Finally finished

It's funny how some projects seem to drag on and on. Without a self imposed deadline (eg a specific event to wear a garment to), my motivation can sometimes wane and that's certainly the case with this jacket. When I made the black lace and cotton version of jacket 129 of Burda 9-08 I did it in a week because I had a special dinner to wear it to, however this white cotton version took much longer. But it's done (just imagine me doing a little happy dance):

Funny too how using the exact same pattern and same techniques doesn't always mean the same results either! For some reason, probably due to a lighter weight fabric, this version seems a little more boxy around the body and bulky around the shoulders, but when I tried taking it in a little at all the seams I found it became too constrictive and I couldn't stand in my favourite daily pose, which is this:

Ah, yes I admit I do usually have this bossy look about me!

I always like to wear a new garment a few times to see how it feels after a few hours and how it looks with various outfits, so I'm not giving up on this as yet but I think this jacket looks pretty good as is so hopefully there won't be any need for reworking it. I made it in a white poly-cotton with a fine red pinstripe through it, picked up in an opshop or garage sale a few years ago. It's amazing how versatile a red striped jacket can be - I think it will look good with grey, navy, black or even a red skirt/dress if I feel like being matchy matchy (which is often!). Maybe even dark denim jeans for a more casual look outside of work too.

I chose to go with horizontal stripes instead of the typical vertical since I have seen many RTW jackets like this lately, but my choice of pattern wasn't too smart, selected only because I had traced the pattern pieces out, had recent success with this pattern and hadn't put the pattern away yet. Hmmm, not really good reasons are they?

I think the exercise of matching all those seams was a major drain on my energy in making this, because I became a bit obsessed with getting it right. Even though that meant sewing some seams several times over! But check out the front and back matching of the princess seams and raglan should seams:

although the shoulder where all those seams meet is a right mess. Luckily it is mostly covered by the collar, because look at this:

When I first started sewing my goal was to make my clothes look as good as RTW, but now I want to make them look better which makes the effort of matching stripes worth it. My husband has a few midpriced pinstriped suits ($600-$800) and no attempt has been made at all to match the stripes at shoulders, which I think lessens the overall look. It's probably only something a sewist would notice!

But maybe I'm just being hyper critical and a tad negative this week. I am so exhausted at the moment that doing anything feels like too much. Usual cause - Anna's very poor sleeping, combined with some long hours at work last week and I feel like I need to volunteer for an induced coma just to catch up! We've moved Anna from her cot into a bed based on the logic that sleeps ok in our bed, but it turns out that's because we're in the bed, not the bed itself. Hmmm, should have seen that coming. So now she not only has crying episodes every few hours through the night, she also jumps out of her very comfortable and very expensive pillowtop mattress and comes running down the hall to get our attention.

Do you realise it's only 9 weeks until Christmas? 69 days to be exact, according to this countdown. All I want for Christmas this year is a child who sleeps without protest for more than 2 hours at a time. Oh, and world peace. Is that asking too much?