Sunday, November 20, 2011

Uninspiring?

This is vaguely-a-test of the pattern provisionally earmarked for The Sewing Lawyer's next leather jacket project.  It's #107 from the famous September, 2010 edition.  It's in progress only (as you can see from the pins).

But this fabric bears NO resemblance to leather.  It's a quilted knit, quite stretchy (and annoying to sew).  It can't be pressed.  It won't lie flat.  The seams are all topstitched with one of the amusing utility stitches built into my Pfaff sewing machine.

I fear this jacket will not be long for the world.  The fiberfill between the two layers of this fabric occasionally pokes through.  I had been cutting the resulting wispies off but to my horror this led to at least one (found so far) little cut into the outer fabric.  Guess where?*

I'm only persevering with it because I have the feeling I will actually wear this curling and schlepping around the house.  It's kind of cosy.

Both the fabric and high-contrast zip were chosen for stash-reduction purposes.  Do I get extra points for using bulky space-consuming stuff?

I only noticed that the right front is about .25" longer than the left when I looked at this photo.  I am not going to fix it since this would require unpicking the topstitching and I fear making more little holes.  I am pretty sure the fashion police won't bother with me about it.

Dratted too-low armscye
I am going to make a Q&D muslin in a woven fabric to be sure before cutting the leather that this is too big and sloppy in the body, and too low in the armscye, and to find out what the collar will really look like.  For the armscye problem, I am going to (carefully) unpick the lower armscye and insert a gusset.


*  Centre front.  Nice one, Kay!  I'm under the perhaps-delusional impression that my fix will not be noticeable.


5 comments:

  1. Ah, my friend, it's difficult to dress you in something that doesn't look good :)

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  2. I like this jacket - I can see you getting a ton of use out of it, no? This is exactly the kind of sewing I need to do - stuff I actually need.

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  3. Yay, stash busting! I like the jacket, it's flattering. I like quilted diamonds so maybe I'm biased. Sorry you've had issues with it. That can be quickest way to suck enthusiasm out of a project.

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  4. Oh Kay, You have this thing with low armscye ;-))) I am under the impression that if you correct the fit, it would make a great leather jacket. To be worn open or closed or in between? This version will be great with your curling pants. For the stash, you extra point come only if you do not fill it with new fabric ;-))You should see how little I bought in the past year. I am so proud of my self.

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  5. Q: Do I get extra points for using bulky space-consuming stuff?
    A: Yes.

    This is a cute jacket and it would look great in leather. Looking foward to it.

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