DAY 4 - The end is near

The lining has been 'bagged' -- not without some hair pulling, muttered words and frantic Internet searches, but bagged it is. I had a devil of a time understanding just how to sew the lining to the outer garment shell in the area of the lower hem/front facing. My initial attempt resulted in a rather interesting bulge. Fortunately, the solution came to me as I was lightly dozing (hey, bagging is hard work!) -- had I but taken a look at my pattern pieces (where the seam line was clearly marked) it would have taken me a lot less time to understand, but I enjoyed the nap.

Also confusing to me was how to attach lining to sleeve hem. This was entirely due to my lack of spacial imaging -- in other words, I am absolutely rubbish at visualizing how something will fit together without physically putting it together. Makes for some interesting times in the sewing room, but we all have our weaknesses. I was helped in that regard by a tutorial at the Fashion Incubator site. Lots of good information there, even though it isn't geared towards the home sewist. Don't forget to leave a little something in the collection plate (i.e. the donation button) if you do make use of Kathleen's hard work!

And now, without further ado -- the styleARC Janet jacket:






I have yet to find a decorative closure for it, so technically 'not quite finished', although I think you could certainly wear it open, as is. It's a nice, basic jacket, which fits the way I'd like it to (after my pattern adjustments) -- still has a slim line, but not so close fitting that I couldn't wear a long-sleeved top underneath in cooler weather. Overall, I'm quite pleased, although I hope to improve on my lining skills. I also find final pressing to be difficult, but that may just be the nature of the beast. I'm thinking this might be nice in a no-wale corduroy -- or better yet, a faux suede -- but that's a project for another day!

DAY 2 - Muslin #2

Continuing on my jacket journey...

After adding some "wiggle room" to the pattern (about 2 inches in the hip, slightly less in the waist) I cut a new muslin. A more clever sewist would have made the first trial garment with larger seam allowances in order to tweak the fit, but... At any rate, still plenty of sheeting for a new version, and this time I also added a sleeve since I had gotten nervous about the fit in that area. Much better -- now I can exhale!

Satisfied with the fit of my muslin, I went digging in the fabric closet. I had in mind a lightweight wool purchased from Vogue Fabrics at a sewing expo -- maybe two years ago? I thought it would be a good weight for this jacket, but wasn't sure if I would have enough. If memory serves, this is a 100% wool (or very close!) It has a subtle woven-in design, and is an orange red shade -- I'd call it a tomato red, perhaps shading a bit to rust.





My luck held -- I have enough! Let's get this fabric pre-treated and do some cutting.

Since this is a woven wool, I want to do some pre-shrinking so there won't be any unpleasant surprises the first time I clean it. Some sewists take their fabric to the cleaners to be steamed, but I opted to treat it at home, using the instructions on Pam Erny's blog Off The Cuff Style. Check out her instructions there, plus her many other tutorials. I'll also be using the excellent interfacing she sells.

Comparing the fabric after treatment -- the hand and the appearance are the same as before, but there has been some shrinkage. I also spread the fabric out and gave it a hefty shot of steam from my steamer. That might have been overkill, but better safe than sorry.

So, at the end of Day 2 -- pattern alterations done, fabric prepared for sewing, then cut and interfacing fused. I still need to purchase my lining fabric, plus alter the lining pattern pieces to reflect changes I made to the pattern -- time enough for that on Day 3.