pattern. I wanted something more of a straight-leg jean this time around, so I went with this. Because I’ve made jeans before, I knew what areas I was going to have to fit the most (waist).

I made a couple of different sizes (16 and 14) each with some grading up or down for fit. These green jeans are basically a size 16. They are so comfortable!

The khaki-colored jeans are the 14 (with some grading up at the waist). These are comfortable as well, but I prefer the green.

The next ones I have cut out (and are waiting to be sewn) are stretch denim. I am working on getting the fit just right for me. Those are a 16 with some slimming at the leg, but not enough to make them skinny jeans. We’ll see how things go. The green are my preferred fit, but I want to make them a bit more jean-like. I did make a muslin for these, by the way before I started. I made one muslin and I just keep adjusting the fit on it. But for me, it’s always a little difficult to tell what something is really going to look like (or fit like) until I actually make it.

Anyway, it’s a creative process and it does take some work to get what you want, right? It’s fun and good practice. It makes me feel like a real designer…and I end up with more clothes. That’s not a bad thing!