but even though I love the fabric (a small and sparkly cotton/ viscose/ poly remnant from Tessuti fabrics ages ago - stripes AND sparkle!), and love boxy cropped jackets in general, something about the way this fabric and this pattern have come together doesn't work for me.
And yet I look pretty happy in these photos, don't I!
Well, I was happy! I was thrilled to discover a new and secluded photo location at home, after another of those frustrating afternoons of trying to take blog photos at different places in my garden and discovering neighbours in all directions, monitoring my suspicious antics (well, more like gardening and being curious about the weirdo taking photos of herself). SUCH a relief. Though it's only secluded if I sit down - when I stand up I become visible to a few neighbours again.
The jacket itself - well, let me tell you the positives...
- The pattern (Vogue 8916) itself is a positive - an extremely easy jacket pattern that comes together quickly and neatly, with shoulder darts and princess seams that would let you work on fit without too much hassle.
- Oh and the fit on this jacket was pretty good for me without any fiddling.
- The fabric is very interesting - it has stripes AND sparkle, as I mentioned above. The side I've used as the fabric outer has silver flecks, and the reverse side is matt with the stripe colours reversed.
- I love the midnight blue silk I've used to line the front panels of the jacket, and after interfacing, these pieces felt like a good weight for facings.
- Due to fabric limitations (I had just 0.95 metres of the striped remnant) I went for a "misaligned stripes" look and was surprised to find I like that look.
- I love the little pockets I've included on the jacket. The original pattern has small pockets that are set into the princess seam at about waist level, but no matter how I moved my pattern pieces around, I just didn't have enough fabric to make them. So instead I decided to try making pockets in a new horizontal seam in the front panels - and I think they worked really well:
- I ran two strands of white thread as a hand stitch around the sleeve opening and all the lower jacket edges except the front panels and although my hand stitching is a bit chunky looking, I like the result. It does an OK job of holding the lining at bay too!
And now for the negatives:
- My lovely fabric is too stiff for the pattern, This pattern would look much better sewn in a linen or wool.
- My lack of fabric. The front facings are meant to be made from the same fabric as used on he outside of the jacket, but my 0.95 metres wasn't enough to include facings. I also didn't have enough of the blue silk to use it for anything but the front facings.
- A simple and quick to sew jacket pattern means shortcuts. I wish this pattern included a neckline facing pattern piece, and that the lining lengths were shorter - I could have drafted a neckline facing for myself, and I could have cut the lining shorter but didn't think of it :(. And to me, lining fabric that comes right the edge of a garment looks a bit shoddy. (Edited to add: Though both amcasey and Sharon have pointed out to me in the comments below that lining to the jacket's edge is what Chanel did, so I guess it's more my own lack of skill in finishing the jacket that's annoying me - I hate the way the lining peeks out at the end of the sleeves and at the back of the jacket!)
Put it all together and sadly, I'm not a fan. I'll keep the jacket in my wardrobe for a little while in case distance from its sewing helps me overlook its shortcomings, but for now, I suspect this little jacket is just not going to get many outings. Oh well, they can't all be winners, can they!
Happy sewing!
- Gabrielle x
No comments:
Post a Comment