DKNY Jacket

I am so excited about this jacket because I absolutely love it and it was a long shot. There were just so many reasons why it shouldn’t have worked but I took a punt and it paid off.

This is an old pattern…well about 10 years……and one that I look at often. I love the femininity of the jacket. It is sort of pretty in a chic way….you know, a feel good jacket. But I was seriously put off by the French seams and top stitching and edge stitching ALL OVER the damn thing. So every time I looked at it I put it back.

Enter the Walthamstow linen fabric that I carted  all the way back from the UK and my own mad little ‘sewing bee challenges’. You see, lately, I’ve been playing the Great British Sewing Bee, by myself, in my own home. I say to myself before I start, ‘Sewers, you’ve  got 6 hours to complete this challenge’. And off I go. And I love it! I have so much fun by myself in my own little world. It sounds crazy but it’s fantastic! It’s like meditation because I am 100% focused on the project and its actually  very therapeutic. And ……my sewing is so much better because I am focused. And…….I get the garment finished quickly. No dithering. Sure. Its a bit mad. But very productive…..even though I am pretty liberal with my timeframes!

Anyway, I never really understood why I chose this colour and I didn’t like it much. So I decided to ‘choose it from the haberdashery’  to get rid of it.

Now interestingly  (and even more surprisingly), I loved making this jacket. I mean, I actually loved the whole French seam, edge stitching, top stitching bit.  And I enjoyed the precision of it all and the ironing of the seams. It was one of the most enjoyable sewing exercises I have done in a long time and it has occurred to me that I think I actually prefer making structured tailored garments to quicker easier things.

And I love it, on me. It is a good  fit and the colour is perfect. I think it will be a great addition to my wardrobe.

And now for a little surprise wrinkle. See the white braid around the edges? It’s label tape!

What a stroke of brilliance  that was on my part You see I didn’t want to use braid because i didn’t want to sew it on.I didn’t want the stitching to be seen on the inside. The tape is iron on and it went on like a dream.

About the sleeves. I am under no illusion that they would pass muster with Patrick. But I just don’t know why they’re so bad. Could it be because I reinserted them about  85 times before I gave up? Perhaps it’s because I was too meticulous in the transferring of pattern marking! I have no clue.

But I did indulge myself in some shoulder pads…………….covered in Liberty no less

Yes I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge and cannot wait to make another in a more user friendly colour. I might do it for my own private quarter finals!

A felted jacket…….

Here’s the thing………I don’t think I actually used felted fabric. I used wool that wasn’t felted. But when I cut it out, it didn’t fray at all so I decided to leave the edges raw. I simply finished them with a twin needle top stitch.

And it seems fine. Time will tell of course but I actually think a bit of fraying would be a good look anyway.

So this would have to be one of the quickest easiest jackets I have ever made. Top stitching included, it took no more than a couple of hours. This is the finished product…….

 

This is not a great shot of the colour which is more of an oyster or putty. I got it from Pitt Trading at Sans Souci, the first stop of a most memorable fabric crawl with 2 friends……will fill you in on the details down the track!!