So Far

Here is what I have made so far...


I finished the chocolate brown eyelet jacket up just before I needed to get dressed for dinner out tonight.



And no I did not wear this out...The pieces that I have completed so far are:

1. Butterick 4980 - jacket in a white jacquard linen
2. Sewing Workshop Mission Tank - in white jacquard linen
3. TNT dress - sleeveless in 100% black 'n white cotton
4. TNT dress - sleeveless in Black/Creme circle print linen & black rayon/linen
5. Butterick 4980 - jacket in chocolate brown cotton eyelet
6. Butterick 6082 - Tank dress in chocolate brown cotton eyelet

I still have the blue cotton paisley TNT dress and Simplicity 3744 to finish. I believe I can get both done before the weekend is up but we shall see.

Okay a few more pics ~ here is just the jacket.



And just the dress:

And last but not least, is my review of Butterick 4980! I broke my own rule and posted it to PatternReview just for you Karla!

Pattern Description:

Loose fitting waist length jacket has neck band and three-quarter length raglan sleeves. B: button loop

Pattern Sizing:
14-16-18-20 ~ I normally use a 22 or 24 but I adjusted this to fit me.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I made myself follow the instructions instead of free-styling or just looking at the pictures. The instructions were pretty clear except for in one part where you attach the yoke to the jacket. If there hadn't been a picture there it could have gotten dicey. If we were using 4 stars to rate the pattern instructions - this would get 3.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
The jacket is fresh and trendy and it reminded me of a Liz Claiborne jacket that was in a lot of ads in the spring fashion magazines. So that was the attraction to the pattern.

Fabric Used:
100% cotton eyelet in chocolate brown from Metro Textiles

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I made several pattern alterations:
1. I lengthened the pattern 2 inches to fall at my natural waistline.
2. I slashed the front piece from the marked bust point down to the hem and spread it an inch at the hemline.
3. I added a center back seam to the jacket back.
4. I added a center back seam to the yoke back.
5. I reduced the amount of the front fold from 2.5 inches to 1 inch.

Since the fabric is an eyelet all of the seams were bound in cotton bias binding. I was concerned that with the large eyelet holes, serger thread wouldn't hold and I wanted a seam finish for the jacket. I used brown lining fabric for the yoke instead of interfacing. It gave the firmness the yoke needed because I didn't have a dark sew-in interfacing for this fabric.

After adding binding to the sleeve hem and the hem of the jacket, I really liked the look of the binding that I did not hem the jacket. Just left the binding alone. The binding is just ironed in half and applied with some raw edges. I saw this technique on a designer dress and wanted to try it. Since this outfit will be dry-cleaned, I thought this would be a great opportunity to try it out.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I made a Wearable Muslin of this jacket from a white jacquard linen table cloth before making the final version in the chocolate brown eyelet. So I don't need another one of these jackets because of its trendiness. I am more a classic kinda girl. However, I would definitely recommend this pattern to others. The jacket has a lot of punch with a minimum amount of effort.