My Kyiv Jacket: Jalie Tania in blue and gold

Well, I made it to Round 3 of the Pattern Review Sewing Bee! This is farthest I've ever gone in this challenge, and I'm enjoying it so far. The challenge set was to make the Jalie Tania coatigan, and make it your own. I've made the Tania previously, so didn't have to do much fitting or tracing, which was a definite benefit as the week-long sewing challenge fell on a week in which I was very busy and short of time. 

I ran a number of ideas through as possibilities, until I finally decided on making a lightweight coatigan from some navy and black wool challis in my stash. I was taking Kyiv as my inspiration: it is sometimes known as the City of the Golden Domes, and so instead of the bright yellow and blue of the Ukrainian flag, I went with navy and gold in a nod to both. 

I cut my navy wool, and the gold lining I had in mind. I was planning on doing some embroidery and/or stencilling in gold, but when I was making samples I just couldn't get it right. It all looked too "homemade" and not what I was going for. So I decided to make a change.

 I knew I had some gold-toned fabrics in my stash so got them all out and changed the lower part of the Tania. I decided on some bronzey stretch fabric so had to interface it with lightweight interfacing to keep it from stretching out. Matching up those "V"s meant some fussy hand basting to begin with, something I experienced on my last go-round when I was matching up piping points. This bronzey gold seemed to go nicely with both the navy and the more golden lining. 

But I still didn't think it was enough, it needed a little more design. So I made the interior of the collar also in bronze, to highlight it when the collar is turned down. And more importantly, I decided to make a slashed sleeve, both to show off more gold and as a tribute to the church domes that were my inspiration - the oldest churches in Kyiv were built in 1037 and kept getting added to up to the 1850s and beyond, so that stretch of years includes the European fashion of slashed sleeves and doublets somewhere in there ;) 

 I used a strip of 2.5" wide gold fabric, attached to the sleeve which was split down the middle (it's a symmetrical sleeve) with a 1/4" seam, and then folded back together with edges touching. It's stitched down by about 3" at top and bottom, while the middle is left to open and reveal the gold insert. 

This wasn't too hard to make -- the pattern is quite straightforward. I didn't have many fitting adjustments to make, both because I am a fan of the boxy shape, and because I've made it before. But all the additions and changes did mean I had to start over a bit and think about how to put it all together most efficiently. 

While I don't think this was really out-of-the-box or terribly unique (no real changes to style lines or overall appearance) I enjoyed making it. I was pleased with my inspiration, and was also happy to have been able to once again make the entire project out of stash materials. I knew that gold lining would have a perfect project some day!

Tania Coatigan in Cursive

My latest Fabricville blogger project was a bit of an outlier for me. But I was making it for the latest edition of the Fabricville newsletter, and the theme was Fall jackets.

I don't often make outerwear or even blazers, but I was looking for a fall jacket/sweater, and the first thing I thought of was the new Tania Coatigan by Jalie. This jacket-like cardigan without front closures is perfect to throw on over a dress to look instantly chic and keep yourself warm in the chillier days or nights of fall! It has the addition of angled seams and clever pockets for that extra appeal.

The recommended fabrics for this pattern are stable knits or linen; it gives different looks depending on the fabric you choose, from casual to dressy. The pattern also recommends that you use your high bust measurement for a fitted look, and your bust for a looser fit. This opens up so many options!

I’m a librarian and I love sewing with unexpected fabrics, so I really couldn’t resist this cotton drapery fabric - PK Studio Cursive Caps - from Fabricville for my choice for the Tania! Look at those beautiful cursive letters – I can’t wait to wear this to work.

Although not one of the recommended fabrics, it is fairly lightweight without any special coatings or treatments that can sometimes be found on upholstery fabrics. Thinking about the characteristics of the fabric, the drape, the weight, scale of the print, and so on, is vital when deciding to use an unusual fabric choice for any pattern. Think about the lines of the pattern and whether the fabric you’ve chosen will match with that. For example, this fabric wouldn’t work for anything full or gathered, but it works amazingly for something fitted, with structure.

These back seams are perfectly straight when this is hanging on a hanger; there is slightly
too much fabric in the upper back for my body & so they curve out when worn. Sigh.

I made very few alterations to the Tania. Jalie’s patterns are always very well drafted. Because I’m only 5’2”, I did shorten it slightly above the angled seams, and shortened the sleeve length by a couple of inches. I also increased the bicep of the sleeve by 1.5” because my fabric doesn’t have much give and I often find Jalie sleeves narrow for my body normally anyhow.

I made a few cosmetic changes too: to accent those angled seams I inserted some satin piping that I also found in the upholstery department! It took a little extra time and hand basting to ensure that the points matched up at the seams but it was worth it. Because this drapery fabric tends to fray easily, I also took the time to bind all the seams with seam binding tape. This was the lengthiest part of the process! So much pinning and careful sewing. And I finished the edges of my facing with some bias binding for a tidy and attractive edge.

Other than those changes, this was a quick sew, perfect for the enthusiastic beginner on up. This pattern has potential for many different versions. When I make it again, I’ll probably use a knit, and one change I’ll make is to make the body one size smaller for a snugger fit. After wearing for a bit, I find that there is a lot of volume in the lower back for my body so will just take it in a little at the centre back seam to adjust for that too. A great pattern and a wonderful, high quality fabric with a print that I love make this into a hit for me!