Vintage Vogue blazer in purple/black wool

It has frequently occurred, since I began blogging my sewing, that I make something way too wintery just as spring arrives with full force here in N. California. The daffodils are just about finished, the volunteer sunflowers in my yard have shown up with their golden sunny blooms and I sewed this jacket that is more suitable for a chilly December.  So I will post it here and then cram it in the recesses of my overflowing coat closet to hopefully be worn next fall. 

Note that black is so tricky to photograph so I have lightened all these pictures, both the indoor and outdoor ones so that the details can be seen. 

I bought this piece of wool tweed at a guild sale, it had a tag on stating it was 2 yards and from Mood Fabrics. I do recall seeing it on their website and being almost tempted. So it was meant to be mine anyway:) As for the pattern, this is a winner and I am planning to make it again in a lightweight summer fabric. It's a Vogue pattern from the '80's, not sure of the exact date. Vogue 1193.

This is a case where the illustration would lead you to believe that it calls for giant shoulder pads but that was not the case at all. I think they just succumbed to the trend of the day when creating the pattern envelope art. It calls for 1/2" shoulder pads which is not much different from those in current patterns. I will say that this fabric is much more like a coating weight and probably not the best choice for a blazer jacket, the collar is a bit bulky and doesn't lay as flat as I would like. 

When I was making it I rummaged around in my stash as I thought I had some remnants of black velveteen which would have been nice for the upper collar, both to reduce the thickness and also to diminish the itch factor. I didn't find it and so continued on with the regular fabric. Now that it's finished I realize I could have used a remnant of black wool crepe to achieve the same end. The collar is so thick that it bugs me and I think next fall I will take it apart and redo the collar, but that is a project for another day!

or maybe not :)  as look at how I have trimmed and graded all the seams. Probably not very fun to take apart. 

This fabric was so thick and I thought the lapel would not lay flat so I used a method that I employ occasionally, which is to cut the interfacing on the lapel fold line. This allows the lapel to turn back at the spot where it needs to. You can see that my twill tape started out a bit too wide, I think I ordered it online and it turned out to be about 1/2" wide which is more than I wanted so I just trim it with a pinking shears. 

Let's talk pockets. Ordinarily I'm not a fan of patch pockets, I just love a nice welt pocket but that was nearly impossible in this fabric and the pattern had the option of patch pockets. After I made the other vintage Vogue pattern last winter, (blog post here on that one where I used traditional tailoring methods, pad stitching and all. That jacket got three blog posts if you want to read all the details.)

Here's the patch pocket in progress. How much do I love these old Vogue single size patterns? A LOT! And I just noticed on the pattern piece that it shows the size listed as size 12 but below that it says Femmes-40 which must be the French size, and then Damen - 38 so that is the German size, which corresponds exactly to the size I sew in Burda patterns. Never noticed that before. 

Anyway, this patch pocket is sewn around all the edges and then turned right side out, finishing it up with a little hand stitching at the bottom edge to enclose. 

And then I  hand stitched it to the jacket front, which was easy peasy in this fabric as the stitches would never show. 

I leave all my thread tailor's tacks in a garment until I get just about finished. It's one of those tasks I find enjoyable, plucking out the various thread markings.  Although it never fails that when I go to photograph something I find a rogue thread still embedded in a seam somewhere. 

I think this pattern had a center back vent at the hem but I omitted it because in this thick fabric it would probably not lay flat. Also I wanted to get the fit in the hip area just right. I'm thinking of making this again in a lightweight summer fabric for a much more casual version. 

Let's take a minute to admire a feature that I very much appreciate in these older Vogue patterns, the collar roll line. And an under collar that is cut on the bias. What is up with some newer patterns, with the under collar cut on the fold, not bias. I do not like! 

Too much purple? I think maybe.  I made this top a while ago from a remaining piece of hammered silk I had bought from Fashion Fabrics club and I'm not really liking it, and wish I had chosen a different pattern. Oh well. Next fall I will look for a fabric to make a shirt that goes with this jacket. 

And yes, I did sew the lining in by hand, I just find it faster to do that rather than struggle with sewing it in by machine, I think it gives much more control. 

So that's the latest on my unseasonably winter sewing. Actually we went from wearing shorts last week to turtlenecks this week as it got very chilly - that's March/April for you in the bay area. But I have a few tomato plants in pots and the dahlias are sprouting so spring is here. My back yard is looking very scruffy these days and starting next month it will get a big makeover. All the sprinklers and drip irrigation gave up last summer so it's time for a refresh. A water conserving refresh - with more planting beds and less lawn. 

Happy spring sewing,

Beth

Today's garden photo, the big bag of Costco daffodils did not disappoint. You can see that if you buy over 100 daffodils you start to stuff them in the ground wherever you can. And they bloomed very well. Plus I read they repel gophers. A win! I think I will buy another bag next year and try to put them everywhere. 

McCalls 7549 color blocked cropped jacket in double sided fabric

When it comes to planning what to sew, to summarize, I don't. Meaning I don't really plan, I just go where my mood takes me. Sure I have a vague idea that I might need some new knit tops, or want a certain color of denim skirt. But mostly I just go with what fabric I find or a pattern that catches my eye. I suppose I do have the luxury of sewing for a good long time, so I have plenty of coats and jackets to wear as well as all the summer dresses a person could need. But desire for an item, that is a different story. There is always something fun to discover around the next sewing corner, an inspiration from the web or another stitcher. So while I sew according to my whimsy, I am very strict with myself when it comes to two things. 1) finishing projects and 2) blogging things I have sewn in the order I sew them.

Kind of goofy, huh? If I have sewn something, and then completed something else, I have to blog items in the order they were sewn. Even if I have been wearing both all the time. A strange self-imposed order to my typical sewing abandon. So today I am doing a blog post on an item that I am really happy with but was as yet un-blogged. Despite finishing it ages ago - before other stuff that I have recently blogged. To the point that it was like a pebble in my shoe! Silly but there it is. Perhaps because I actually took quite a while to finish this. I started it around Thanksgiving and finally completed it in March. Only because so many other obligations pushed it aside. And now a wool jacket that will be put away until fall!



Stay tuned if you like sewing details, pattern matching and design changes because this project had it all. It started with this wool which I bought at Mood Fabrics in NY back in Oct 2016. I really love the color and the fact that it is actually two sided, so it is one fabric which appears as dots on one side and then lines on the other. But I wanted to sew a jacket that could use a lot of both sides of the fabric, not just a small amount like edging of one side and the rest as the other. I saw this pattern from McCalls and strangely I have seen very few versions sewn up. If you look in Instagram there are a few (very cute) versions and a couple of people made it more than once. It's a really easy pattern and a great choice for a first jacket - not hard to sew but a lot of interesting options.

Back to the beginning, when I saw this pattern I figured it would work for the wool, and started playing around with the fabric placement. Here's the pattern envelope.



In order to decide how to place the fabric, the dots and lines which give a different shade of blue, I copied the technical drawing from the McCalls website, and then painted in the colors in Photoshop to see how it would look. I've also done this by printing out the page and just drawing with colored pencils or sharpie pens. You would be amazed at how much of an idea you can get on a tech drawing once you add some color and pattern.
I will show some more examples of this next time I do a Random Threads post.



Here's a nice look at the jacket so you can see how it compares to my color sketch. Not bad for getting the idea.



But before I got to that point there were a few hurdles. Like making a test version just to see if I liked the shape. To tell the truth this jacket has two features I am not really a fan of, those being no collar and cropped length. But I am trying to sew new shapes and silhouettes so I figured I would give it a try. With my precious precious fabric!

Warning! Do not laugh at my hideous test garment which used up scraps and quilting cotton. Hey at least it gave me the idea of how the various elements would look, and the fit was spot on.



Onward to cutting out where it turned into quite the sewing puzzle, in that it was a bit confusing to keep straight which side I wanted as the right side for each section. So I put the image in my photos and referred often as I was stitching it up.



This fabric quality is Gorgeous with a capital G. The type of wool that sews like a dream. You can see the dots on one side (they are really little squares are made by the intersection of the lines on the other side.


Pattern changes: I knew I wanted the overall jacket to be longer than designed. The pattern version is very short, at least for me, probably landing about 1 to 2 inches below my waist. I added about 1" to the center sections, and then added also at the hemline. I lengthen the bottom section of the sleeve to be a regular long sleeve instead of a mid-wrist length.



This photo I took to show how much shaping there is in the jacket, what looks like a boxy front has a noticeable curve which becomes sort of a bust dart, or at least bust shaping. In the last Garment Copy class I taught one of the students had a top with this feature, and it was striped which helpfully showed us how much shaping was incorporated in what looked like rectangular pieces.

Next obsession on this journey - pattern matching.

I set aside the remaining fabric as I decided to cut out the front bands later, once I sewed up the front and then I could match the lines precisely.




Sewing satisfaction! Actually the dots lined up as well because the other side is the lines which aligns with the bands when I pinned it together to sew.

Interfacing info.



I never look at the pattern instructions when it comes to interfacing but do my own thing. Which usually means more interfacing. On this one I put weft fusible around the neckline, and the top of the sleeves. the front bands have the medium weight Sheer Elegance interfacing on the outer  band and then more on the inner side which you can see in the next picture.



I put interfacing on the top of the band as well as on the lining fabric which is sewn to the neckline, as I think it needs some oomph to make a structured neckline and sharp corners at the top.
I attached the lining by machine stitching at the neckline and down the front edges, but then did the sleeve hem and bottom hem by hand. Because I'm not a fan of bagging the lining - even though in this jacket it would have been fine. Prefer the control of hand stitching the lining and it seems just as quick to me.

More sewing satisfaction :)  so happy with how the sleeve pattern lined up with the jacket body.



And yes, I did add a vertical dart in the back. It might take away a bit from the style, but I thought it looked terrible on me without any shaping. Stuck out in a weird and boxy way so I just added vertical darts.



It looks a little loose in the back but that is the dress form (who has very upright posture!) when worn it conforms better to the shape of my back.





I showed those pictures previously - here or in Instagram but I am repeating as the outfit is complete! Here's the link to the silk blouse post. And I think next winter I will wear the jacket with blouse and bow. It's such a beautiful color.




I have enough fabric remaining to make a skirt but that might just be too much! although I held up the dot side to the jacket and it looked quite good. Maybe a mini skirt worn with boots and a turtleneck? A project for the fall when wool wearing weather returns.



Now I'm striding onward to the next project 😀.

Which this weekend is two days of classes at Hello Stitch Studio, on Sat. we have the Bondi dress, and on Sunday our Pattern Fitting and Adjustment class (I think the Fit Lab portion might be full - but there is space in the classroom session, and we repeat this class regularly so check back).

I recently indulged in the ruffle trend so I have a summer silk top to share, and a dress with a strategically placed opening which is far cuter than I expected. Plus a Random Threads soon.

Happy almost summer sewing,
Beth

Today's garden photo, a pink snapdragon with some purple-blue pansies in the background.



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