Vogue 2053: Jacket in Cream Corduroy

For my latest Fabricville blogger project, I decided to make a dress and a jacket -- well, I've only finished the jacket thus far but do have the dress on the cutting table now! 

This Vogue 2053 was enticing, I pictured it in this lovely cream corduroy from the latest offerings at Fabricville.com. The fabric is indeed very nice, but this project was SO HARD. This boxy jacket was more complicated than it appeared at first glance. It has paneled front and sides, full length sleeves with a working vent, and is fully lined.

This wasn't too awkward until I got to the lining the sleeve part. Oh my goodness. It took me almost an hour of fiddling before I figured out how to stitch the sleeve hems and vent extension together inside out and then flip it so that it sat correctly with no holes! My brain was tired. Something I discovered was that none of my tailoring books had any instructions on this specific part of the process, and I couldn't find anything online that showed me what the Vogue instructions were trying to tell me to do. Finally I just tried a few things, unpicked a few things, and finally got it right. Whew! 

The other difficulty with this project is in the fabric itself. It's a beautiful cotton corduroy, but it does shed terribly when working with it. And pressing is another issue: I had to be very careful and press gently on a folded towel so that I wouldn't crush the wales. But it's hard to get it perfectly crisp when you can't just squash it down. I used a lot of steam and time and it mostly worked, but it does wrinkle up again fairly quickly. Especially in the sleeve where there is a lot of bulk. 

I took about 3.5" out of the sleeve length but I think I could stand to take one more inch if I try again. And if I did try again, I wouldn't bother about the working vent, I would just make a shorter simple sleeve ending. As it is, I didn't bother putting buttonholes in the vent, I just stitched the buttons right through both layers. The sleeve is boxy and doesn't need a working vent. 

Close up of the sleeve vent - kind of looks 
like my face when I finally finished it!

One thing I decided at the beginning was that I didn't want to use the corduroy for the facings. I felt that would be too bulky, and it could also cause the jacket to stick to the clothing underneath if it was at all grippy. So I auditioned a few fabrics in my stash, but ended up going with a pale linen in my upcycle pile - it was an old pair of summer pants that I didn't like wearing but were made of a lovely linen. It was perfect for the facings and I like the contrast on the inside. I used an 'oyster' lining from Fabricville for the rest of the lining, and found some very cool brass buttons there too. 

I learned quite a lot making this, and also made quite a few errors. I feel that I could size down a bit but it is way too late now to make any adjustments; I'm kind of tired of the project ;) Things I learned for next time - use a more pressable fabric, size down a bit, and don't bother with the sleeve vents. I think if I changed those trouble points, this would be a fairly quick project on a second go. As it is, after all the effort, I'm fairly pleased with how it looks, but am also not 100% convinced that this boxy style is right for me. I'll try it styled a few ways and see how it goes. It might go right into someone else's closet -- or not, depending! 

Spring Sewing Plans: Specifics

After looking at my remaining Fall sewing queue and setting up my Spring plans, I decided to pick a few specific patterns that I want to make next. I pulled a bunch of fabrics from my stash and got busy. 

You might notice a theme of sorts. I've made myself some blue & yellow masks and a lapel pin for myself and my spouse. And of course, Ukraine is on my mind every day. So I looked through my stash and found quite a lot of blues and yellows to use for my next projects. Some of them are ones I put onto my #MakeNine2022 list, and others are plans I made in the fall. One or two are new ones I've added to the list. So far this is what I'm queuing up for the next month and a half of sewing. 

This Vogue 8612 is one I picked up at a thrift store just for this great jacket. I'd matched it up with this small piece of wool gabardine (also from a thrift store, online) back on my Make Nine list. I've got it cut out with a fun piece of lining, too. First one up!  

This Belgravia Dress by Liesl & Co is on my list as part of a project for the Liesl & Co Advisors Circle. I saw this feather print knit in the stash and thought I'd match them up! 

Butterick 6708 is a pattern for a zip front jacket that I was planning on making last fall. I had this textured cotton fabric picked out for it so now is the time! I might make the skirt from this pattern, but might also use another t&t skirt with pockets. We will see. 

This very bright piece of lightweight linen will need to be lined, but I think that this simple summer dress from an old Burda magazine (late 80s) is the right match here. It will be a fun summer basic.

This blouse is another from my Make Nine list this year. Butterick 6488 has variations, but I'm choosing the front frilled View A (the one in white on the cover) for this royal blue rayon.

I had forgotten about this cotton sateen print but when I uncovered it I knew it would be a great fit for the Suki Dress from the Tilly & the Buttons book Make It Simple which I recently read and reviewed. A nice quick dress, hopefully, and it will match with the yellow jacket above if I get that made quickly too. 

Finally, an outlier -- as I was going through my stash I rediscovered this cotton canvas curtain panel that I found in a thrift store ages ago. It will be perfect for a boxy jacket -- not sure which pattern yet, I have a Burda pattern and a vintage 80s See & Sew pattern that both appeal to me. I'll have to check which works best with the print here. This is a traditional embroidery design from Western Ukraine, where my family originated, so I'm very happy to have found this print!

Weekend Review: Jackets, Coats and Suits

Jackets, Coats and Suits / Threads Magazine
Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, c1992.
94 p.

After last week's book all about pockets, I thought I'd pull out this Threads sources book all about jackets. I've had it for quite some time. 

It's a collection of articles from Threads prior to 1992, so the styles are a bit dated (some in a very fun way). But the techniques are thorough and solid, as expected from a set of articles written by people like David Page Coffin, Claire Shaeffer, Marcy Tilton, and more. 

There's an interesting look at the construction of Armani jackets, as well as Dior influenced styles. And specific articles on shaping wool with pressing, creating welt pockets, copying RTW designs, and even an example of brightly coloured, quilted reversible jackets. There's lots to learn. And if you're interested in American designers, you'll find a nice piece on Bonnie Cashin and the influence she had on fashion -- this article includes a pattern that you can copy using a grid or by measurements, for a Cashin Noh Coat. 

If you don't have all the hard copy back issues of Threads, this collection of articles is a useful one. You'll have lots to reference on classic tailoring and coat construction. There's a variety of styles and topics here to investigate and it may spark interest in something you haven't seen before.