Presenting Vogue 1127 and the coordinating sheath dress

I came home tonight and sewed the button on the jacket:

and hemmed the dress...so here is a little fashion show:

Dress with jacket

Dress alone

Jacket open so you can see all the hard work!

Some stats:

Fabric:

5 yards of Italian cotton from Emmaonesock

Notions:

4 yards of medium weight satin type lining from Metro Textiles

1 button

1 22" invisible zipper

yards and yards of bias binding

1/2 yard of interfacing

Construction:

This is a pretty easy jacket to sew.  I, of course, changed a few things.

1.  The jacket has three buttons as the closure.  I tried this out and I just didn't like the way it looked on me.  Tooooo Star Trekish...and while I'm a fan of the show, I don't really want to wear that look to work!  So I used just one fabulous button and made the buttonhole on the diagonal to really showcase the button.

2.  The entire jacket is underlined with the gray satin lining instead of just adding lining to the sleeves like the pattern suggests.  Not only did the lining add weight to the jacket but it made it slide on and off so much easier.

3.  I added interfacing to both sides of the collar.  I thought that adding interfacing to only one side would make the collar really floppy...and even with my adding it to both sides the collar still flops a little.  I used a medium weight fusible interfacing.  I contemplated using a stiffer/heavier interfacing but I think the collar would have stood up like a military collar and that was not the look I was going for at all!

4.  In both reviews on PR, they mention that the darts in the shoulder make your shoulders look really wide and really square...again that Star Trek look!  I solved this problem by curving the darts at the end so they end more like dolman sleeve shoulders.  I think this is working for me and solved the problem.

5.  Because I underlined all of the pieces - the dart was exposed in the sleeve.  I simply tucked the ends under and machine stitched them down.

The most time consuming part of this jacket is binding EVERYTHING and I mean everything! *LOL*  My jacket does look a little different than the pattern envelope but it fits my lifestyle and my vision for my outfit.  But I will not be making this jacket again.  It is a little too distinctive.  So I will have to find another pattern to use for the maroon coordinates...however, I have finished my first outfit from my "Elegant Fall Collection!"

Just a quick note about the coordinating lined sheath dress...it is made from my TNT dress pattern.  It is lined with the same gray satin lining and not only will it work with this jacket but a couple of white cardigan sweaters from my closet also.  I think the dress adds the perfect touch to the jacket.  As a bonus there is a little over a yard of gray fabric left.  So it will become a straight skirt to go along with the jacket and dress.

As a parting shot...a certain little man just would not be quiet until he became a part of the fashion shoot too!!!

...as always, more later!

Vogue 1127 - More Sleeve Pattern Alteration Info.

There were a couple of questions in the last post about the alterations I made to the sleeves.

Janima the Mom Beast asked,
"I was interested to learn how you give more ease for the upper arm, as I always have to do the same. your method is the one I use-- but don't you add the corresponding increase to the bodice underarm side seam?"

First here is a pic of the alteration I did to the side seams of the pattern piece:

Second, I made this alteration because the normal alteration I make to the sleeve pattern involves putting a seam down the center of the pattern piece, increasing at the bicep area and decreasing back to the seam line.  An example of it can be seen here.  I guess I could have cut the dart apart and made a seam.  However, I like the dart detail so I don't want to lose it.  So I had to come up with an alternate option.

Now to answer Janima's question...by adding width to the sleeve sides in the bicep area has nothing to do with the bodice side seams.  Once you sew the sleeve side seams together, the sleeve is inserted into the jacket.  The instructions from the pattern sheet are below so that you can see the raglan insertion.

So the jacket side seam is not affected at all by increasing the side seams of the sleeve.  And that is not only in this specific case but in every alteration I do for the sleeves.  The area you do have to be careful of affecting is the sleeve cap.  I make no alterations to my sleeve cap AT ALL!

Tracy I hope this also helped you with the visuals...please make sure you click the link to the other post because there are pics there that detail how to make the other alterations that I make to my sleeve pattern to increase the width at the bicep. 

And one more disclaimer...this is the way I handle the alterations.  They work for me.  I have learned them through trial and error and may not be in any of the fitting books that are presently on the market...so take them with a grain of a salt! *smile*

I stopped to take a lunch break and saw the above question so I thought I would answer it sooner rather than later...back to the machines!!!

Vogue 1127 - Part 2 - Pattern Alterations & Prep

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've already made the alterations to my pattern pieces.  The one thing I do love about today's patterns is that the finished width is printed on the front pattern pieces so you can use that as a starting point for determining how your garment will fit.

Pattern Alterations:

The first alteration I always make is to the sleeve pattern.  It is rare when a sleeve has enough space for my very bodacious biceps.  Since this pattern goes up to a size 20 and that is what I'm starting with...the finished width for the biceps is 17 3/4".  I need 18-19" for comfort.  So I added width to both sides starting at the underarm seam and adding 1/2" at the bicep area through the sleeve and tapering back to the seamline at the sleeve hem.

To both the front and back pieces as well as the front facings, I added 3" at the lengthen/shorten line on the pattern.  And to the front pattern piece I added 1/2" to the hemline by gradually widening the pattern from the underarm seam at the side seam.  I also added an inch to the front band and moved the center front line over to accomodate the added width.  Since you place the back piece on the fold, I will use the pivot and slide technique to add a 1/2"  at the center back hemline that way.

I increased the collar by one inch to accomodate the change to the front pattern piece.  I also added an inch to the front facing piece for the same reason.  Then I re-measured all of the pieces, omitted the 5/8" seam allowances to determine if my new measurements would fit my body measurements as well as the amount of ease I like in a jacket.  As of now, my calculations appear correct, so I will cut the fashion fabric after it's pre-treated.

Pre-treating the Fabric:
Even though this is a cotton blend fabric and I should be able to wash and dry it...I am concerned about removing the "shine" of the fabric.  So I'm going to load the steam generator with water and steam the heck out of this piece.  I believe that this should be sufficient for pretreating the fabric.

Pattern Instructions:
Since I've never made this jacket before and the reviews on PR did not heartily endorse this pattern, I did spend quite a bit of time reading the instructions.  I've already noted where I'm going to make some changes.

One, since I'm making my own bias binding using the pattern piece supplied by Vogue, I noticed that nowhere in the instructions does it tell you to mark the lines on the pattern piece prior to cutting it out.  Ummm, I know this is a general fact but seriously it could be reiterated.  Also, for making the binding it tells you to iron down a 1/4" on either side of the binding.  Now most of us know that you can use a bias binder maker for this job...why wouldn't the patterns instruct you to use one?  I can just see some poor sewist burning his or her fingers while they tried to iron down 1/4" on either side...*sigh*

Lining the sleeves:
The pattern instructs you to baste the lining and the sleeve together, then after the sleeve is sewn into the jacket to hem the sleeves.  Okay that's one way...but I think I'm going to use the Nancy Zieman method ~ the lining and fashion fabric are sewn together at the hemline. Then the side seam is sewn and the lining is flipped inside. I just have to insure that none of the lining fabric hangs from the bottom of the sleeve.  This method allows the hem to be sewn before the sleeve is placed into the jacket.  Cleaner and easier.

Since I've added three inches to the length of the jacket, I will add some more buttons to the front of the jacket as well as one to the collar.  I don't understand why there isn't one there already!  The jacket presently has 3 buttons...I'm thinking 5 or 6.  Speaking of buttons, I want to use a silvery nickel type which I have in the button collection. 

For the buttonholes, I'm thinking about making corded buttonholes.  The fabric is a little busy and I think that by adding some cording to the buttonholes it will provide them with a little more oomph.  I will have to make a few samples to see if this will work or not.

Otherwise, I'm ready and will go into "sewing mode" in the morning...I..CAN'T...WAIT!

My next project ~ "A Wearable Muslin"

I've wanted to make Vogue 1127 since I first saw it in the Vogue Pattern Magazine.  Originally I planned to make this from my fashion fabric combo but after seeing Barbara's version, I knew I had to work on this outfit sooner rather than later!

My next stop was to check Patternreview to see if anyone had used the pattern.  But I have to tell you that I was a little disappointed by the two reviews of the pattern.  However, I did read all of their comments and double checked them with Barbara's blogpost, where btw, she mentions none of the reviewers issues.

So I pulled my pattern pieces out last night and preceded to start the alteration process. I won't detail them all here now but I had a very relaxed evening just altering the pattern pieces.  Since I mainly want to try out the jacket first...because if it doesn't work what will be the sense of making the other pieces...I will admit that I added three inches to the length of the jacket.  This is a kewl short boxy jacket.  But I don't want it to make me look kewl, fat and plump!  Therefore, it had to be lengthened...not too long to take away from the original design but long enough to be flattering on me.  I will make another sleeveless sheath dress to accompany this jacket.

This is my fabric ~ a Doubleside Dotted Italian Cotton from EOS:

I will use a rayon midweight lining fabric and will incorporate some of the issues that the PR reviewers referenced.  First being that only the sleeves are lined in the jacket.  The seams are HK finished.  Even though I loved how Barbara HK finished her jacket, mine will be underlined with the lining and then the seams will be HK finished.  Very similar to the way I finished the interior of the Butterick 4980 jacket.

Another point of contention in the reviews was the dart that formed the top of the sleeve.  Since I've used this technique before for the Butterick 4980 jackets, I'm sure I will be able to handle this and make it work.

I was going to run down to the garment district today to pick up some gray satin bias binding from Daytona Trimmings to use for the HK finishing, even though the pattern does have a great piece for making your own bias binding in the pattern.  Well my day job precluding me making the trip and saving the time...so I will be using the pattern piece with the lining fabric and making my own bias binding.

Work will start on the jacket this weekend and I'm pretty excited about it.  I have some errands to do tomorrow but I'm gonna bury myself in the process on Sunday!  Finally, this version will be my "wearable muslin" before I cut into my fashion fabric and make "The Elegant Fall" version...but I really believe that my wardrobe can stand two of these jackets!

...as always, more later!