Friday, February 1, 2013

Vogue 1262: A Jacket Begun

I don't know what sensibility overtook me, but last weekend I decided to make a spring jacket. It must have been the drab winter that drew me to think about sewing for spring. Perhaps it was these noticeably longer days that bring promise of fairer weather (eventually). My normal sewing mode is making things I can wear right away, so it's been an odd feeling working on something I'll need to wait a few months to use. But it's also been fun to sew linen in winter, to be working with colorful fabric when all is gray outside.

A review of the fabrics in my collection is also partially responsible for the genesis of this jacket. I have several solid linens perfect for jackets. I chose a deep blue-teal one, and proceeded to pattern selection.

I've been wanting to make Sandra Betzina's Vogue 1262 for some time. I like the lines of the jacket, and the fact that I would need to do little pattern adjusting because her patterns go up to my general size.


Last weekend I traced off the pattern and did a fit using that interfacing pattern paper stuff - Swedish pattern paper, I think it's called? Anyway, the fit looked to be good and I liked the style on my body. I pressed and laid out the teal linen, only to discover it is too narrow for cutting this pattern. You see, the sleeve and back are one pattern piece, so the fabric needs to be wide. I considered adding a center back seam, but even then, the 54" wide teal linen was too narrow.

Sooo, back to the stash, where I realized all of my linens are in the 54" to 56" width range, and none of the pieces were long enough to cut out this fabric hog of a pattern. But then I came upon a pool blue mid-weight piece from Sawyer Brook (actually, three pieces) that had plenty of yardage for this project. By opting for a center back seam, I was able to fit the pattern on the fabric. That's how I went from deep teal to the pool blue you see here.


This is the double quadruple pocket welt, all ready for insertion. The pocket was a fun construction, and would be easy to adapt to other patterns.

Four rectangles are folded in half, the base ones are basted together, and the top ones laid 1/2" from the center fold. I didn't have a contrast fabric for the upper welts, so I painted them with silver Lumiere paint, using a silk screen from Marcy Tilton. You'll notice the silver is more pronounced toward the center of the piece. That's because the paint didn't go through the screen well, and I hand painted the stripes in with a small brush. (See, I do make mistakes!) Only 1/2" of the welt shows in the finished pocket, so I only needed to paint the center.

The next step is to make a window in the front of the jacket. It is shown here, with Steam-a-Seam II finger-pressed on it.

Working from the right side of the jacket front, I laid the welts under the window and steam pressed them, fusing them to the window edge. Careful edgestitching followed.




There is just one drawback with this pocket: it's a fabric waster. I think Sandra drafted it to make it easy to insert, but as you can see, the welt didn't need to be so wide. The pocket top and bottom are sewn to the top and bottom edges of the welt, but after sewing the sides of the pocket together, 1-1/2" is cut off the top of the pocket. Plus, all four welt pieces were interfaced (non fusible), so there are 8 layers of fabric in the welt area. I trimmed out the excess interfacing and graded the center two pieces of welting to lessen the thickness. I'm knit picking here, but I'd rather not throw out pieces of interfacing that could have been used elsewhere.

I really like the look of this pocket. The painting adds just a touch of interest, but isn't overpowering. I'm careful to not wear horizontal lines across the largest part of my body, but I think these pockets are quiet enough that they won't draw too much attention.

I started the pockets this afternoon, and have only to make a Hong Kong finish around the raw edges. (The jacket is unlined.)

I'll be working on the jacket all weekend, so I hope to have it near completion by game time Sunday night. Yes, I'll be watching. No, I'm not a sore loser. I'm not sore at all that our beloved Tom Brady et. al. will be sitting the game out. Truthfully, the Patriots got what they deserved in that last game. They fell apart. Good luck to both teams in the Harbaugh Bowl!

24 comments:

  1. Nice pattern. I like the color of your fabric. Will be anxious to see the finished product.
    Marciae from SG

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  2. I do like those pockets! Nice silk screening choice too :)

    I've run into that fabric-not-wide-enough situation all too often lately. Especially with linens! The choice you ended up with looks lovely though :)

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  3. I am really looking forward to seeing this jacket finished. This pattern has been floating around my mind for a while but haven't been game to try it. Love to see your outcome. Your pockets are fantastic and the silver looks gorgeous with the blue.

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  4. Your welt pockets with hand painted stencils are elegant. I can hardly wait to see the completed jacket!

    karendee

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  5. I like these kind of pockets on jackets very much. Thanks for sharing.
    Buy Blue Smoking Jackets
    Thanks.

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  6. This jacket is going to be lovely. Those pockets are so interesting, you always add screen printing in just the right places with such a sure touch. I have wanted to do some painting/printing on some of my stuff lately, and it is so much harder than you make it look.

    Damn you. ♥

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  7. I really like the look of the pocket too. The color of this jacket will look lovely on you.

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  8. I agree, pretty pockets, Dixie. I really like the silk screening. Such a pretty color, looking forward to seeing the completed coat on you.

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  9. THAT is an INSPIRED pocket!!!! Gorgeous!

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  10. Thank you all for your comments. I made good progress on the jacket today. The major seams are complete and I really like how it looks on me. Yay!

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  11. Love the pocket! Little touches of beauty like that make a garment so much richer and more satisfying!
    I have nothing to say about the f---ing Patriots, damn them.

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  12. That welt pocket is sheer perfection, and is a gorgeous colour! I love the painted squiggly bits too :)

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  13. Such lovely pockets! Can't wait to see the rest of the jacket now.

    I have some linen lurking in the ancient stash that's even narrower. It's been defying my ability to find a pattern that fits on it! One thing you might try is to cut those big pieces on the crosswise grain. The length is usually not longer than a fabric's width. Also adding a back seam is totally fine. I like being able to add a little shaping back there. Piecing is good!

    Advice comes from many years of working with handwoven fabrics that are never as wide as manufactured ones. My biggest loom is only 45" and subtracting take-up and shrinkage the widest I can possibly get is often less than 40". And I prefer NOT to weave full width because it's hard on my body. I'd rather weave longer than wider!

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  14. Louisa, that's a good idea, to cut on the crossgrain. I considered it with this jacket, but there were pronounced weft threads that I wanted to keep horizontal on the jacket. Of course, no one but I would have noticed if I had done it differently.
    The jacket is finished. And it fits me well. And I like it. Yay! This feels so good - the first woven jacket I've made since returning to sewing a few years ago. Woot!

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  15. Pick me up off the floor. This is a welt that I've be proud to work with.
    I'm seriously going to consider this technique on my next projects/s.
    Love your work Dixie.

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  16. That is really, really gorgeous. I'm loving the steam a seam cheat - I'll definitely be trying that out!

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  17. beautiful pocket and just love the fabric

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  18. Be prepared for folks grabbing at your pockets when you wear this out in public...dynamic look!Silver and blue just make me want Spring to hurry up and come! Thanks for sharing all your detailed photos that are so clear we all could give it a try!

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  19. I have been enjoying your blog this morning. I love your flair for color and design. I attended one of the Design Outside the Lines workshops years ago, in 2004 I think. You have made some beautiful tops, very inspiring. I love your knitting too. I will be following along to see what you are doing next. Barbara Mock

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  20. Dixie, these are just wonderful. What an eye you have! Martha

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  21. Thanks to all who popped over from Communing with Fabric. I appreciate your visits and comments!

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  22. I saw this last night and loved it! I was so happy to see Shams also giving it a shout out! And then I saw the jacket on Stitches Guild!

    Beautiful work, Dixie! You are inspiring! I would echo, when you wear this in public... BEWARE!!! for all the right reasons!

    I'm glad you stared the devil down and ventured into the waters of a woven jacket!

    Brenda

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  23. I can imagine how fabulous the final jacket looks. The pocket is amazing.

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  24. This pocket looks gorgeous!Worth buying that pattern for this alone!Can't wait to see the finished coat!

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