Saturday, February 3, 2007

Mission Complete


Yes, it's done. It's finally done! I hope you haven't been holding your breath all this time. ;-)

Here's the back view:


This pic shows the weird shaped front facings. (And the stabilizer still on the backside of my buttonholes.)

This is the quasi-lining for the back. The middle section has an ease pleat. The bottom section is hanging free. I haven't yet decided whether to attach it to the jacket hem with a few thread loops. I'll see how it wears without them.

Here's the jacket splayed out on the (thread snip covered) floor. The back lining is sewn into the neckline, armholes and sideseams.

There is a separate collar stand. I'm not sure if this was entirely necessary, but it looks nice. ;-)

Yoke, pocket flap, and notched collar … which I did not widen, Katharine, because I decided extra width would overlap the pocket flaps.

And the sleeve placket, which I sewed on the right way the first time. Whew! Speaking of the sleeves, they eased in great first try. I think, no — I know, I was stalling on finishing this because of those sleeves. But I shouldn't have worried. I did leave the seam allowances at 5/8" and sewed two rows of gathering stitches, pinned carefully, and voila! Whew again. ;-)

Lots and lots of topstitching on this thing. I topstitched nearly every seam. Actually, I think I did hit every seam, including the two upper sleeve seams because at that point, I figured why not. I do like the way it looks. It's too bad the photos aren't doing justice to the topstitching thread. It's a taupe-y color which matches some of the paisley shades and shows up more in real life.

I'll take pics of me in it and write up a review soon. Remember to click on the pics for the larger versions. You can also go here to see all the photos from this project.

18 comments:

  1. Lets just say that if someone were selling jackets like that, I would be first in the queue. I love it! Most impressive.

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  2. Wow! Most impressive. I am not sure I would have had the stamina necessary to finish this garment. You dealt with some problems with a very creative mind and then too the time to do all that topstitching. What a beautiful jacket.

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  3. Fantastic! I dearly love those sleeve plackets. I do hope you enjoy wearing it because it sure looks like it was worth all that time and effort!

    You are most definitely the Queen of Topstitching! Beautiful work, Debbie!

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  4. Beautiful job! I read your blog whenever I'm checking my favourite haunts. I am always entertained and many times learn something in the process. Thanks-Corinne

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  5. I second what everyone says so far. Beautiful and it looks so professional. Ah in fact, it looks so much nicer than anything you'd see in RTW. How do you get your topstitching so even? Do you use twin needles? or do you use your coverstitch machine?

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  6. Beautiful! thank you for sharing all your progress! You are a fantastic seamstress!

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  7. Your jacket is gorgeous! It looks like something from a designer boutique. You will so enjoy wearing it.

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  8. It turned out fantastic! I'm glad that you didn't scrap this project even though it gave you quite a few fits.

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  9. Wow, it's beautiful! You did a wonderful work with the fine details too! It's perfect!

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  10. It looks fabulous Debbie. You always take such time and pay attention to the details.

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  11. The jacket came out great! Just beautiful.

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  12. I really like your jacket. I wish that I would dare to make something like that!

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  13. Debbie, not only is the jacket awesome, but you are so inspiring! Thanks for showing us it can be done! I'm going to tackle one, soon....

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  14. Wowieee, I missed this installation, my internet was down...since mid-last week...(what a description?)

    The jacket is fantastic and I am going to make one tooooo!!! Love it to bits.
    Don't you feel good that you persevered and did such a super-duper job?!?
    Now back to reading the entire article.

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  15. Debbie, I think you should send pictures of your jacket (including the preparation stage) to Burda Magazine. There is a section featuring customer projects.

    Looking at the pictures of your project, I noticed you did quite a bit of work on the pattern preparation....I missed that stage somehow. Did you fold in extra fabric in the back of the lining? Centre back looks like you did, as one would do for a tailored jacket.

    You definitely must make this again, while the process is still fresh in your mind....no, really!

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  16. Debbie, most impressive jacket. I love the sleeves and your topstitching is beautiful. Your hard work has paid off in a tremendous way. Thanks for the motivation and inspiration

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  17. Debbie,

    I am new to your blog. I have been following your jacket "mission" since you started it. And I was holding my breath! I was dearly hoping for your sake that the project would turn out sucessfully. You did a fantastic job! The topstiching looks amazing. Kudos to you!

    Love, Wardeh

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Thank you for each and every comment. I appreciate them all, but I have to be honest and let you know that I'm usually bad about answering questions. I hope you understand that there just isn't enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.

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