Monthly Archives: May 2010

Woohoo, almost done! The sleeves are in now so all I have left is a final press and closures. I can’t wait to move the ticker tomorrow!

I used the sleeve placket as designed this time. I didn’t care much for the method but it works. Because of the weight of the fabric, I did not interface the sleeve bands. Instead, I cut my bands on the lengthwise grain for stability, which worked out just fine.

It’s been a very hot weekend here at home! Workers have been here since yesterday morning replacing the glass doors that were damaged in the explosion. Since two large walls of glass are out I’ve kept the a/c off during the day. I’m considering going to the nursery and buying some plants. Since I’m going to sweat I might as well be productive!

I did some sewing yesterday but don’t think I’ll do anymore today because it’s just too darn hot! I have a lot of pressing to do and just can’t face standing over the boiler iron right now. I did finish putting on the piping and attaching the facings yesterday so it’s really all downhill from here anyway.

Instead of turning the band seams in I opted for a Hong Kong finish and secured the edges by stitching in the ditch from the right side. This is much less bulky than enclosing everything.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there! And if you are lucky enough to have a wonderful mother or mother-figure in your life, count your blessings.

This morning I pressed my darts, sewed up the shoulder, back and side seams and bound all of my seam allowances.

To prevent a thick ridge from showing on the right side, I pressed all of the darts flat instead of to one side.

I used a Hong Kong finish on all seams. This fabric is heavier than the linen I used last time and I didn’t want the bulk of flat-felled seams. Besides, the HK finish looks so pretty! Lining is also an option (see LindsayT’s lined jacket here). If you work in a chilly office that’s certainly a good alternative. It’s just too hot here right now to even think about wearing lined jackets!

I also stitched on the bands. I’m very happy with the way everything lines up!

Next, I’ll be attaching the piping and working on the sleeves.

Well, after recutting several pieces of the front, I figured out what was bothering my eye: the right sleeve. It was just. Too. Much. I recut it with less flower and no yellow and like it so much better! Here, the darts have been sewn but not pressed. After another try-on I discovered that the lower back needs to be taken in a bit.

In my stash I found a bolt of lightweight cotton pique that I bought for very little on Ebay awhile ago. I think I paid $40 for the entire bolt! It would be a good weight for summer PJs or a tailored shirt – very thin. It is perfect for the piping and binding.

I picked up some 3/32″ cord from JoAnn’s home dec department. It’s much more delicate than the standard 5/32″. Unfortunately, they only had the twisted cord but it looks okay. I prefer the beige untwisted cord because it’s much smoother but the smallest size they had was 5/32″. Since the cord is 100% cotton and the fabric had not been preshrunk, I made my piping and cut and joined my bias binding before putting everything into a lingerie bag in the washer and dryer.

Notice that I’m not using a welting foot. I have a whole collection of them but find that the zip foot on my commercial machine (this is my beloved Consew 105) works just great.

Thank you for all of your nice comments on this! I cut out the bands this morning and am pretty pleased with the layout. There’s something bothering me a little with the front and I’m not sure what. Maybe I’ve been looking at it and thinking about it too much. Perhaps it needs a teeny white pique piping on the outer edges to help pull it all together.

I thought white buttons/loops might help pull it together. I don’t have too many white buttons in my collection, both of these looked too prissy and the white really popped off the fabric so that’s out.

I also have these green ones which blend nicely but I still think skipping the closure (or using hidden hooks/eyes) might work best. I’ll use silver D-rings on the sleeves because the hardness of them will contrast nicely with this fabric.

UPDATE: Here I’ve pinned on a piece of white piping from my stash. I think this is what it needs – what do you think?

When I was cleaning up this weekend, I found this sea-green cotton pique hanging up in one of my closets. There are ginormous white flowers along one selvage and I thought it might be fun to play with the pattern a little. I just couldn’t pull the trigger on any of the fabrics I posted a few days ago (and thank you all for your input!) so I decided that finding this fabric was a sign!

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. I’m not sure if I want to recut that right front to show more of the flower or not. I’m thinking that I’ll cut the right band with some white and the left band solid green. Obviously, this version will be pocketless.

This is the back. I would have liked more white but I was limited in yardage and wanted to save one flower in case I recut the front.

This could turn out to be a really cool jacket or it could end up being ridiculous. I wonder what Tim Gunn would say? Would he rub his chin and say ‘this worries me’ or would he say ‘this is fresh, fun and flirty!’? Hmmmm