Good tools make half the work

That's a Dutch way of saying that it's good to have good tools, as they make your work so much easier. It's always true, but especially with sewing machines. My Bernina sewing machine is such a fine machine to work with, especially when it comes to buttonholes. I didn't make bound buttonholes as Joyce thought. If I had wanted that, I should have made them in an earlier stage.

I made ordinary machine buttonholes, but added a thread while sewing them, so that they would stand out a bit more clear. The special buttonhole foot for my machine makes making buttonholes so easy, and for the extra thread you just fasten it and sew. No need to hold the thread.

After sewing the buttonhole, you just pull the left thread until the loop is at the start of the buttonhole, in this way the opening of the buttonhole is reinforced and its a bit thicker. Just cut away the remaining thread.

The result: 9 (including sleeve) identical buttonholes in half an hour.

The lining took me another evening, but the jacket is completely finished now.

Pictures of the finished jacket

Extra space - Don't know what happens here.

And to finish this post: thank you all for your nice comments on the jacket when it was not even finished yet. It's was inspiring to know that some of you were following my way through this project.

A special thanks to Kate on her comment made this week telling that she got interested in sewing again. Kate: I did make clothes too that I should have known from the start that they wouldn't suit me. It does happen occasionally still. But in the end you just know what styles suits you and what not, either rtw or not. And when I doubt a style, I've learned the past two years just to make a muslin. It saves money and frustration.