JAM #1 S2508

I finished the first jacket of 2011 last weekend, S2508. It's sat on Dolly while I tried to figure out what is wrong. I knew there was something that I probably could fix. Finally, it dawned on me. The buttons are too small. I tried Jo's which is the only local place that I can buy buttons. There was nothing that I would put on this jacket. So, I placed an order for buttons that I think would look great. I decided to go ahead and post about the jacket. It's been too long since my last blog entry. Also, I'm beginning to wonder if it would be worth the work to replace them. Sewing on the buttons is easy enough to do. I'm afraid that I will have to lengthen the buttonholes and hand sew to finish them. That's a scarey thought!! Maybe, it doesn't look that bad after all. I like the jacket as it is and would wear it. Also, my fellow Floridians can be assured that there will not be anymore cold weather. All I have to do is finish a jacket and the weather is beautiful with 78 degree (F) temperature.

I think that the sleeve tabs and ruffles are so cute! I like the belt in the back. I even managed to figure out how to add a hanging chain.

I enjoyed making this jacket. I can see why so many people enjoy sewing jackets. That's good because I have 11 more to sew this year. Even though I'm behind and bringing up the rear in the JAM group, I think I'll accomplish my goal or come close. Still, I will admit to jacket insanity with this one. I did so many stupid things with this jacket adventure. The following is a list for my future reference and, maybe, for someone who wants to embark on this exciting experience:

1. Pay attention to the fabric choice. I'll remember this one when I'm trying a lot of new techniques. I've made a simple jacket but have no experience with tailoring or anything this detailed. I've never been successful with princess seams. So, what did I do? I gave myself plenty of challenges with fabric that ravels a lot, stretches, slips, and generally talks back to the sewing machine. (The conversation was ugly!)

2. Check the lining fit before cutting it. I followed the pattern and the lining did not fit very well. It was too long or slightly too short. I could have taken a little bit of time to adjust the pattern for lining. As it was, I spend a lot of time fiddling around with the lining.

3. Use a heavier interfacing with fronts that have pockets with flaps. Probably, I should have just eliminated the pockets with this fabric. I ignored that realization because I love having pockets to stash my stuff.

4. If I do 4 messy buttonhole samples and, finally, do one that looks good, that doesn't mean the jacket buttonholes will look good. I need to have consistency in the sample or I can expect the same results on the jacket. I did several messes and pulled out a lot of my own hair in the buttonhole process.

5. Pay attention to the jacket style BEFORE cutting the fabric. I originally cut a double breasted jacket. When I did the pin fitting, I realized that the style would look like crap on me. Naturally, I didn't have enough fabric to recut the front and the collar for the style that I made. Ever try to stay on grain when you are recutting jacket pattern pieces? I don't want to think about how long that mistake took to correct.

Overall, I worked my way through underlining and sew-in interfacing with pleasing results. There was no way that I could fuse interfacing to this fabric. Believe me, I tried. Fortunately, I did pay attention to those samples. (If I didn't I wouldn't be showing you a jacket!) I was inspired by the jacket that Gigi made and followed a lot of her construction tecniques. Take a look if you want to see an awesome version of this jacket.

JAM #2 is cut out and ready for sewing next week. This weekend we have lots of family plans. I'll be playing until Tuesday!

Have a great rest of the weekend!!