5/27/09

Tailor Jacket and Vest

Jacket - Vogue 8346/ view A



100% tweed wool ( stone mountain and daughter) & lined silk charmeuse (Thai Silk)

Finally, my 1st Jacket is done! I have learned so much from the "Tailoring" at Canada College. On the last day of the class it was so fun see everyone's hard work come to life from a paper pattern into gorgeous fitted garment! This was one of the hardest projects I've evern done. I can't image anyone could stay with the class and finish the jacket if it not for the love of sewing...

Without the help and support of my teacher and my cheerful classmates, I couldn't pull this jacket together. I feel so lucky to meet these talented, nice and kind group of people who are passionate about anything to do with sewing.

overall, EQ, patience and problem solving skills are grow with each sewing experience... what can I say... I'm hooked!



This is the pattern for my Jacket---V8346 Misses' Coat (Lined, fitted coat with double-breasted buttoned or snap closing. Princess seams and shoulder pads) was all challenge I can handle since I don't have much sewing experience. I'm so proud of how it came out! While mistakes have made, most importantly, I've learned from them!

construction notes :
  • tweed wool was forgiving and easy for beginner to work with!
  • Hem: my material is pretty thick and with miles of hem on the bottom, it'd have been hard to "ease" all the extra fabric when turning the hem under. I learned a neat trick "hem facing" that solves this problem. This worked well since I had to lengthen the flair in any case to work better with my height.
  • Set-In Sleeve: Sleeve was quite challenging. Since the pattern assumed perfect posture and mine isn't, "matching the notch" didn't work for me. By having the sleeve "set-in" individually (as my right shoulder lend froward then the left), gaves a much better fit. More yoga would mean less work...
  • Overall fitting: I'm 5"8 and 115 with square shoulder; my cross front is size 6 (or a bit smaller) but my cross back is over size 6. Unfortunately, I made the jacket for size 6 wich means the back is tight. Next time I'll try to use a bigger size so I'll always have enough seam allowance to play with.
  • buttonhole: I hestitated to make bound buttonhole in the early stages since the thought of that I might ruin the jacket was just too scary. However, it would've been much easier if I've done it when the facing piece and front piece are unattached to lining and side front piece.
I first thought sewing was just using a sewing machine. But of course there's much more than that: From basic... pressing ... construction (similar to architecture, where you build the structure from the inside out), all the things you need to do between steps, how to solve the many unexpected problems that come up (without ruining the piece!), etc. The process of problem solving you need to build anything interesting is quite addictive!


Vest- McCall's 5186/ view D


(silk & cotton blend and lined with silk charmeuse from Thai silk)



M5186 (view D) was such a fun project to do! I made bound buttonhole on it so I had a chance to practice it again.

Construction note:
  • lengthen 2" on waist all around, since I've longer torso.
  • take in the back to fit the waist instead using vest slide buckle since nice buckles are hard to find in time.

2 comments:

  1. your jacket is awesome, a friend of mine just bought this pattern for me

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just bought this pattern because I found your pictures! I wanted a "Dior bar jacket" inspired jacket, so thank you for your review!

    ReplyDelete