Still thinking about the silk

I am getting inspired by a re-read of Couture Sewing Techniques. Chanel's techniques are discussed in there and it isn't so much that the jacket had a certain silhouette but how it was made, that marked it as Chanel. My raw silk fabric seems to fit the bill for the shell but I will need trim and a much better lining if I want to "go Chanel".

In the meantime, I did finish the purple skirt. Plain and serviceable. I haven't worn it yet, preferring the below-the-knee version in real wool for yesterday's foray into the snow and wind. And today, I think I'll wear the pants whose zipper I fixed. But that lets me also wear Christmas socks which will show a little when I change into shoes at school.

Here is the back vent of the skirt, as finished. The lining stays well out of the way and you won't be able to see it as I walk but it still hangs loose all the rest of the way around the hem.

While I was thinking about that raw silk (which IS mixed with some other mysterious fibers), I remembered a piece of mystery fabric I had in my stash and got it out to compare them. They are similar in colour tones which you can also tell from the warp and woof threads at the cut edge. I don't think I have enough of the silk to make a skirt too, now that it shrank so much after I washed it. But it is a loose weave and probably the other plain stuff will be better for a skirt. I always planned to make a skirt out of it anyway.

I have a couple of patterns for collarless jackets. This one I made several of before I got tired of it.

This pattern is collarless AND unlined but I think I had got the Couture Sewing book when I got the fabric and so I was inspired to line it after a fashion. I cut out each piece of the jacket in satin as well as the wool and then stitched the satin and the wool together around the edges. Then I assembled the jacket according to the pattern instructions. And THEN I finished the insides.

There are shoulder seams, side seams, sleeve seams and seams around the armhole (armscye). With each seam, I trimmed the wool and then folded over the satin and tucked it under so no raw edge showed and then hand slip-stitched all the way along the seam. It was a lot of hand-work but I have got a ton of wear out of this jacket that goes with everything.

Anyway, a Chanel jacket is not Chanel because it doesn't have a collar. So I am still going to think some more about what shape I want this jacket to take.