comfy jacket

A few years ago I got some extra metal zippers (jean fly type) in a shipping error. Making jeans is something I think about every now and again, but my few tries have not been encouraging. On my bulletin board is tacked a picture of a tweedy kind of Chanel-type jacket with zippered pockets. A Chanel jacket is in my future, but it is going to take so much work that I want it to be timeless, not trendied-up with zippers and whatnot.

But I wanted to use some of my zippers and thought that the dark blue/brass zips would look good with a beige/blue cotton stripe that I got from Fabric Finders at the Martha Market. That’s what drove the fabric decision.

For the pattern, I had been wanting to make some fitting tweaks to Cutting Line’s By Popular Demand jacket. And that’s what made the pattern decision. It’s nice when the decisions just make themselves.

Here’s the resulting jacket, which will look good with both natural linen and denim, staples in the closet.

The fitting changes: took out a little width by taking a vertical tuck in the pattern, front and back. Removed about 1/2 inch, so that’s 2 inches total. That worked out perfect at the shoulders, but was just a little too much at the hip. That’s OK, it looks just fine when worn open and I never button my jackets. Next time, I’ll slash along the tuck and spread it just a little at the hem edge so that it COULD be worn closed, even though I never will. Also lengthened the sleeve because reducing the shoulder width means the sleeve cap sits higher…and the hem sits higher, too.

Other fit refinements: did a forward shoulder & neck adjustment by slashing front and back yoke horizontally below the neckline. Spread the back 1/2 inch and lapped the front by the same amount. I need to do this on all CLD patterns.

The jacket was underlined with cotton batiste. I’ve used that technique on several cotton jackets now and really like what it does. The lightweight batiste adds just enough oomph to the cotton outer fabric to give it a bit more presence and a quality feel. And the batiste feels just great on the skin, nice when you wear your jacket with sleeveless tops.

The pockets are placed at waist level and were constructed before underlining so that all the pocket bags are hidden. The zippers were just inserted into rectangular windows. Interfacing the window and a little Steam-A-Seam for basting the zipper tapes made sewing the zippers really easy. They are just edgestitched all around.

The back part of the bags, the part that shows when they are opened, was cut from the fashion fabric. I was a good girl and matched the stripes. The other part of the bag was cut from batiste – less bulky than another layer of the fashion fabric.

The lower part of the back was cut on the fold rather than seamed, but the yoke was cut so that it could be mitered. Anything that brings attention up to the shoulders is a good thing.

On the Chanel thing…Ann Rowley has once again gone the extra mile and posted a detailed photo tutorial on the making of Claire Shaeffer’s latest pattern for Vogue. Having the extra photos and advice from Ann has given me the confidence audacity to actually give the whole process a try myself. Since I’m trying to emulate Ann, I’ve started by gathering all my materials rather than just diving in and making do as I go along. So far I have my fashion fabric, a 100% wool from Apple Annie. The fabric isn’t on the site anymore, so I guess it sold out. Maybe I lucked into the last of it? I need to go into town to get lining, after which thread can be ordered. I want silk thread for the quilting, and the bobbin thread should match the lining. Also need silk buttonhole twist. I’m thinking I’ll crochet the trim, and need to buy some yarn for that. I don’t think I want to unravel enough threads from the fabric to crochet with.

Question – the sleeve length seems to require some bracelets or bangles. Do you think someone who doesn’t wear bracelets should make the sleeves full-length?