The Chanel Jacket Post Mortem

Isn't she lovely?

Have I mentioned that my "Chanel" jacket is finished?  Even though I have worn it already, I put it back on the dress form, so that everyone I can admire it while sewing my pants.  Because so much thought/torment/learning went into this piece, I feel I must document the information somewhere.  This is the least likely place for me to lose said documentation.

What I would do differently next time:
(1) Buttonholes down the front.  For reasons I don't recall, I did not design the jacket to button down the front.  Maybe I wanted hooks.  Maybe I wanted it to just hang open.  At some point -- after the pieces were cut -- I did decide I needed buttons. Since I didn't have enough room for overlap, I made loops.  Although the loops came out very nice, and are very stable (sandwiched between two strips of muslin that run the length of the front), I am a little disappointed that I didn't have a more traditional placket.

button loops

(2) Boucle: I love the colors in this fabric, even though it's not my usual palette.  This fabric is tres boucle, though.  The chenille pieces stretch, break and pop out in several places, making it look as though I may have picked up the jacket in a second-hand shop [not that there's anything wrong with that].  I would choose a tighter weave next time around.  I also sneezed a lot while sewing this.  I hope I'm not allergic to it.

(3) Lining: The color of original fabric I ordered to use as a lining did just not look right to me, so I picked up some charmeuse locally.  Unfortunately, it's not silk.  For polyester, it's fairly high quality, but it's not silk.  Next time I will use silk.

(4) Pattern:  When I started this jacket, the latest Claire Shaeffer pattern had not been released and her previous pattern was OOP, and in high demand.  I could not justify paying $150 for a sewing pattern on ebay, so I decided to create my own.  I had an old Simplicity used for a quilted jacket 10 years ago that had princess shoulder seams, but a one-piece sleeve and  I had the Vogue pattern that had a two-piece sleeve, but was loose fitting and too boxy for me.  So I combined the two of them and drafted a three-piece sleeve and a bodice with shoulder princess seams and a side piece cut on the bias.  Since I had no experience doing this, it took me SEVERAL toiles before I had something that looked decent.  I know I must have learned an awful lot in the long drawn-out process.  However, I'm not sure I remember what I learned, since I did not document anything.  It's probably still rattling around inside my head helping me make fitting adjustments.  I did purchase the V8808 a couple of weeks ago when Vogue had a sale.  Next time I will probably use it.

(5) Trim:  I went through at least as many iterations of trim possibilities as I did muslins.  Self trim, ribbon, gimp, braid and several types of crocheted trims with several different colors of yarn, as well as combinations of most of the above together.  I finally settled on eyelash yarn (one strand of purple, one of brown), crocheted into a simple chain with a large hook.  I feel that it balances the large weave of the boucle.  I don't think it would have looked the same on a tighter weave. So I do feel it worked in this case, but will probably torment myself again next time.

(6) Sleeve vents:  As mentioned, the sleeves were self-drafted, and I've never drafted a sleeve or sewn a jacket with vents, so it was a crash course in vents.  They came out fine, but I spent an awful lot of time on them.  I could have easily skipped the buttonholes and just sewed the ends together -- which I considered many times -- but felt like I needed to have real buttonholes somewhere on the jacket.  They were a lot of fun to make and am looking forward to my next opportunity to do a hand-worked buttonhole.  Next time I would put a larger piece of organza into the end of the sleeve to help stabilize the buttonholes.  I don't remember why they were only 2" wide.  Next time I will cut the organza 4" wide.

(7) Pockets: I made 2 patch pockets, but considered doing three or four.  I just couldn't find a combination that I was happy with to extend the number of pockets.  The pocket is lined with lining fabric and interlined with organza to give it some stiffness. I think they came out nicely - I would revisit the 3 or 4 pocket options, though.

Inside of patch pocket

(8) Buttons: One area where I agonized excessively...finding the PERFECT button.  This part of my planning went on for weeks.  Really.  I finally settled on some simple gold buttons from Joann.  They are fine -- classic and simple.  As with the trim, future buttons will just depend on the fabric I use "next time."

All that being said, I don't really know if I will ever have the time to do a jacket like this again!  I did learn a lot of new techniques that I will no doubt use in other projects, though.

Radio Silence Lifted!

My sewing machine has been very busy.  So busy, that I haven't had time to post anything between finishing Project Snow White and trying to complete SWAP 2013.

One entire weekend was spent sewing dawn to dusk (or later) on the Snow White costume. The dress was finished by Sunday night, and the collar and cape were easily finished during the weekday evenings. It came out quite nicely, though my back suffered immensely from the constant sewing.  The good news is that my daughter took a very active role in the process.  She spent Friday night pressing the pattern and the freshly laundered fabric.  There was a LOT of fabric, so she saved me quite a bit of time by being my press girl.  It was also fun having her keep me company.  She did so well with the iron, that I suggested she sew all the skirt seams -- French seams, no less!  While she was at the machine, I finished hand stitching the trim to my tweed jacket.

Unfortunately, I did not get to see her wear the completed outfit, as I had to spend the most recent weekend on a business trip.  My mom took lots of pictures, and Stephanie loved being the center of attention among the young children.  I hope the ensemble gets more than one wearing! 

The fairest of them all

Although I am having my doubts about finishing SWAP by the deadline, at least I FINISHED MY JACKET!  AND I've already worn it!  It's great.

I have made a few tweaks to my SWAP plan, and will continue sewing everything there even if I don't get it all completed by the deadline.  Before leaving town this past weekend, I started the dress pants, and they seem to be coming together very quickly.

The toughest part for me has been finding the right colors in the appropriate fabrics, especially on the "casual" side of the plan.  As a result, I will most likely dye my own jersey for the scoop neck tee.  The "jeans" fabrics have also proven elusive for me.  I was hoping to do them in non-indigo denims or twill.  Some of my orders arrived yesterday, and the pink stretch twill was more of a bubblegum, while I was hoping for more of a faded burgundy.  The wine colored twill that I ordered was misplaced somewhere at the warehouse, and I received a blue and white striped home decorator's canvas instead.  It would probably make some groovy 70's style pants, but not the look I'm going for.

Nonetheless, I am continuing with the project.  Even if I don't make the deadline, just having some nice clothes for myself will be fantastic!

Paralyzed by Fear, or how I learned to love hand-worked buttonholes

Work on my jacket continues...slowly.  While focusing on the sleeve vent buttonholes, I once again became paralyzed by fear -- the fear of cutting into the tweed boucle and ruining a sleeve.  Probably not true fear, maybe just anxiety. Even though I practiced a few times on scraps, I was hesitant to pick up my scissors and cut into the thread-marked sleeve.  So the jacket sat unworked for a few days until I told myself "this isn't brain surgery" and finally cut into it.  I should have approached it as though it was brain surgery.

The first hand-worked buttonhole came out very nice.  Not sure what happened during the second -- maybe I drifted off to sleep or was distracted by the dogs or the kids or the doorbell -- I ended up tearing it out. The the third and fourth were even nicer.  Whether it was more practice or just paying attention to my fingers, I can't be sure, but I am happy with the outcome.

I really enjoyed the hand-worked method (with a faux bound buttonhole on the inside).  I was disappointed that I didn't give myself room for buttonholes down the front of the jacket, so this was my way of redeeming myself.  I used purple silk buttonhole twist and a fairly thick cord for gimp. When I initially constructed the sleeves (in late 2011), I hand-stitched a 2" wide strip of organza into the end of the sleeve.  It came in very handy as a stabilizer for the bottom buttonhole, and I wish I would have extended the width 2 or 3 more inches to reach the second buttonhole. 

All that's left is the trim and the chain!  I just can't believe it's almost finished.  I had hoped to finish it over the long weekend, but life (and mending) got in the way, so it will be an evening project this week.

Paralyzed by Indecision

My Bernina remains in the shop for maintenance -- I was told it would be at least two weeks -- so I kept myself busy practicing hand worked buttonholes for a few days.  Actually a lot of fun!  I realized after doing a few that my embroidery skills of my youth were still intact, and I needed to move on to completing the jacket.

After trying it on several times I decided that I really didn't like the feel of the shoulder pads.  So I considered taking them out.  Then I talked myself out of it, thinking that I must have had a good reason to put them in.  This conversation with myself continued back and forth every time I tried to do something on the jacket -- for several days -- until I told myself that I needed to leave them in. 


Jacket with shoulder pads over the purple(ish) blouse

I managed to do little bits of this and that with the jacket, but nothing substantial.  The pockets were already assembled, so I attached them with hand-stitches.  Even though they span the princess seams, the plaid matches fairly well.  It's actually difficult for me to differentiate the pocket from the jacket:



Pockets added to jacket

 The pockets are lined on the inside and interlined with organza to give the boucle some stiffness.



Inside of Pocket

Yesterday I wore another jacket that I made -- also with shoulder pads -- but it was soooo comfortable.  I spent the day thinking that they must be really small shoulder pads, and decided that I should open the lining on the Chanel and swap those pads for small ones.  Last night I finally opened one shoulder and was surprised to see that they were also very shallow (not tall) shoulder pads.  I pulled one out and tried the jacket on and lo and behold, I liked it better without the shoulder pads!  I double-checked with my husband, who agreed, so they both came out.  I did leave the sleeve heads intact -- they do a nice job shaping the cap and aren't in my way. I feel so much more confident about finishing the jacket now that the paralyzing indecision over the shoulder pads is behind me.  It's amazing how doubt can really hold you back.

The Cupboard Under the Stairs

Every once in a while it gets a cleaning and dusting.  We pull out the vacuums (large and small), the coats and hats and mis-matched mittens, the boxes of light bulbs and old picture frames and the dozens of empty bags stuffed inside one another.  For a few months, we are able to see open floor space and step inside to find the coat or scarf we need, but before you know it, the ironing board is once again falling on us and there is not a matching glove to be found. 

Ours has never housed a wizard, though my daughter and I once spent a fairly comfortable over-night on the floor during a tornado warning.  That was early in our home's history, before we began accumulating "stuff" that needed to be hidden.  For the last year, the star resident has been my "Chanel" jacket, who is patiently waiting to have her sleeve vent buttonholes finished, patch pockets, trim and (finally) the chain hand-stitched in place.  I pretend not to see her, unless she has been accidentally knocked to the floor, in which case I gently place her back on the dress form and close the door.

On New Year's day, I found my way over to the Stitcher's Guild forum and learned about SWAP.  It seemed so simple -- finish the jacket and just sew ten other garments for myself between now and April.  Maybe because I'd been on vacation for almost two weeks it seemed so simple to complete.  TEN OTHER GARMENTS?!

For someone who rarely sews for herself, this is a very lofty goal, but I'm taking it on anyway.  At the very least, I will be thrilled to finish the collection by the end of 2013 and will be completely shocked if I finish by the April deadline.

In my state of hyper excitement I ordered three fabrics from Gorgeous Fabrics:
 1) purple silk crepe de chine (I've made myself a green blouse with it before and it is heaven to sew),
 2) rayon/acetate brown leafy print for a second blouse and
 3) brown RPL for slacks. 

Including the jacket, that's only four pieces, leaving me with another SEVEN to plan out, let alone sew!  Nonetheless, I have a more-than-vague plan and I'm going to start it.  I am going to start it as soon as I finish the fleece and flannel extravaganza that is lined up ahead of my wardrobe.