Sunday, January 15, 2017

A lesson learned

This is the second of my three ufo’s from last year. I showed the start and interfacing of it at the start of December. My last post on it is dated December 18 and then I said I hoped to complete it within a week, unless I would make a Christmas dress. Well, I made the Christmas dress and started other things in the meantime too. Somehow I was just not too pleased with it.

I tried it on this week and first of all cut off the extra length I had added to make a longer jacket possible. Not good on me, I like my jackets shorter, I’ve yet to find a longer style jacket that I like on me. I tried it on again and still was not satisfied with it. It felt too big, even when it was made from the same base pattern that I used for my previous jackets that I drafted myself and that fit perfectly. I realized that using a fabric with stretch would feel very different in a jacket. I’ve made ponte-knit jackets before but they behaved, especially after using interfacing on them, almost like a woven. I did not interface the body of this jacket, as I wanted a more unstructured jacket.

Of course I could not completely go back to the drawing board, as the jacket was almost completed. I took in the sleeve width and made all vertical darts deeper. In the back I sewed the darts till the hem, thus taking a bit out of the back hem width too. It is closer fitting now and looks so much better :).

My lesson learned is that if I want to make a jacket from a knitted fabric, I’d probably better start with my normal sloper, not the jacket sloper that has more ease.

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No surprises on the inside this time. I used a plain black stretch interfacing. When I put the jacket on after it was finished it felt so comfortable. It will get a lot of wear I think, it feels like a cardigan. At the same time I can see the difference interfacing the front and using a shoulder stay makes. I prefer the tailored look, but I wear those tailored jacket not that often.

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The fabric looks only black and white in the photos, but in reality it has some grey and blue threads as well, making it a bit more special.

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The pattern I drafted myself, copying the collar style from a rtw jacket. I used the sloper I made in the Craftsy class Pattern making basics – Bodice sloper from Suzy Furrer, with the extra width added for a jacket. As said above I think it would have been better to use the sloper without extra ease with this fabric..

For the collar I used the instructions for the notched collar from her class Collars & Closures, without making the notch.

The two piece sleeve was drafted using another system (Danckaerts) as I don’t like Suzy Furrer’s way of making a two piece sleeve (difference shown in this blog post).

6 comments:

  1. I too like the shorter version with this jacket and you have convinced me to change a jacket to a shorter hem as well. I bought (but have not watched, surprise, surprise) the Craftsy class by Pam Howard on sewing knits "with structure and style." A knit jacket does work like a cardigan but will have its own challenges as you described so well. This one does look stylish and very versatile.

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  2. It worked out well in the end. Looks lovely.

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  3. I recently finished a double knit jacket that actually called for a knit and it was too big. Knits are such a crap shoot with the stretch not just varying, but how they wear on the body. I like this jacket on you. You do look good in shorter jackets and this one is flattering on you.

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  4. Looks great and perfectly executed like everything you make Sigrid!

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  5. Different fabrics behave so differently and I've been caught out by not interfacing but quilting a jacket and the fit was disastrous. Your jacket has turned out perfectly and "cardigan" like is just the sort of jacket I need.

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