Completed: Audrey Jacket

It's been a little longer between posts than I planned, sorry, but I haven't had proper internet access for a good two weeks. In the meantime though I finished my coat/jacket (Style Arc's Audrey Jacket pattern) I was going title this post, "A Fail Or Not A Fail?", since that was my question, but we'll get to that! Here 'tis:

(Huddled under the eaves in this shot - the rain and wind were evidently competing to see which could be the most energetic...)

And a back view for Nessa! Wish I'd adjusted my top first... :(  And for all of you lovely people who commiserated with me on the Buttonhole Debacle (and thank you, by the way - I would take you all out for coffee and cake if we lived nearby):

Hooray! Bound buttonholes sewn AND positioned correctly! So why was I thinking Fail? Well, it all went together fine (eventually...) but when I tried it on, I didn't like it on me. Painful moment! I loved the slightly retro shape of it in the pattern picture, but it's not a style I've ever worn before, and it just felt wrong on. I didn't make a muslin, so I guess that's my own fault. If I'd tried it on in a changing room I'd have rejected it immediately. Can you call it a successful project if you don't end up wearing it?? Has this ever happened to you?

The collar bothered me too. It still does. It's supposed to sit up like this (back view below):

(That looks uneven in the photo - I promise it's not!) But at the front it collapses in on itself a bit. If I ever make it again I'm going to fuse the collar - at least the front sections - twice. It's fine around the buttonholes, which have the extra fabric patch sewn in to make the welts, and that's what suggests to me that the front collar needs a bit more reinforcement. It just doesn't seem to be holding the weight adequately. I'm wondering too whether buttons with a shank wouldn't be a better choice, as much as I like these red ones. I have some dull gold ones in the drawer - might give them a go. Any thoughts???

So it sat there for a week or so. And, because I really do love the fabric, I tried it on every now and then. And slowly, it began to grow on me. I still don't think it's a perfect style for me, but I don't think it's the unmitigated disaster I thought it was at first. It is wearable, and having worn it to work yesterday I can attest that people don't point and snigger. It fills a wardrobe gap. So, I'm calling it a cautious success.

Although I don't consider myself remotely qualified to post tutorials, I am going to show step by step below how the hem lining went together, mainly because I would have loved to have this two weeks ago! Not sure if it's the standard procedure, but it worked. That's the thing about Style Arc patterns - I love their designs, but the instructions given do assume you know what you're doing. I've decided to take that as a compliment.

All was going fine till I got to the point of sewing the lining to the jacket. (Aside: I really wanted a striking print for this, a la Claire's Lady Grey jacket, but couldn't find anything that looked right. And then this silk lining went on sale. Couldn't resist. And that's another reason I kept trying the thing on - wool coat with silk lining....) The instructions said "Sew lining to jacket continuing around hem." Looked down at this:

Thought I'd cut it out wrong at first! Checked. Hadn't. Reread instructions. Didn't help. Googled. No love. So I went to the wardrobe and looked at the way other wool coat linings had gone together, and worked it out from there. This one has an overlocked edge on the front facing - mine's folded under. The lining is sewn at hem and folds down over itself. It started to make sense.

First I had to unpick 3cm of the front facing/front lining seam. This allows for manouevering room when you sew the lower edges.

 Then I sewed the jacket front/front facing seam, stopping directly above the right angle where the jacket front extends downwards. After that (not pictured, oops) I pulled the lining down to meet the jacket's lower edge and sewed them together. Imagine another finger pointing to the edge below - that seam.

This left a 'hole' where these two horizontal seams don't quite match up. The photo shows the reverse side of what's pictured above (i.e. the interfaced part you see below is the jacket facing - imagine the jacket in the above photo has been lifted up towards you.) My thumb is on the jacket front/facing seam, and my first finger is on the lining/ lower jacket edge seam.

When you bag it out, it looks like this, with the lining folding down over itself, hiding the actual seam.

 Hope that makes sense!

In wedding sewing news, we've had the bride's first fitting, and it seems to be coming along nicely. Which is making me rethink my "one sewing challenge at a time" rule.... All of a sudden there seem to be all these online sewalongs and challenges I really want to have a go at! I would love to be part of Thread Theory's Jedidiah Pants Sewalong. And the Sew Weekly Reunion Challenge is waking me up o' nights (Can you be part of a reunion if you weren't there the first time around??)... I know I have a tendency to take on too much at once though. And I think I really need to ensure that wedding sewing is as stress-free as possible. On the other hand, I planned to make a dress to wear to it anyway, and the colours of the SWRC are sublime. Think I'll leave it to chance - if I find suitable fabric next time I go shopping I'll jump in and go for it!

Are you taking part in any challenges or sewalongs at the moment? Do tell!

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo

Hmmm.... Links don't seem to be working, sorry. Will fix ASAP

A minor tragedy...

Well, perhaps "tragedy" is a little strong....But for a few minutes there I didn't think so. Nor did it feel so very minor! Let me explain:

Way back in March, I bought the Style Arc Audrey Jacket pattern.

 It's a bit different to what I'd usually wear, but I really loved the slightly 60s feel of the wide stand up collar and the swing style silhouette. Not to mention the sleeves! I'd been wanting to make a coat for ages, and this seemed like an ideal first attempt, being a little less structured and tailored than most coat patterns. Then I found a glorious red wool and that pretty much decided it.

So why am I only attempting it now, given we're already halfway through winter down here? I'm not proud to admit this, but I really, really wanted to do bound buttonholes on the collar, and when I made such a hash of those on my Sew For Victory dress, I was thoroughly intimidated. And isn't it just so easy to procrastinate on a project when you're intimidated??

But, after pulling myself out of my sewing rut (see last post!), I decided it was time to tackle my coat properly. Armed with the absolutely superb bound buttonholes tutorial by the Little Tailoress, (truly, I can't praise this highly enough) I sat down at the machine determined to master this bete noire.

And did they work out? They did! They really did! Look!

You can imagine the happy dance that ensued. :)

And then....tragedy! To my utter horror, I realised I had marked and sewed the buttonholes in the wrong place. The collar piece is folded in half length-ways, and the buttons are meant to be central. Instead (and ignore basting thread):

I'll admit, there was some movie-style "noooooooooooo!"-ing to the heavens. Then I tried to come up with ways in which the placement wouldn't matter. No good. There was nothing else for it but to sulk. And knit instead. Right up to the point that I discovered that sulky knitting had made me read the pattern wrong and I would have to unravel and re-knit. Flounced off to read a book instead.

Oh I know, worse things happen at sea and all that. But it did seem like the sewing gods were being a tad unfair... 

After a day's break, (and a renewed ability to see the funny side of it all) I'm ready to tackle my coat again. I'm hoping to get it finished tomorrow.  I'm happy with how the rest of it is coming together, and I'm taking extra care (for once!) to make sure the insides are finished off nicely too.  At least I know I can do bound buttonholes now! I'll just be very, very sure to pay attention to pattern markings...

Have a wonderful ( tragedy-free!) week :)

Danielle oxo