Denim Jacket, V1234 by Sandra Betzina

I seem to be on a Today's Fit by Sandra Betzina roll. I've made yet another piece, this time using  V1418

                                         
                                           

which I loved the moment I saw it. This jacket was a test for the fit of the pattern so I made the simpler View B because it had much fewer details  than the more complicated View A which I want to make in navy linen in the soring.

This jacket is a stretch cotton denim. I made View B with a moderate FBA (I added 1/2" using the cut and spread method) , a Narrow Shoulder Adjustment, and a High Back Adjustment just below the neckline. ( sorry, I haven't covered that topic yet at Diana's Sewing Lessons ).

I didn't line my jacket but I spent a lot of time carefully finishing every seam with a Hong Kong Finish and I love the results. I used a cotton shirting for this step.

                              

I kept top stitching to a minimum resisting  doing every seam in sight, in favor of simplicity.

This jacket has a lovely oriental flair,and  is slightly boxy  (in a nice way) rather than fitted as the pattern envelope suggests.

I love the length of this jacket  and the closure tab. I made machine buttonholes and they turned out perfectly! See!

The only criticism I have for the pattern is that the back darts do not extend high enough  ( I remedied that)and the mid back  area is excessively roomy, if that makes sense. I'll need to make an adjustment next time. But my final conclusion is that this is a very wearable jacket and for once it was a piece I really needed to go with several other things in my wardrobe. Never mind, I couldn't find a hanger to hang it on and will have to hang it on a hook in the spare room because there is just no more room in any of my closets. And yes, I am ashamed to admit that!

What did you sew this week? Do you like Today's Fit patterns in general?

Have a great week!

A Transition Into Fall Piece, B8674

 I've been wanting to make something out of this striped rayon woven fabric for at least three years so I figured  it was now or never and I think this shirt will serve me well as we head into long sleeves weather.

I've fallen in love all over again with tailored shirts these past months and for this one , I used B5786 , again.
I used the collar and sleeves of View D, the front of View A and totally changed the back as I've found that the back is really too long for my liking in both my other versions. I simply cut it exactly like the front.

First things first though.This shirt is cut on the bias so my striped fabric was an  ideal  choice, sort of. It's a rayon woven and looks like faille.However,it was rather difficult to handle  on the bias !

I decided to add a straight grain band  down the front.

 To do this, I cut off the self facing , leaving a 5/8" seam allowance. I then cut the band the  width of the dark stripe bordered by the  white stripes plus the SA of 5/8".  I sewed it with right side of the band against the wrong side of the  shirt front. I pressed the band to the front and with a little help from Steam-a-Seam, secured it in place, then edge stitched each side .




This was a little tricky to do because of the bias cut of the shirt front. It worked out OK but is a little askew. I must admit.I should have stabilized the edges of the shirt fronts before I added the band,

Another little touch I added was to sew a straight grain band across the shoulders by centering it evenly on either side of the seam. Again, I used Steam-a Seam to help out.

The pocket got a band as well.

The collar was cut on the bias and pieced at the center back so the stripes would fall in opposite directions at the points. The band  was cut with the stripes  on the vertical .

As for the length of the shirt, I added about 3" to the front, then matched the back length at the side seams and then mirrored the cut on the bottom of the front.

I think I like this shirt...a lot in spite of its imperfections.

This piece is a great match for these cream scuba knit yoga pants made this summer, ( SP3400)



I think this is a great piece to add to my already extensive wardrobe ( LOL)  and it was a fun make. I really enjoyed working out all the little details  for this one.

Next up is a coat  for my sister's 70th birthday. I gave her a drawing of it at her party and have since made a mock-up to make sure it will fit correctly. I'm using Burda 7072. It's a great coat pattern and I will probably use it for me sometime.

I hope you found time to sew this week.

My Last Summer Garment (V1109 + B5522= a Dress )

There's no denying it. Summer is over. I know this because  September is here, school has started, and heck, the leaves on some trees have already started to change colours! Ouch!  Apparently, that's due to the hurricane that struck in early July which caused  stress to  the trees. But I'm not ready to let go of warm sunny days yet!

My  last  summer garment is a dress made by combining the sleeves of V1109  by Sandra Betzina,

 and the body of B5522, now both out of print.

I made it to wear to my sister's 70th birthday party. I wasn't sure I liked it until I walked into the party and got oodles of compliments on it. Well. with this bright fabric, they had to notice, I guess. That settled it. I do like it.

The fabric is a border print poly/lycra and I had to buy 4 1/2 meters in order to get enough border print to make this happen. It was a fun piece to make but I wish the border had been wider so it would be more evident at the neckline. Other than that, it turned out just as I envisioned it.

The focal point of the dress is really the unique sleeves which I love. The top which I've made a couple of times was very form fitting but I always wanted to use the sleeves again.

I got the idea of  joining the fronts of the dress and the top at the waistline, then using the neckline and the armholes of the top  and that worked really well.

I love the way this dress patterns falls nicely over the hips and without being fitted at the waist, still gives a shapely silhouette.

( Bad photos but a photographer, I'm not, LOL )

What do you think?

Next time I'll show you a bias cut shirt made using B5786.