Sewing Project: B&W Jacket

So, here's the long promised jacket post. I used Simplicity pattern 2452 for this jacket, which is unfortunately out of print, but can still be found and bought here. It is a Threads Magazine pattern, and includes three different jacket options and a straight skirt. I chose to make the view A jacket, which has a stand collar, princess seams, and bracelet length sleeves. The jackets are all unlined, but the pattern suggests using bias tape to cover the seam edges.

Needed supplies. Not pictured are the pattern and black thread.

I rummaged through my fabric and trim stash to find a lightweight black twill fabric and white buttons. (Woohoo for not having to buy anything!) The black fabric was going to be used for a different jacket that never got made and the buttons were actually going to be used for this jacket, but with a different fabric. I also had double fold bias tape in both black and white. The white thread was used for topstitching, because I love it and felt it would look great on this jacket.

Unlike the pattern, I didn't use shoulder pads for my jacket. I thought it would be odd to have shoulder pads in a twill jacket. To compensate for the lack of shoulder pads, I slightly modified the pattern. I did this once the jacket base was sewn, and fitted the final fabric on myself. For me, I really just had to take in the sleeve allowance on the front and back pieces, which I would have had to do anyway since I have narrow shoulders.

Also unlike the pattern, I only used three packages of double fold bias tape rather than the four they suggested. If I remember correctly (it's been a few months since I made this!), I didn't even use all of the three packages of bias tape.

Jacket front, buttoned.

This jacket was simple to sew, and didn't take much time to sew. It did take time to do the topstitching and bias tape, though. It has become one of my favorite jackets, and I have worn it so much since finishing it. It gives a polished look to any outfit, and was also on trend for this fall. (I haven't really been keeping up with the fashion trends lately, but was super excited to see that black and white clothing was a major trend). For the buttonholes, I actually sewed them using black thread rather than white, so they wouldn't compete with the buttons.

Jacket back.

My favorite part of the jacket is the seaming in the back. The center bottom piece gives a slight peplum effect, which is very flattering. I also love how the topstitching really highlights the seaming on the jacket back. It is hard to tell from these pictures, but I did topstitching on the side seams as well.

Jacket inside with bias tape.

My second favorite thing about this jacket is the inside where I mostly used white bias tape. It is a nice contrast and hidden detail, and makes me happy for some strange reason. I only used black bias tape on the side seams and armhole seams.

I'm currently decorating for the holidays, and will be working on a few related projects. I do not have a Spoonflower contest entry this week, but will be posting more sewing projects, and maybe some holiday related ones.

Retro Rainbow Hat and more!

This week's Spoonflower Fabric of the Week contest called for Hat Patterns that fit on one yard of fabric. I am not much of a hat wearer, besides cloche hats, and even then I typically only wear them in the fall and winter. I wanted to design something for summer, and something I would possibly wear. Unfortunately, I had to get my computer fixed last fall, and lost saved files and bookmarks of hat resources. Luckily, I found an awesome vintage hat pattern.

Click image to go to the fabric page.

My entry is Retro Rainbow Hat. This vintage pattern is made so that the hat can accommodate a ponytail. I thought that detail would be perfect for summer. I had to modify the pattern a bit and fix some errors before I added my designs to the pattern pieces. The crown of the hat has faux stitching in faded rainbow colors on a light tan background. The brim is made up of "petals" that have faded rainbow arcs on them that follow the shape of the pattern pieces. The lining pieces are solid colors of the rainbow colors used for the design. I guessed at the sizes needed for the bias cording, and gave them rainbow stripes on a tan background. Since there was extra space, I also included pattern pieces to make two keychain fobs. I am currently waiting for the fabric to arrive so I can make it! More details on the hat will come in the project post.

You can vote for this week's Spoonflower contest here. There are not many entries this week, but they are still great and cover a variety of styles. Voting for this contest ends Wednesday.

I'm on a slight retro kick, and it started with this entry, "Retro Sewing Stripe" for the Sewing Celebration contest. It finished 47th out of 111 entries.

Click image to go to fabric page.

It's in a much softer colorway than I'm used to doing, but it works well for this design. The fun stripe is made up of zigzag stitches, pins, straight stitches, buttons, needles, and bobbins.

The Book Love fabric contest was one of my favorites because I love books. I haven't been reading as much as I would like lately, but nothing compares to a good book. "Ode to the Keeper of the Books" was my entry, and placed 99th out of 143 entries.

Click image to go to fabric page.

The print is made up of elements representing three major genres (horror, adventure, fantasy) over an open book. In the background are the words "horror adventure fantasy" repeated in a transparent brown. The whole print uses transparent colors at certain areas, and adds to the idea of imagining book scenes. It was fun to do, even though it took quite a while to create. I still have to get a proof of this to see how it will print. (I have no idea at this point!)

For the Bag Pattern contest I entered "Creativity Tote", which finished 44th out of 76 entries. The kit prints on one yard of fabric.

Click image to go to fabric page.

"Creativity Tote" is an art tote bag that can grow with a child. It has pockets to hold items such as crayon boxes, scissors, pencils, markers, glue, glitter, paints, and whatever else needed to create works of art. The right side is designed to have elastic to hold coloring books, construction paper, coloring pads, and art paper pads up to 9" x 12". The tote has a flap with hook and loop tape closure that allows the tote to expand. I also included a name tag on the back of the tote for the child's information. The white shapes print pieces are made so that the child can draw on the pattern pieces to create images from the shapes. I haven't made this kit available for sale yet.

I have some patterns done for upcoming contests already (!), but I will wait to show them until it's time for their contest. Please check out the Hat Pattern contest at Spoonflower, and vote for your favorites.

Sew Simple Dress: Now & Later

Simplicity has a new line of patterns named Sew Simple that include a pattern for one item. I like the idea, since the patterns are cheap, and I don't have to mess with patterns for something I don't like. (I hate getting a pattern for one item I really like and not liking the rest of the included patterns). I tend to like dresses with a '60s feel, and fell for this dress because it looked comfortable and cute:

You can find the pattern here at Simplicity's website. My only concern with the dress, was that it appeared a little short for my liking. I thought it would be okay since dresses tend to be long on me, and I decided not to shorten this dress for my height (more on that later).

Next was finding the right fabric. The pattern called for cottons, silky fabrics, and lightweight linens. I knew I wanted a cotton, but was debating between a solid or print. Then I found THE fabric in the cotton/quiting section:

Swirly, stained glass perfection in various purples, greys, and black and white. I think the print was also available other colorways (I don't remember though!), but I had to get the purple. Here is a closer look at the fabric:

Like I said, geometric perfection on fabric. The dress sewed up fast and easy. It was great not hand sewing anything (I tend to top stitch hems rather than do it by hand unless I need to for the fabric type). The band didn't need to be interfaced, which was also another (small) plus. I made one mistake by sewing an armband at 3/4" instead of 5/8" (oops!) and had to seam rip it and deal with some small holes in the printed fabric.

The biggest surprise came when I went to try on the dress. It was very comfortable, and somehow didn't make me look huge even though it's a loose style, but it hit right below my knees! I thought the envelope illustration made it look longer than the model picture, but when I held the pattern up to me, it seemed that it would hit mid thigh when finished. I chopped 2" off the hem so it would hit right above my knees, still longer than pictured. I'm very okay with it being longer than pictured, because I was a little concerned with it being too short.

Right now it feels very much like fall (first day!), but it's supposed to heat up a tad later next week. So, for now when it's a bit warmer, I'll wear the dress with some cute flip flops:

Here's a closer look at the flip flops. They have bows!

Later, when it cools down a bit, I'll wear it with tights and my grey knee high boots:

I'll layer it more when it really cools down with a long sleeve top and maybe a sweater cardigan. This dress was a breeze to sew, and it will be fun to wear! I will be doing another post soon, for a knitting project perfect for fall (and winter) weather.