Jalie 2320 Gray trucker jacket – Final

Wow, I feel like this jacket went together so quickly. I’m usually such a slow sewer as I just like to relax and enjoy the entire process and not just rush through to the finish line. It’s always nice when a project turns out exactly as you envisioned. Actually, it turned out better because I never dreamed that I’d really be able to make that metallic organza behave! Yes, I made a few mistakes along the way but that is to be expected when one is a bit out of practice. Okay, maybe a lot out of practice!

Moving onto the back, I assembled the back panels, attached the back yoke and bound the seams for a little extra flash. (The front seams are mostly covered by the pocket bags so I opted for the flatter mock flat fell seams there instead)

Next I joined the front and back at the shoulder seam and attached the collar. I apologize, I somehow neglected to show the steps for finishing the front facings and the neck edge but it’s very straightforward.

The sleeve vents are pretty standard for this type of jacket. The upper and under sleeves are stitched together in a conventional seam to the dot/marking and the seam is pressed flat, then open.

Then, the undersleeve seam is clipped to the seam allowance, turned under twice and topstitched.

Next, the upper sleeve seam allowances are turned under in a mock flat felled seam, being careful not to catch the underlap. The last step is to make a bar tack – or two – to secure the small bit of raw edge at the top of the underlap. Sometimes, I will substitute a rivet but I didn’t think I needed more metal in this jacket.

Once the sleeves were set in, I bound the armscye. I did have a little trouble here and had to recut my binding yet another 1/8″ wider before it would cleanly bind the seam. I’m very happy with the way it looks.

Next, I reduced the under cuff seam allowance and bound the edge before stitching the outer cuff to the outside of the sleeve. I used a heavier interfacing on the outer cuff and a lighter one on the inner cuff. I would ordinarily use the lighter interfacing on the entire cuff but I seem to be low on the lighter weight, which is my favorite.

I stitched the ends, folding under the bound edge as gracefully as possible.

Once again, instead of clipping across the corners, I folded the seam allowances over each other and held them together as I turned the cuff right side out. This results in a good square corner that isn’t weak at the point.

The cuff is then closed up by stitching in the well of the seam from the right side and topstitching all around.

The waistband is attached in the same manner.

After making the remaining buttonholes, my favorite part: sewing the buttons on by hand and hanging it in my closet!

The inside is my favorite!

Sources: Irish linen and Cartier-inspired buttons from the (sadly) long-gone Maggi’s for Fine Fabrics in Boca Raton; Kona cotton pocketing and metallic organza from JoAnn Fabrics; fusible interfacings from my friend Pam at http://www.fashionsewingsupply.com.

Next, I thought I’d be starting on my shameless copy of Ann’s fabulous cloque bomber jacket http://www.facebook.com/GorgeousFabricscom/photos/a.10156993718053169./10157206259223169 but realized that I didn’t have just the right zipper in my stash so, while I’m waiting on that, I have another project I’ll be starting on. Stay tuned!

Parting shot: I am so in love with this Gucci bomber jacket. I have been searching all of my favorite online fabric vendors for just the right fabric and, unfortunately, I didn’t find anything suitable with a black background. But, I did find something really fabulous with a white background so this will be going in the queue!

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Jalie 2320 Gray trucker jacket – Part III

Before attaching the front yoke, buttonholes must be made in the pocket flaps. My beloved 1961 Singer Rocketeer was a birthday gift from my friend Greg 10 or 11 years ago. I keep her set up for buttonholes at all times because I find her buttonholes far superior to those of any of my other machines, including my Berninas.

Next, I played around with the binding. My metallic organza has a scratchy metallic face but is smooth on the backside so I decided to use the backside as my right side. It took a few test runs to get it just right.

I started with a 1 1/4” binding plate and cut my bias strip 1 1/4” wide (far right) and ended up with a lot of threads poking out. Next, I cut my bias strip to 1 3/8” (center) and that worked out perfectly but I thought it looked too wide and heavy.

I then switched to a 1” binding plate and cut my bias strip 1 1/8” wide (left) and that gave me the look I wanted.

Here’s a quick video of the binding operation. I keep this industrial single-needle machine set up for binding all the time. Sorry, I was filming with one hand and guiding the fabric with the other but you get the idea.

The finished bound pocket.

Now, it’s time to attach the pocket flaps and the front yoke.

I find the front yoke seam too bulky to run through the binder so I prefer to use a Hong Kong finish here instead.

Binding seen on in 1/4” seam and pressed

Binding wrapped over the raw edges

Stitch in the well of the seam

I then topstitched 1/4” away from the seam. Next I’ll move on to the jacket back and the shoulder seams.

Jalie 2320 Gray linen trucker jacket – Part I

I love a trucker jacket and Jalie 2320 is one of my favorite patterns for this style.

I made this in red linen a few years ago and it’s been well-worn and is now ready for retirement.

For this project I chose a charcoal Irish linen and Cartier-inspired buttons. For the seam binding, I am auditioning two silk duppionis and a metallic polyester organza. I’m leaning towards the organza but we will see how cooperative it is going through the binder!

First up: all the little pieces. Pocket flaps were first. Because I want them to be twins rather than cousins, I mark the stitching lines. I often make a template out of manila paper to make it easy.

Next up was the collar. After pressing all of the seam allowances open, I graded them. Note that I do not trim across the collar points. Instead, I fold the seam allowances on the stitching line and turn the collar out over them. This makes for a nice point without weakening it. Note: this method will not work well on very pointed collars as there isn’t enough space in the point for the folded seam allowances.

I did cut the under collar slightly smaller than the upper collar before sewing but I like to roll the collar as it will be worn to see if there is any addition trimming that needs to be done. I ended up trimming off an additional fat 1/8”.

Lastly, I stitched the waistband tabs, gave everything a good press and then topstitched 1/4” from the edge. Next time, I will continue with my favorite part: the fronts and front pocket.

Parting shot. My little mini is getting so big. Jess is loving fatherhood!

Yep, I’ve gone crazy!

Many of you know of my aversion to florals. Mmm, aversion might be too strong a word because I do actually like florals. I just think they are very tricky for mature women because they can either look too 17-ish or too matronly. When I do choose a floral it’s usually something very stylized. I don’t know what happened here, all I can say is that I loved this print the moment I saw it!

Because this would be a “whole lotta look” on a petite person, I thought it best to stick with a small garment. I also thought it would be a good idea to chop up the print a little so the Jalie Sweetheart Top was a good choice. I still need to stitch the hems which I’ll hopefully get to tonight after dinner.

You know I tried very hard not to have a big flower near the bust but I finally gave up! 🙂

I moved my FBA to the yoke seam and I am very pleased with the fit this provides. I may also try moving it to the neckline. This is a really great basic pattern that I anticipate making many, many times.

Because I liked the fabric so much on the first version, I took it apart and recut a new front after I’d made the changes to my pattern. I am much happier with it.

I had hoped to get much more sewing done this weekend but my pool pump had other ideas. I was not happy about that *at all* but I do now know how to change the impeller in a pump!

Jalie 2794 – Take One

Here’s what I was working on last night: the Jalie Sweetheart Top. This is the first time I’ve made it so I have some more tweaking to do. I made a size R and did a 1″ FBA which I eased in at the side seams. That should have been more than enough but it still felt too snug through the bust. When I really analyzed it closely, I came to the conclusion that the yoke is the problem. I should have seen that coming but you know how it is! What I need to do now is simply move the dart to directly in front of the yoke so that the fullness will actually be where I need it. Other than that, it’s a really nice top that I know will become a favorite basic for me.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was a bit aggravated last night! My coverstitch machine always purrs along beautifully but here’s what I got instead:

Ack, skipping! Right needle breaking! What is going on???? So, I rethreaded the needles and checked everything several times. It still skips so I change both needles. Still. Skipping. So I decide it’s time to rethread from scratch and notice this:

The right needle thread has somehow become wrapped around the spring on the back of the machine. I take care of that and have another go. Will. Not. Stitch! I investigate and find this:

The looper thread has broken. No big deal, I rethread it, clear my needle threads and begin again. And again. And again. I finally decided that it must be a bad cone of Maxilock. I rethread and Yay! I finally finish my hems.

Yes, I do own downturn fellers but I never use them. It’s just not all that important to me to have the raw edges completely encased by the looper thread. If I don’t get close enough to the raw edge I simply trim the excess with my pelican scissors.

Needless to say, by the time I finished the hems I was very ready for a cocktail!

Do over.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to make another quick version of Jalie 2449. Here I’ve used a really pretty knit that I think came from Gorgeous Fabrics but I’m not 100% sure. I’m going to save the leftovers because this print would be really pretty for binding a black solid, don’t you think?

I didn’t feel like coverstitching so I just used my blindstitch machine to finish the hems. Many people don’t realize that a blindstitch has built-in stretch – perfect for knits!

I had some nice hairpipe beads in my stash that I wanted to use on the cord ends but the holes were much too small so I decided to simply knot the ends this time.

I already have my next project planned out – if only I could find the fabric! I know it’s here somewhere… It’s a beautiful silk piece that Ann picked up for me at Kashi’s last summer. If I don’t find it I will just use one of the new pieces I bought from Gorgeous Fabrics last week.

As an aside, I think this new sewing system of mine is going to work out pretty well. I will alter and cut out my projects on the weekend so that I can sew a little whenever I have time during the week. It’s just too overwhelming to start a project at night when I am tired but quite relaxing to do the actual sewing for an hour or two. This is how I sewed when Jess was little (I was very productive then!) – wish I’d gone back to it sooner. My goal is to make one garment every week.

Did I do that?

I’m trying hard to MAKE TIME to fit sewing back into my life and get my sewing mojo back. So, this afternoon I thought it would be great to cut out a TNT pattern (Jalie 2449) and whip up a top to wear to dinner tonight. I even went the extra mile and modified the sleeve a bit. Everything went well, I was having a ball, watching a chick flick (Steel Magnolias!), drinking a Corona Light, sewing away. A Perfect Day! Then I saw IT:

I am ALWAYS very careful about print placement – ALWAYS. I don’t what the heck happened but I seem to have an island right on my boob. I am obviously horribly out of practice. But, I. Will. Soldier. On. I will cut out another top tomorrow so that I may end the weekend on a good note. 🙂 Luckily, my friends buy RTW so they won’t even notice this horrible mistake. I can’t even blame the Corona since I’d cut the top out before I started on those…

Here is a closeup of the gathered sleeve that I shamelessy copied from a Roberto Cavalli top:

I always like to finish off my cord ends with a little extra something.

Fiddle dee dee, tomorrow is another day…

Quick work top

I recently bought some really pretty printed jerseys from Gorgeous Fabrics for work tops. Since I’m up and out before dawn I like easy tops that look professional (obviously, in a casual way) and nice with the knee-length shorts I’m currently wearing. God, I love knee-length shorts! They are great for corporate casual and cool enough for hot Florida summers. I only have a handful of appropriate tops to wear so I really needed to crank out a few things.

Today (yeah, supposed to be Sunday but you know how that goes) I pulled out my TNT Jalie 2449 – which I love – and quickly cut out a top with a cap sleeve. I can make this top start to finish in under an hour and it’s so cute! I chose this Islands in the Stream jersey because I need a few tops to go with my off-white shorts.

I wanted to use the border for the neckbands but wasn’t really sure how long to cut them since they were printed on the lengthwise grain and have very little stretch. Then I had an idea: I put on one of my previously made tops and measured the length of the band while on the body and added my seam allowances – in this case 20.5″ total. That would have been very clever of me – had it worked. The band was too long and didn’t lay flat against my chest. So I went to Plan B: I serged the band on stretching it slightly (if you stretch too much the cut edges will curl). Success! I ended up with a finished length of 18.5″ – 2″ less than what I’d started with.

Since I had this pretty border to work with I wanted to incorporate it into some other part of the top. At first I thought of a tie belt but decided on a sleeve binding instead. ETA: After all was said and done I added a faux side tie as well and I’m glad I did – it finishes the top off nicely.

I wanted a 1/2″ finished binding so I cut my strips three times that (1.5″) plus 3/8″ allowance for securing the binding. I sewed the binding right sides together to the sleeve stretching the sleeve very slightly to ease the binding in a little because I did not want the edge to be tight.

Next, press the binding away from the body of the sleeve.

Then wrap the binding around the seam to the back (I serge-finished the raw edge first) and secure by stitching in the ditch or topstitching. Remember to “stretch and sew” to build some give into your topstitching and prevent popped stitches later.

Finishing up took mere minutes!

New Jalies!

Three weeks ago I ordered three new Jalie patterns and received my fourth one free! I’d been wanting to order the yoga pant pattern because my Kwik-Sew pattern no longer fits me – how nice to get it as a gift! I love Jalie and thought their three latest top patterns would be nice additions to my collection:

This is just a cute, simple tee with a little something extra. You can never have too many of these patterns in your stash!

Yes, I know we’ve seen this Duro look for a couple of seasons but it’s still in the stores, at least here in Fashion Hell. It’s a style that I really like and did not have a pattern for. I like the fact that there is a version without gathers over the stomach. Lengthened, this would make a super-cute summer dress.

Of course, I am powerless to resist a twist top. I like the center front flounce for a little interest.

These yoga pants are a perennial favorite and I’m happy to add this pattern to my collection.

One pattern that I had no interest in was the Criss-Cross Top, #2787. It just looked like it was trying too hard to be cute and different.

At least that is what I thought until I saw Ann’s version last night! Isn’t this a stunner? Naturally, some of that gorgeous fabric is winging it’s way to me for a dress…yes, I am powerless.

Before you make this, be sure to read Ann’s entire review over at Gorgeous Things. Also, if you haven’t yet, you must check out Ann’s online fabric store: Gorgeous Fabrics. Her fabrics are amazing and the prices are unbelievable. And I’m not just Ann’s friend, I’m a customer too!