A Vogue Five Pak

I know the posts were light last week but that's because working on the jacket took longer than I expected. However, the jacket spawned a few additional pieces, most of which have already been discussed on the blog. So my apologies but this post is a little heavy on the pictures.

The Pantsuit ~
This is comprised of the Vogue 9095 jacket (pattern alterations post here & construction post here) and the pants from this outfit. The pants were loose on me when I was heavier so you know they're swimming on me now. I removed 2" from each outer leg and 1" from each inner leg to slim them down. In total honesty, I'm wearing them with the waistband turned down once. I still need to refit my pants pattern but for now this will work.

Also even though the jacket works with the pants, and this is how I will wear it, I'm not really thrilled with the jacket. The lapels are thinner than I thought they would be. I'm also not that happy with the bands at the jacket hemline & sleeves. Finally my sleeve insertion sucks...but after taking them out twice...I decided this was good enough. I won't be making this jacket again. I'm on to the next jacket pattern adventure.

The top is Vogue 8209 blogged about here.

Black Jacket & The Brocade Pieces ~
The Vogue 7632 skirt + the Vogue top 8209 + the Vogue jacket = a dressy suit.  I think of this more as a church outfit rather than a work outfit.

...and the top and skirt without the jacket...

...the original white ponte top...

Finally, I've decided to add a "casual look" to my blog posts since last year there were quite a few comments asking what I wear during my downtime. I mix and match my work pieces with jeans, maxi skirts and maxi dresses. Here's how I would wear the jacket and top with a pair of bell bottom jeans...

Next...
I'm reworking my TNT dress pattern because I want to work on a dress with a more fitted bodice after that...and you know how much I love my TNTs. I hate that my pattern isn't working for me now. So I've got to get that straightened out especially since spring and summer will eventually show up...

...as always more later!

Vogue 9095 - Construction Details

The thing about making a jacket is that it takes time. Normally when I get the shell of a garment finished, I know that I will be done soon.  Ummmmm, not so much with a jacket.  There are still a million and one steps to do to finish the jacket...okay I'm exaggerating but if you've made one you know what I mean.

Here's the jacket so far on Lulu - almost done!

Basically my pattern alterations to the jacket shell worked...I ended up sewing the seams 1/2" instead of 5/8" from the waist down on the jacket front seams. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the shell went together and how well it fit.

The bands were next. Since I didn't alter the pattern pieces for the bands until after the jacket was assembled this took some fiddling to get them to work. I wanted the seams for both the jacket & band to match. To achieve this I took the pattern pieces and laid them on top of the jacket to see where I needed to make alterations to the band pattern pieces.

My front band ended up with a curve since it mimic'ed the curve of the jacket front.

My lining was cut from rayon bemberg lining that I bought from Elegance Fabrics in NYC. The lining had a little more body to it than the bembergs I've bought in the past. This was great because my jacket body is a little drapey so this lining should give the jacket a little substance.

The sleeves were constructed out of order. Probably because I was concerned about them sliding over my bodacious biceps!  This was the only challenge I experienced because I overcompensated the width needed. See even my biceps have changed with the weight loss.  All of the extra that I added had to be removed because the sleeves didn't hang correctly.

So here is a picture of the sleeve pattern pieces with the added space...

Now as an experienced sewist I know that adding to the sides of a garment affect the hang of the garment.  That's what the problem was with the way I added to the sleeve pattern pieces and once I removed the extra, I no longer had an issue.

I can honestly say that the most challenging part of constructing the jacket was adding the sleeves...because I still had to cut lining fabric and set in four sleeves.

Some other thoughts...

• Can I say this is one time where saving the scrap pieces of fabric from a previous project worked to my advantage. I had some very large scrap pieces that I used to cut the bands and the collar for the jacket from. Just one tip, make sure that you are cutting the pieces on grain. My scraps still had the selvedges attached so determining grain was easy.
• I will use this jacket pattern again both without the shawl collar. I think it will work well with both skirts and dresses, as well as, thrown over a pair of jeans or leggings.
• I don't like constructing jackets. They take a really long time and challenge me in ways that I don't enjoy. So I'm gonna try and make a few more this year. This is something I need to get better at so I'm going to use some of those patterns from my pattern collection.
• This jacket is very basic. I've removed the welt pockets and sleeve bands for this version so that it will go with just about anything in my wardrobe. Also the fit is okay...not perfect. I think it's good through the body but the shoulders and sleeves still need some adjusting...not a lot but some.

Pictures of the jacket with the altered pants - the legs are just too wide now - and with the brocade skirt will be up next. 

...as always more later!

Vogue 9095 - The Jacket Pattern Alterations

This is a recently released pattern and though it's similar to the iconic Vogue 7975, I really like the shawl collar option that's View C. Ages ago, pre-blogging days, I made a navy blue pinstripe jacket and dress combo using a shawl collared jacket that I really liked wearing. This view of the pattern brings back those pleasant memories.

Vogue 9095 - View C - Shawl collar version

Front & back line drawings

I started out making two versions of this jacket from the remaining black fabric from this outfit:

Now I know you're wondering why two versions ~ well it's because I got this idea in my head that I can't shake. I want the shawl collar and bands to match the brocade skirt I just completed. While this will be an awesome suit (and probably my Easter outfit this year), it's not really a standard black suit. So I'm making the jacket twice ~ once fancy and once standard ~ especially since I already have the black pants in that fabric which will make a great pantsuit.

However, after laying the fabric out, I will only be able to make one jacket. So I'm going with the plainer version of the jacket because it's the more practical wardrobe choice.  I think I'll have enough leftover to make a simple elastic waist skirt which will give me several mix and match opportunities.

Next pattern alterations...

This pattern has a lot of pieces to it which means a lot of fitting opportunities. After tissue fitting the main pieces and the band to my body, I decided to add an inch in length because I didn't like where the hem of the jacket was hitting my body. 

• So one inch was added at the lengthen/shorten line.
• The hip measurement didn't fit my body so 1/2 inch was added to each front pattern piece by cutting and spreading.  
• I only added to the front piece because that's where I still carry most of my weight.
• The bands will need to be adjusted but I'm waiting for the jacket fronts and backs to be stitched to make the alterations to the bands.
• I added a center back seam to the jacket even though the pattern has a solid back piece.
• I added 1/2 inch curves at the sides of the sleeve pieces to accommodate my still bodacious biceps.

I think that's everything. I did a lot of flat measuring and tissue fitting and now I'm moving onto cutting out the fabric...well more like procrastinating but after such a busy week it's taking me a minute to get back into the groove.

There will probably be a construction post for this jacket before the reveal. There is still soooooo much left to do for this jacket ~ the lining and the pattern alterations to the bands.  I just don't want to cut the lining or the bands until I'm sure that the jacket shell will fit.

That's where I am right now.  Will probably spend all day today in the sewing cave. I'm hoping to get this closer to the finish line sooner rather than later!

Oh and can I share my new obsession with you?  Well I'm gonna anyway! *LOL*  

I'm totally obsessed with the show, Empire.  So much so that I purchased the soundtrack from iTunes and have been blasting it while I've been in the sewing cave today! So you know where I'll be Wednesday evening - glued to my television watching the season finale!

...as always more later!