yippee! One denim jacket, finally done!

Wednesday 25 May 2011
I am so happy that I've finally finished sewing my denim jacket - it was becoming such an obstacle for me due to my self imposed no more UFOs rule and a major drain of sewing mojo to boot.  It really shouldn't have taken so long to make, it's just that life got in the way and then I procrastinated a fair bit too.  It was totally frustrating sewing this - not that the pattern was difficult, but it was fiddly, but I sure am glad it's done 'cos I've already worn it twice since finishing it last Saturday - success!.

To recap, I made jacket 116 from Burda issue 4/2009 which isn't actually designed for denim but rather 'lightweight jacket fabrics'.  It wasn't a problem sewing this pattern in denim, but it sure takes a lot of physical exertion wrangling a heavy and thick fabric. But it also meant I could leave out the lining and instead just overlock the inner seams and use bias binding on the facing edge, which in theory should have made this quicker to sew.
I fixed the collar issue I had previously by ignoring the notches I had made and instead matching the centre back seams of the jacket and the collar which seemed to work.  I also did sew from the centre back seam outwards to the sides - I usually do this for stretchy fabrics but thought I could get away with it in a firm fabric like denim.  I don't know what I did wrong in the first place, because when I checked the reviews over on pattern review no one else encountered that problem so it was clearly me tracing the pattern notches wrongly.  But there is still a fair distance from the edge of the collar to the edge of the jacket front, which I assume is a design feature:


You can also see there all the topstitching I did, which was the cause of most of my frustration.  My sewing machine did not like stitching over those bulky seam intersections at all, and there were a lot of skipped stitches no matter how slowly I stitched.  And sewing those button holes were a complete nightmare because the plastic buttonhole foot just refused to move the fabric along so I had to a bit of pushing and pulling.  But I think it looks pretty awesome with those hammered on metal buttons, even if it looks like the front is one button short:




Luckily I had read on the pattern reviews that the turned up cuffs were drafted too narrowly to turn up without wrinkles, so I fixed the pattern before I cut them out.  The turned up cuffs make this a 3/4 length sleeve which is a bit daft for winter but it is a look I like so I guess I'll wear with my shirt sleeves hanging out the bottom.

I must admit that when I first put this on I was rather unimpressed with the jacket, mainly because I wanted to wear it open but the front of the jacket naturally sits overlapped.  But when I saw the photos I got over myself because I see it doesn't look too badly worn open either:


And best of all I've finally got something casual but smart to wear with my refashioned skirt.  I bought this skirt a few years ago in an op shop because it's made from a caramel coloured wool jersey and I intended on pressing out the pleats and making something else from it.  But since I've seen several sunray pleated skirts in a similar colour around in the shops instead I lopped 20cm off the bottom to take it from mid calf to knee length, and repressed those pleats to make an 'on trend' skirt:
  

And now I've finally given myself permission to go and use my new overlocker. I have cleaned up my sewing table and set it up so it's about time I powered it up and got sewing.

27 comments:

  1. It was worth the wait because it's fantastic! Love, love, love how it works with the op shop refashioned skirt!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fantastic jacket, you will really enjoy this in your wardrobe.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great jacket... and when people ask where you got it? You can say humbly... that you made it! Or you can lie and tell them you got it at some expensive boutiqe somewhere! Just kidding...
    It does go great with your skirt, and it should go with things for casual wear too!
    Onto the serger!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yay! I'm glad you got it to work. It looks amazing. And it's a very nice pairing with the skirt.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awesome jacket! And the whole outfit is great, too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You look great and so does the jacket! I'm so glad you got it to work. I have used this pattern too and I love my version of this jacket, but yours looks fab in denim.

    ReplyDelete
  7. woaw! that's great. i really appreciate you ;D

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks great, all that hard work definitely paid off!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderful jacket! Your perseverance really paid off. Looks wonderful with that skirt, and probably with a whole lot more.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks very nice! Glad you figured out the collar.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It looks amazing! I love the jacket and the outfit as a whole. It sucks to have all that frustration over one piece, but it's great to see you finished it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fantastic jacket!! It looks great on you!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love "big" projects " like this . It is a great jacket and you should be very proud.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It turned out beautifully, and you look beautiful in it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. It looks great! The topstitching thread does look perfect with those buttons. I'll have to find some bronze-y ones for my jeans...
    Yay new overlocker! Have fun with it!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Cute jacket. I think it looks cute open.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great jacket and skirt. I love that gold color!

    ReplyDelete
  18. It's lovely. Great garment to dress up and down.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow, I love this! It looks so professionally made!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love the jacket and wasn't it worth persevering! Love the skirt too.

    ReplyDelete
  21. That looks great. I love workwear that has more of a casual feel - especially in some of my work environments.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I am so glad you perservered, this is such a cute jacket and it looks great on you!

    ReplyDelete
  23. It looks absolutely great! And it will look good with long sleeves poking out. Show us pictures of that, too, please (when it happens).

    ReplyDelete