As the Crow Flies

Don't worry, this isn't turning into an embroidery blog.  I'm still working on my boucle jacket, I just got hung up waiting for the zipper to arrive (because I can't order these things before I start sewing), and now that the zipper is here and installed, I have to face up to cutting into that chocolate charmeuse lining.  I'm not in the mood for dealing with slippery, but it has to be done.  I keep reminding myself how good it will feel when I wear it.

** Speaking of zippers, I ordered mine from Wawak, formerly Atlanta Thread.  They promise that your order will ship next day.  I didn't get a shipping email the next day, so I wondered  if maybe they weren't as good as AT was.  Two days after that, I get an email - my package had shipped.  Which wouldn't have been funny except I'd already received the box that day, opened it and gotten the zipper installed before the email arrived.  So anyone who's worried about the changeover, don't be.  Their emails may be slow, but shipping is not.

Long weekend ahead.  Quite a few chores planned, but the jacket will be complete by the end of it.  Check back then if you can't take any more embroidery.  :)

Best thing about it: it gives me something to do at lunchtime at work.  It's a nice head cleaner on a busy, stressful day to be able to take 15 or 20 minutes and stitch.  This particular piece is called Celtic Ravens, from the Urban Threads Celtic Majesty collection.

Except I'm calling them crows.  This piece was made as a gift.  The recipient has always considered seeing crows in pairs as a sign of good luck.  I'll be visiting her in October and I wanted to take a present.  Aside from the fact that she will appreciate a handmade gift (how often does that happen, really?) I thought this would be something special that she could put up in the house.  I made it as a wall hanging as opposed to a pillow or something because she has 3 dogs, a few cats and a farm, so anything on the wall is bound to last longer.

The other reason I'm doing so much embroidery is I'm going to be teaching a class at the local arts league this fall, and I'd rather not feel like Marge Simpson, trying to stay one class ahead of her students.  I'm trying to re-teach myself what I've forgotten, learn some new stuff and just become comfortable again with a needle in my hand.  The outline work on this piece was a combination of back stitch and split stitch, both of which I can move really quickly at now.  The fill-in work is chain stitch, which I really like for less than solid (i.e., not satin stitch) fill, except for when I miss the loop bringing the needle back down and the whole damn chain unravels behind me.

Judging by tone, you know that's happened more than once.  But less often, these days.

Jacket by Monday.  I promise.

Sewing and Swearing

So I've decided how to deal with my lack of motivation.  I'm going to ignore it, along with the fact that it's still summer, and start sewing for fall.  This won't solve the temperature problem in the workroom, but unless it gets particularly hellish in there, I'm pretending it's October.

That matter being decided, I picked a fall project and jumped in.  Of all the jackets I've ever made (and there are many, jackets being one of my favorite things to sew), BWOF 8/06 #108 is oneof my absolute favorites.  Of course, the August 2006 issue may be the best Burda magazine of all time, but that's just my opinion.

I've made #108 before in muted green/blue plaid that I bought on vacation in Florence, but I wear it so often, and like the fit so and style so much, I'm making it again, this time in a vibrant orange/gold/brown boucle bought a year or two ago from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Boucle.  Lovely stuff, if it doesn't drive you crazy.

This is driving me a bit crazy.  There are threads and shreds and fuzzies everywhere, even with block fusing interfacing to the fabric.  Everywhere.  I'm afraid to look in the machine.

Between its unwillingness to hold its shape and the jellylike consistency of the chocolate silk charmeuse I'm using for a lining, interfacing and the zipper will be the only things holding this jacket in shape.  But they will be enough.  I always think that fabrics like this will end up looking like one big mushball, and somehow they know to pull themselves together and become a structured garment.  Don't ask me how they know; maybe they're just afraid that if they don't cooperate they're going to join all those loose threads and shreds in the waste basket.

(Never happen, but the fabric doesn't have to know that).

Highland Fling

Tomorrow is my firm's holiday party.  While it's supposed to just be a "lunch" - beginning at noon and ending sometime before the bars close - it still involves much preparation and overdressing among my co-workers.

As in sequins before noon overdressing.  Ahem.

Me, I'll be ridiculously under dressed tomorrow, at least in their eyes.  Because I haven't gotten my winter dress finished, and I don't want to rush and try to finish it tonight, I'll be wearing my recently completed (but not yet worn) plaid jacket.

It's green.  It's red.  It has shiny red and brass buttons.  It has a freaking olive green silk charmeuse lining. 

I say I'm dressed up.  I don't care what they call it.

This pattern is mostly McCall 5859.  I made a sleeveless version last summer (because I ran out of fabric before I cut sleeves).  This time, I had just enough.  Literally, I couldn't have made a vest for Lily the sewing room cat out of my scraps, and she only weighs 7 pounds. 

Here's the revised patternreview:

Pattern Description: Princess seamed peplum jacket with collar, pockets, short and long sleeve variations.

Pattern Sizing: Some variation between 12 and 14.  I tend toward the 14 these days, but it's princess seamed front and back, and doesn't have to button across the bulkiest part of me, so I went a little more fitted.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? More or less.  The lines are the same, though I de-poofed the sleeves and took some of the cute out of it.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Very easy. I looked them over the first time and this time I just went for it. I did check back regarding the collar, because collar and lapel are two separate pieces, not meant to be sewn together.


What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved it when I first saw it, and while I really like my gray pinstripe summer version, I hadn't planned to make another.  But the last time I wore the pinstripe, I caught a look at myself in the mirror and decided that the peplum look was really flattering and gave me a bit more waist definition than I usually can achieve from a jacket.  Good enough reason for a re-sew in my books.

Fabric Used:  Oh, yum, the fabric.  Mossy green wool/cashmere flannel wonderfulness from Metro Textiles.  It was in Kashi's remnant bin and it just drew me across the store.  There wasn't much of it, so this jacket took some creative cutting.  Lining: olive green silk charmeuse purchased at PR Weekend NY 2006.  I got the last 5 yards on the bolt, knowing it was a color I'd always wear.  This is my second jacket lining, and I think there's enough for one more, if I choose my fabrics carefully.  Buttons are vintage, brass with a rusty painted overlay.  I buffed them with an emery board to let a little more of the gold show through.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I changed the sleeves.  With the gray pinstripe version, I only had enough fabric for the tiny sleeves, and I hated them.  This time I had enough for real sleeves, but the sleeve as drafted was still too puffed for my taste, so I fiddled with it and took out most of the ease (not all; I was working with wool, so I knew that I could get away with some). 

I also cut the peplums on the bias, because I knew there'd be no way to match plaid both coming and going on the princess seams. Because the peplums were bias and I didn't want them to stretch out, I interfaced them with a fairly crisp interfacing.  It also gives a slightly structured vintage feel to the jacket when worn.  I also interfaced both sides of the collar and lapel, the facings, the center back panel of the jacket, and fused strips of interfacing at the hems of the jacket and sleeves. I used very minimal shoulder pads and made sleeve heads from some puffy shoulder pads I took apart.

I was actually going to treat myself and take the bus up to NY and have my buttonholes done at Jonathan's.  They do the best buttonholes.  And I'd started this jacket before we went to Paris, so this has been hanging around literally for almost 2 months.  I don't let projects linger this long.  But I decided against NY - because I know myself.  I wouldn't have held it to buttonholes, and then there would have been more fabric in my house.  I sat down at my machine, took my beautiful jacket in my hands, and made 4 perfectly good buttonholes all on my own.  (Okay, so they're not Jonathan, but I'm fine with them.  Really.)

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  Absolutely, on both counts.  I hadn't planned on sewing it a second time because of the distinctive collar, but when I got my hands on this fabric, this was the first pattern that came to mind.  You have to trust your fabric's instincts; it knows what it wants to be.  And it doesn't pay to argue. 

Conclusion:  One of my favorite garments for the year, and I haven't even worn it out of the house yet.  I'm a sucker for a good jacket, though, and every time I make it one step further along in my journey toward the perfect jacket, it just makes me want to keep going.

The Things People Throw Away

The local thrift store had half price day a few weekendss ago. I was a good girl and didn't go cruising the plus size section for more leather pants to cut up; actually, I stayed out of the store altogether in an attempt stash control. My roommate, however, did not stay inside. She came home with this jacket, which looks pretty nice, until you look closer, when it's pretty fabulous.

Someone made this gorgeous thing, and then got rid of it. All I can think of is she either gained or lost a lot of weight, and couldn't bear to look at it in the closet, or it was a gift for someone who didn't appreciate all that work. Which, I have to admit, is one of the reasons I don't do a lot of gifts. Look at these details:

It's fully lined, with stretch lace at the hem of the lining. There are two faux welt pockets on the front, one with a tiny bias ruffle of blue-and-white ticking stripe, to match the ruffling on the cuffs (which in turn match the lining fabric). And best of all, IT HAS TAILS.<

Well, sort of tails. What would you call this? Ruffles? Pleats, I guess. What I like best is that the pleated section is made up of a combination of all the fabrics - the medallion lining, the ticking-stripe ruffle and a navy blue satin. The stripe, by the way, is actually pin-tucked to make it look even more pleated.

And again, I say, someone got rid of this! What were they thinking?

I made a tailcoat for the holidays last year, and while it's not something I can wear everyday (or, face it, more than a few times a year), I'd never let it leave my clutches. I spent over an hour in Mood trying to locate this fabric, which had been stapled to the wall as a swatch, so after a successful hunter/gatherer moment like that, there's no way I'd let this baby get away.