Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Silhouette Patterns GA's Jacket, A Failure

Oh my Gosh! I worked so hard and I just couldn't get this one to work! Its Peggy Sager's GA's jacket #1913 and is suppose to be copied from an original Armani jacket. I was so excited to make this one.



First, I should say that there are very few instructions provided for this rather difficult pattern so beware if it's on your to do list.

I didn't make an actual muslin but I sewed the lining first and it seemed like a good fit.

 I chose size 2 because the finished garment measurements seemed to be  adequate for my measurements. The sizing on Silhouette patterns is based on finished garment measurements and not on body measurements.

The sleeves had an awful lot of ease but I thought that because I was using  wool for the jacket, I could shape them, shrink them and make them fit.  Not so.

There were no real drag lines anywhere on my lining/muslin so I thought the jacket would be a piece of cake. Oh my ---!!! I was so wrong!



I spent a lot of time quilting faux leather to use for the front insert, the back side piece,and the collar , lapels, and pockets. So when I had the body of the jacket constructed and tried it on only to find these horrible diagonal drag lines from hip to bust, I was very disappointed.




 I checked to see if I had maybe stretched the wool adjacent to the front side insert but it seemed to still be the same size as the pattern piece!

What to do, what to do? I finally  pinched a dart adjacent to center front and that seemed to get rid of most of the drag line. I decided to complete only one side of the jacket with this dart sewn in, just in case I should be wasting my time.



Next, the sleeves and they were a real disaster. Way too much ease and they really looked awful.




I tried raising them  at the shoulders and pinned them and they looked a little better. I measured and transferred the fold to the sleeve pattern piece.



 I essentially chopped off about 5/8" of the sleeve cap. I then took out the sleeve , and recut and resewed it. Again, a little better but not perfect.


Was it worth while continuing or should I trash it? I had spent the better part of three days working on this thing by now. I decided to construct the collar and lapels and to apply them to the jacket. They were partly made already so why not?





That done, was I happy ? NO! but I just couldn't admit  defeat. I took out the other sleeve and fixed it, added the dart to the other side front, changed my mind about the leather pockets, restyled those and finished the darn thing. I even had trouble with the buttonholes!




I'm far from happy with this jacket and with the exception of the collar and lapels. It's barely wearable. I  despise this pattern and it's going in the trash! No point in it taking up space in my sewing room. But  to tell the truth, my problem was probably due to the weight of my wool in comparison to the quilted faux leather.

 
To tell the truth, now it's  too small and it will go to one of my sisters who is at least one size smaller than me. Here it is on Antoinette.






My husband pointed out that I don't often have failures, so I shouldn't feel too bad. But the worst thing about it is that I've been giving sewing lessons  for the past six weeks now in my home and my students will want to see how this project turned out. I don't want them to feel discouraged if they see that their teacher, after fifty years of sewing still produces a wadder. BooHoo!

I do hope you had better luck in your sewing room this week than I did! Lol.

More later from





14 comments:

Linda T said...

Oh, Diana, that is such a shame. I don't know why, but that particular pattern never appealed to me, and now, I guess I'm glad it didn't. I've a a couple of times where I felt the Silhouette pattern sleeves were "too big/too roomie" for the rest of the pattern. Hey, it's OK that you have a "fail" altho I think you did a darn good job of saving the jacket. Like your DH noted, you seldom have a fail (I don't remember a fail since reading your blog until now). I'd say those are very good odds! Cheer up, your sister will probably be very happy to receive this creation!

RhondaBuss said...

Well, this won't help, but the jacket does look good on the fitting form.

Unknown said...

I'm sorry to hear about the jacket Diana, but I must say it still looks beautiful. I'm sure your students will think so too. I would love being your students.

Blessings,
Sherry

Sharon said...

Oh no, so much work and not to be happy with it is so disappointing. I'm sure your sister will be thrilled with this jacket and your students suitably impressed, it just didn't work for you for reasons you said and that is a lesson we can all learn from.

Sew, Jean Margaret said...

What a shame you are not happy with this jacket after all the work you have put in. It looks fine to me and I think your sister is very lucky to be receiving it.

Ann Made Studio said...

Diana what a shame it doesn't fit you. But from the picture it looks like a beautiful jacket and your sister will be thrilled with it. Hey even Sandra Betzina says she makes mistakes and that's fine with her ;)

Donna D said...

As one of your students, I am inspired by all the alterations you made to your pattern and the perseverence you demonstrate! It is also good to know that some patterns may not be perfect.

Vicki said...

Oh dear, yet it looks so good. Perhaps that is a lesson in itself - perseverance!

Marie-Noƫlle said...

What a shame! I am realy sorry that all your work led to a failure. It ahppens to all of us. If you like this pattern Burda has just released a special Classic issue with a similar pattern : http://i40.tinypic.com/14c5u82.jpg

shams said...

Well, your workmanship is beautiful and the result is pretty stunning. So disappointing that it didn't work out. But don't be afraid to show it to your students and to explain the gotchas. They will love that you shared the process and will learn from it! Your perseverance is very admirable. :D (And remember, designers have many failures for all of their successes.)

Diana said...

Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement. I did show it to my students and they were sympathetic and encouraging as well. They seem to think that I can do anything, so it didn't seem to diminish their faith in me.Lol.

Unknown said...

Have faith. We all have days like that. Why not turn it into something else... use the finished jacket to make something else? This could be a good teaching opportunity about what to do with a project that doesn't come out right. http://www.sewinginsight.com/turn-an-oops-into-a-wow/

Unknown said...

I love the quilted leather side panels! And I like the lapels too. You are not alone! I have had certain projects give me hell in the past, but I just kept going through to the end. My current machine loves to "eat" certain fabrics when I go to make buttonholes. I have a couple of projects coming up with button holes, and I am actually SCARED that the machine is going to screw it up! (so I might go the bound button hole route)
I really like your contrast of fabrics on this project. Don't be so hard on yourself. We all have these moments sewing now and then.
:-)

Carol Morris said...

The pattern calls for a pair of 1 inch shoulder pads. Did you use shoulder pads or alter the pattern for the pads not being used? I would love to know if that contributed to there being too much fabric at the tops of the sleeves and also would have affected the lay of the garment.
Only thought I have why it didn't fit especially if the lining did.