Woolly jacket

I really put a push on to work on this jacket last night, as I knew I was heading to Darrell's today for his one-day-only 50% sale. And I got some lovely wool too! So now I really have to get cracking.

Last night, I got all the pieces together. Here are the sleeves, one right side out and the other wrong side out. I got the horizontal stripes lined up as sharp as can be.

I got the lining and facing pieces together.

And I got the jacket pieces together, before I put the sleeves on. I tried it on and it didn't seem like I was going to have problems with the armpits.

Then I put the sleeves on and tried it on and still no problems. This picture doesn't tell you much! But I thought I'd see how I could do a solo photo, holding the camera at arm's length, standing in front of the bathroom mirror, so I could see what was on the camera screen. Anyway, then I attached the lining jacket to the jacket, around the edges of the front and neck. The pattern instructions called for some other, more complicated way of putting it together and I bailed, because I know how to make a lined jacket without fiddling around.

Here's another shot of the jacket inside-out, but after I attached the lining to it. I have lifted up one sleeve. It looks like it bags under the arm but it doesn't bind. Maybe the problem mentioned earlier came from how that small side piece under the arm was handled? I can't say.

Here's what the seam looks like where I attached the front to the facing. Even though I lined up the bottom stripe, the stripes don't match all the way up. Weird. It won't matter because there are no lapels and so you won't see how the stripes don't match. Of course, I haven't ironed the seam open and haven't turned the jacket and haven't ironed it flat again. So maybe it will be okay. I'll know when I run back upstairs now, to finish this jacket, so I can sew something else!

In the meantime, this jacket (it's so small I want to call it a jackette) calls for one large button at the neckline. Here is a collection from my stash. Hmm.

More of the plaid but the other suit gets buttons

I managed to make it to the store (I actually walked one way and it only took me 30 minutes from the Loblaws at Baseline and Woodroffe - I took the bus back) and I got button forms to cover for the light brown suit I made some time ago.

Mum, you were right! The covered buttons look great. I wore this outfit to teach that morning. You may notice some shiny seam binding peeking out of the sleeve. For some weird reason, the sleeves weren't very long and in order to get a hem without folding the fabric over twice, I used seam binding. Not thinking about how it might show. But, I don't think it looks that bad.

In the meantime, I sewed on the sleeves to the lining and the jacket in the wool plaid. Here's how I do sleeves - with tons of pins and no basting.

Then I sew a second line of stitching at 4/8 of an inch (the seam is at 5/8) and trim the excess away. This shot shows the lining sleeve attached and the wrong side of the fabric.

When you push the sleeve flat against the body of the jacket, you can see that the stripes line up.

When the jacket is resting on the dummy, it looks like the stripes are a little low and out of alignment but I think this won't show or matter when the jacket is in motion being worn. THEN I stupidly did not pay attention to what I was doing and sewed the jacket lining to the jacket at the collar with the right side against the wrong side! Then I had to pick out all the stitches without ripping any fibre on the fabric, including the tiny stitches I take at corners so they won't fray when I clip them. All I can say is thank goodness I noticed before I did more than the collar or before I trimmed the seam. Then I went and had a drink.

Plaid wool suit

I have been sewing more than blogging so this may be a little long.
Okay, when I left off, I was still cutting. And I hadn't cut out the skirt. Although I am cutting each piece individually to make sure all the lines line up, the front of the skirt is cut on the fold and I decided to cut the back of the skirt in one swoop too. So I had to make sure all the lines lined up.

If you look at where the plaid lines up at the selvage, you'll see that the horizontal lines (unfortunately for reference, they are vertical in the photo) skew off to one side.

I had to make sure the lines in both directions matched so I started at the fold and turned back the upper part of the fabric and put pins in where the lines converged.

Then I folded the fabric onto itself and put pins in so I could take out the pins that were causing bumps from the other side. That's hard to describe! The above photo shows my slow progress toward the selvage in the middle, making sure that the lines all line up. The lump in the fabric is caused by the pins I put in when the fabric was folded back.
Anyway, I was successful in lining up all the lines for the skirt, and you'll see that later when I sew the pieces together.

I knew the lining would be quite transparent due to its colour and so I'm being careful about making sure notches are trimmed off and such. But after all, it IS the inside of the jacket and not too many people will see it. Speaking of finishing, I am zigzagging all the vertical edges on the skirt because, although it will be lined, the lining will not be attached to the hem and I don't want the skirt fabric to fray and hang down later. I have pinked all the edges of the lining pieces so I am not worried about them unravelling.

I worked hard to make sure that the plaid lined up and this is the back two pieces, sewed together.

Here is the back with the side back and I made sure they matched up where the sleeve will be inset and not so much along the bottom.

Here is the same piece from the right side and you can see how the plaid lines up near the armhole.

I was happy when I ironed open one of the seams on one of the sleeves (they are 2 piece sleeves) and saw that the plaid matched.

Then I was disappointed to discover that the other sleeve didn't match as much. I know, it's under the arm anyway but I worked at it and it should have matched!

Plaid wool suit

The New Year. When I went back to my sewing room after making the GOLD top (which was successful and comfortable, if also very very GOLD), I pulled out all kinds of remnants, none of which inspired me to make more of the cap-sleeved top. So I put them all away and ironed the beautiful beige plaid wool I got from Darrell's. It feels wonderful too.

As usual with really nice fabric but mostly because I want to match the plaid lines, I am cutting out each piece individually. Also, with each pattern piece, I line up the straight-of-grain arrows very carefully and then decide where I want the darker plaid lines, both vertically and horizontally.

Once I get one piece cut out and all the dots marked, I unpin it and lay it right side down so all the plaid lines line up exactly before cutting out its mirror image piece. I have examined this fabric minutely and it appears to be identical on the right and wrong sides, so I am being careful to mark each piece to indicate which was the "right" and which was the "wrong" sides.

I started with the large front piece and then I lined up the plaid lines and the notches for the side back piece. I want the plaid lines to match horizontally at the underarm seam, where the front piece is sewed to the side back piece.

This just shows a little closer what the lining up of notches looks like. Don't forget that you can always click on the photo and see it larger at Flickr.

This is the back piece, which I am lining up with the notches on the other side of the side back piece. What I forgot to show was how I also lined up the notches on the top of the shoulder with the back and front pieces, so the plaid lines will match vertically as well as horizontally. You'll see that as I start sewing the pieces together. Right now, I am still cutting and I haven't even got to the skirt!