Sunday, April 17, 2016

Vogue 1493 , My Way or A Relaxed Denim Jacket

I loved Vogue 1493    as soon as I saw it.Then I watched this  irritating video on the McCall's website and loved it even more. But I knew that to justify buying the pattern and making the jacket , it would have to be something I would wear more than once or twice. I shopped my fabric stash and came up  with the beautiful shirt weight  denim in a watermark print that had been waiting for years to be used.





I never really entertained the idea of the bias strip trim shown on the pattern, however. My idea was to instead quilt the front and  sleeve bands. I tried , using cotton flannel  between the fabric layers but that proved too stiff. Instead , I sewed multiple rows of top stitching and decided, for whatever reason, to use matching thread which doesn't show up at all.





As you can see, I opted for patch pockets after sewing the  inseam pockets  and not liking the result.
I was trying to copy these pockets which I had pinned to my pockets board  on Pinterest.



When that didn't work ( I really missed the mark there, didn't I ! )  and I had no  fabric left, I turned them upside down because I liked them better that way and they seem to mimic the sleeve bands.




This garment is very different for me. I like it a lot but every time I catch a glimpse of myself in it , I think choir  or graduation gown and hubby thought artist smock !

Now about the pattern. It has a princess seam and when I tried it on the seam was way below my bust. As a matter of fact , everything was too low including the waist and pockets. I ended up  raising the whole thing by another 3/4" at the the shoulders and then cutting the extra small sleeves.I had cut a size Medium and that was way too big.  ( I'm 5'4 1/2'' tall and weigh 135 lbs if that helps anybody on what size to make for this one. ).A lot of draping was necessary to get this thing to look right.
The side seams were curved at the waist and that didn't seem to jive with the design of the jacket so I straightened that out.

This was a very time consuming project because of the extra fitting issues, the weird sleeves which each took one hour to construct and also because I added Hong Kong finishing to most of the seams
before I put the jacket together. That's why you see such wide seams in there. I didn't trim away excess after taking everything in to a smaller size.



How weird  is this part!!!





I've worn my jacket to good reviews and I regard it as a fun and casual piece. It will take the place of cardigans  this spring and summer. I can see it with white jeans , or with a simple tank dress too. I'm glad I got this one out of my system and can now go on to simpler things. However, I've run out of hangers and will have to give some things away first !!



I do hope you had time to sew this weekend and that you all have a good week filled with lovely spring weather.

More later from

16 comments:

Zeila said...

That's a great interpretation of that pattern! Thanks for sharing your process.

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

I like your version of this pattern too especially since I have no love for it. The pattern is just a little too artsy for me so to see some of that taken down a little is interesting. Glad you like wearing it.

sewingkm said...

I also 'fell' for this pattern when it first came out so I had to have it. I've been stewing over the right fabric and was thrilled to see that you've used an embossed denim. This fabric choice makes the garment very useful and yet interesting. Thanks for sharing. Karen

Faye Lewis said...

Wonderful jacket. Love the sleeves.

Nancy K said...

Wonderful jacket. It's really so much better without all that excess.

Mary said...

Using the denim was such a smart choice-I love your jacket and can ony hope my own turns out as nice someday.

Irene said...

It certainly was worth working through all the "kinks" - your jacket looks lovely. I hope that it gives you much joy to wear in the coming months.

Sharon said...

Love the details you have used on this jacket, and a great idea to use the denim.

Ohhhmy said...

So glad you made this pattern, now I don't have to. The pattern photos are appealing, and I was going to purchase this pattern, but don't think this one is for me. THANK YOU! Your finished jacket does look wearable, and as usual, you did a great job and I do like the changes you made.

Sew, Jean Margaret said...

Very interesting sleeves. This looks great in the denim and was well worth sorting out the fitting issues.

Sarah Liz said...

Sometimes you have to get something out of your system - and this looks wonderful. Echoes of a kimono but not quite a kimono. Glad it worked out well - it looks good now, and does not swamp you. I know what you mean about coathangers - I have had to cull recently as well.

Vicki said...

No lovely spring weather here - just wonderful autumn weather! I really like the sleeves on the jacket, interesting and a bit quirky. And go buy some more hangers :)

Joyree said...

Oh my! What a TON of work, but so WORTH IT! Your jacket is fabulous. Please make me one JUST LIKE IT because I am NOT going to go to all that trouble with the fitting. (-;
Hugs, Joy

Gail said...

I've seen a few interesting versions of this pattern. I love the quilted effect and the unusual fabric choice.

Cherie said...

Lovely pattern/fabric combo. Interesting details make it a winner. I can see it getting lots of wears in spring and fall!

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for showing this actually ON you, it was nice to see where the fold on the cuff of the sleeves falls. It is much higher up on the arm then I thought it would be.

I have this pattern coming, and I wasn't sure if I was going to have to lengthen the sleeves or not.