Burda Jacket 02-2011-109 – Finished UFO

How long does it take some UFOs to finally get off the shelf and out in the street?

Well, this one took just 3 1/2 years!

I started this jacket in Sherry’s RTW Tailoring sewalong back in April 2011. That’s right! I got everything sewed up except the buttons, front buttonholes and the hem (and blogged it here); I just didn’t know how to handle the hem.

Then last month I decided to just do the bagged hem anyway (using Sherry’s sewalong posts), but stop at the slits and do them by hand. It actually worked out. The slits are not the neatest on the inside, but nobody will notice. And it’s good enough to wear, which is all I care about!

   

These buttons seem fairly delicate for the denim, but I like the look (despite them being slightly difficult to handle.) The front buttonholes are also corded to counteract the stretch denim.

I’m so happy to have this jacket finished!!

Coming soon, more on this year’s finished sewing projects.

Minoru Jacket, Finished!

Yes, indeed, I have finally finished the Minoru jacket! And despite all the kafuffle I quite like it, and so does my hubby!

What kind of kafuffle, you ask? Well, I made a second muslin because the first was too snug, then made more slashes for greater back ease and a forward neck tilt. But after I got the entire shell sewn together (attached the collar, sleeves, plackets, to the body, and side seams) I tried it on…and there was *too much* room!!! Aaaargh! So, out with the seam ripper, whereby I ripped out the entire collar topstitching/seam up to the plackets and removed the extra fabric I’d added to the top of the back and sleeve tops. This is also when I decided to line the hood. In hindsight, I think the cause of all my problems was the cheap poly/cotton I used for making the muslin; it just didn’t have the weight/body needed for the jacket. At least I now know where to get the real muslin fabric!

Here’s a quick summary of what I did.

Fabric:

• Outer shell in Canadian Mist (50% Micropolyester / 50% Cotton, bought at dragonfly fabrics), grey – perhaps a bit dull, but it’s a neutral colour
• Body/Hood lining in quilting cotton – I LOVE this fabric, makes up for the grey shell
• Sleeve lining in black rayon Bemberg
• Collar lined with black Bemberg (on the zipper side)
• Outer side seam pockets in the quilting cotton and black Bemberg

Alterations:

1. Cut size 10-10-8 (B-W-H), according to the pattern measurements
2. Shortened the sleeves by 3 1/2 in
3. Widened the sleeve by 1/2 in along the entire length
4. Dropped the front neckline by 1/2 in for a forward neck tilt, and adjusted the front seam on the sleeves to match
5. Widened the upper back by 1/2 in, from the armscyes up to the neck
6. Added side seam pockets, and topstitched on the front piece instead of the back. The bottom of the pockets is caught in the hem.
7. Lined the hood (yeah, I did this after it was all assembled! when I removed the collar)
8. Made deeper inside pockets to fit my smartphone (and raised the top of the pocket so it wouldn’t fall so low down the waist). Instead of folding over the top of the pocket twice and topstitching, I used grosgrain ribbon
9. Topstitched the lining as I didn’t finish the seams

 

Future alterations, and what I would do differently or try:

1. Cut the hips a size larger
2. Use a double-ended zipper
3. Cut the cuffs a little longer so they look more scrunched
4. Make front welt pockets; the side seam pockets are a tiny bit low and far back for comfort
5. Make the welt pocket bag the same shape as the bottom of the front section so it can be caught in the side and placket seams
6. Finish the hood/collar seam, maybe bind it, as it’s visible when the hood is out and down (see pic below)
7. Make an hidden inner pocket, with the opening in the placket/front seam
8. Make a wider inner pocket so the smartphone can sit sideways; it’s a little uncomfortable sitting upright
9. Add an inner placket/strip or zip guard; I noticed some others did this and it looks great

What I really like about the pattern and alterations:

• The snug waist elastic! Someone else said it felt like being hugged, and they’re right!!
• The big hood, and that it’s lined; if the outer fabric doesn’t have much body this really helps keep it up
• Hip length!
• Big, tall collar, it’s just so cozy!
• Wider sleeves for more ease
• Deeper inside pockets feel safer

I’m so glad it’s finished, and with the weather warming up so fast (it’s crazy, forecast says 21 C tomorrow!!!), I’ll be wearing this a lot earlier than I’d thought. I LOVE it!!

Next up, I need to make some sweatpants for Oliver since he’s outgrown the others. And then the new Jalie shirt pattern and T-shirt (w/o the nursing option) that I really want to try. If the weather keeps up like this I’ll need to work fast! At least these will go a lot faster than the jacket.

Pockets on My Minoru Jacket

I’ve been trying to follow along with Tasia (Sewaholic) on her Minoru sewalong, but it’s going in starts and stops. My first muslin seemed too small on the top so I traced another set of pieces, just about all of them, and made a second. More changes were made on this muslin to widen the sleeves and give more room across the back, but now I’ve got the fabric cut and the shell of the coat sewn up I’m not sure all my changes were a good idea! It looks like I’m going to have to bite the bullet and start ripping out the sleeves and collar and undo some of my alterations. Aaaarrragh!! The cause of my problem might be that I used a cheap cotton/poly to make the muslins and it’s not draping like the fabric I’m using, which is Canadian Mist (50% Micropolyester / 50% Cotton, bought at dragonfly fabrics). Should have used the real McCoy for a muslin! (Just found out that I can get it at Darrell Thomas’ for $7/m, which is way less than at Fabricland.)

So, to get back to the main point of this post, when I read about Amy’s side pockets on her Minoru jacket I had to do it too, cause I love pockets. How many times have I been asked to hold onto someone’s toy car/plane/rock/thing? Countless!!

The pocket pattern piece was borrowed from a summer dress I made last year (still to be posted about), and just expanded a bit more. Also, the important thing is that the bottom of the pocket should be no lower than the hem stitching line, at about 3 3/4 " (9.5 cm). I'm not sure about catching the bottom of the pocket seam allowance in the hem as it might pull the hem up when my hands are in the pockets, so I'm going to add a short piece of ribbon to the bottom of the pocket and then catch that in the hem. One of my fleece jackets has this.

The pockets are made from a layer of black Bemberg lining (which I also used for the sleeves)facing the outside, with the main lining on the inside so it’s slightly visible on the outside, kind of peaking out. Unlike Amy, I did topstitch the side seams above and below the opening, but on the front piece.

It might be a bit hard to see as my topstitching isn’t very bold. The picture above shows most of the side seam with the pocket closed. The bar tacks are more visible in the pics below.

 

It doesn't look too bad! And I like having the seams topstitched.

So, that’s it for now, as I’m going to go backwards and start un-sewing next week! This week is a right-off as I’ve been doing a long-awaited spring clean on the house in preparation for guests coming this long weekend. I’m beat!

Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up again next week, but I’ve also got big plans for making up a pattern for my Kid’s Tool Belt! I’m sooo excited about that I can hardly sleep!

Burda Jacket 02-2011-109 – UFO!

Last year, I began participating in Sherry’s RTW Tailoring Sewalong, making this fitted jacket in denim as a first go. The line drawing (I didn’t add the ribbon edging on my version):

Just to recap, here is jacket muslin #1:

 

It was way too tight! For a jacket, that is. So, muslin #2 (poor back shot, but best I could manage):

   

This felt better, I could live with this. So, fabric cut and got as far as inserting the lining, and doing sleeve vent buttonholes.

 

I stopped when I couldn’t decide how to finish the hem! Bagged hem? This would be great, simple, if the hem didn’t have the back slits…I think. Or, can I bag a hem with back slits? I can’t get my head around it, so it just occurred to me (only 7 months later!) that I should just suck it up and hand sew the hem! Any ideas? I’d LOVE to hear some other ideas!

Anyway, the plan was to make a black version in a light weight suiting fabric from my stash, fibres unknown, and a matching skirt - the first pieces in my core wardrobe, à la Fashion for Dummies. But now I’m not sure I want to tackle this pattern again. Once might be just enough!

I’m determined to finish this damn jacket for spring though…only a year late!

Burda Jacket Update

Update on the Burda jacket I’m making in Sherry’s RTW Tailoring Sewalong: after trying it on many times, and making many adjustments, it still feels a bit too snug. I later let out the side seams and lower back seams again, then almost started to make another adjustment for narrow neck but changed my mind; anything more and it would start to really look like a Frankenstein jacket muslin!! The back and sleeves should have had the adjustments done *before* sewing the muslin…oh, well! *sigh*

   

So, I started tracing out the next size up and incorporated all the adjustments I made on this muslin. I’m going to make the neck a bit narrower too, as it seems to gape at the sides and back. Then *hopefully* I’ll be able to get to cutting the fabric by mid-week. Fingers crossed!!!

Jackets for the RTW Sewalong

I’ve been poring over the pattern collections to find a classic jacket, and narrowed it down to these 4:

McCall's 6172

 

Vogue 8333

 

Jalie 2559

 

Burda 04/2010 #126

 

I ended up buying the McCall’s pattern this week as Fabricland are having a sale on their patterns, 2 for $7.00. Wow! I also got the pattern that I want to make the classic white blouse from, McCall’s 5433.

The McCall’s would be good, I think, as it’s a Palmer/Pletsch pattern and it got good reviews on PR. The Vogue looks beautiful, but I feel a little intimidated by it. The Jalie looks nice too, I might make that one day too. I like the simple lines of the Burda, but the sleeve caps look weird; one PR reviewer said she used the sleeve pattern from another jacket so it sits on the shoulder instead of sticking out.

I’ll have to make up my mind fast and get a muslin started. My jeans muslin took about 2-3 weeks to get sorted out, and the jacket will probably take as long if I’m not on the ball.

When I popped into Darrell Thomas’ to get my March Burda I took a quick look at the wools they had. Oh my, I’m not sure if I can justify $50-$60/m, but it’s so nice. I looked at the cottons too, but there’s not much choice. I’ll have to scout out some more shops, but Ottawa is pretty lean when it comes to good fabric shops!

Jalie 2110 Raincoat

I finally started this lined jacket pattern, Jalie 2110, for my oldest son a few months back. Actually, I traced the pattern almost a year ago and when spring rolled around I realized that he may not even fit into the size 5 I'd traced! Luckily though, I'd also traced size 7 at the same time...and I may end up having to make the bigger one immediately!

I bought the laminated cotton fabric for this at C&M Textiles in a bright yellow and something like a teal. There wasn't much selection in this kind of fabric, so I bought enough for 2 jackets. Even though the pattern has contrasting bands on the raglan seams and sleeves, I'm still not sure if I like this detail. It seems a bit busy. Maybe I won't bother adding them on jacket #2. The lining is Procool Wicking Jersey from Wazoodle.

This is the jacket so far, with the (white) lining hanging behind.


I've also applied Seam Grip on all the seams so far, and it was pretty straight forward. You can see it shining in this shot (I also did the outer hood seams).


I had to do this on the dining table with the ceiling fan going so the fumes wouldn't be too much!

Now I just need to get the energy going to pick it up again! I got back from my vacation alone with the boys almost 2 weeks ago, and I was sooo tired! We landed back in Ottawa at 01:15 AM! Over an hour late. And for some reason DS1 woke up at 9:00. I hate the eastward flying, it really messes up your inner clock! The boys were very good on the plane (both ways), and they were running off their cooped up energy at Calgary airport for about 3 hours! It didn't help that I'd stayed up late with my sister the night before we left watching the meteor shower; it was the peak night, and we did see one amazing burn-up. The light was amazingly intense and lasted a few seconds, and the tail lingered for about 30 seconds more. It was well worth it. By 02:00 AM (PST) we were done in.

And it's been busy ever since. A couple of days after I got back I spent 3 days rewiring my parents' bathroom (with BX cable...it's really hard to strip at the ends). But best of all, I sorted out my new sewing room. While we were away my wonderful, darling husband rearranged the topsy-turvy rooms in our house, so we're now all sleeping upstairs again. My new sewing room is bigger than the old, and it's got much better lighting. Next project that I'm going to tackle (after the raincoat is done) will be to build a new work table: wider, higher and with storage underneath. I've also got a large sheet of pegboard, but haven't figured out what to hang on it!!! Any ideas?