A tale of two jackets, Vogue 7975

Two completed jackets in two very different fabrics.

This is the muslin for 7975 that was done in the jacket fitting workshop with Sarah Veblen this past spring.

Jacket 1, my first wearable muslin, in a cream stretch woven cotton/Lycra sateen. Fully lined with cream ambiance.  Biggest issue was choosing a fabric with Lycra! I have such a love/hate relationship with Lycra. The biggest problem with woven's with Lycra is that they somehow end up being much bigger than intended.  In my mind this is so counterintuitive. In retrospect, not the best fabric to use for a first wearable muslin! Oh well, it was in my stash and I wanted to use it up! 

I had a lot of fun making this jacket. I have been wanting to try some internal ribbon details for a while and thought this was a perfect time to try some new techniques!

The buttons are from my vintage button stash! They make me happy!!

Other than fitting changes, I used a different sleeve. I have been working with a 3-piece sleeve. Love this! Love the shape, the drape and the fact that you waste less fabric :) I choose not to do a vent in this sleeve for ease of construction.

Other changes; changed the neckline to a shaped soft V, a very flattering shape for me. The jacket hem is interfaced with strips of silk organza  and I added a lower small inside pocket, this was a design decision to keep my silhouette sleek on the outside however, I like to have a small pocket for mint, tissue, hotel room key, etc.. 

You can see from the photos that the jacket is big. It's on my list to take out the lining, go in and tighten up all the major vertical seams. In the body and at least the exterior arm seam. I do want to get this done before mid- October so I can wear the jacket for a business conference in October. I have pants and a shell already done for this jacket. I have worn this for one work meeting and definitely needs to be taken in! I felt a bit like I was swimming in it. 

Jacket #2. Wearable Muslim # 2  Non-stretch denim, with print cotton facings, under collar and hong kong seam binding. This has a 2 piece knit sleeve. I loved the idea of doing a knit sleeve on a woven jacket, I've seen it in RTW and wanted to play with this idea. 

Fitting changes in this version: addition of a narrow dart below the bust in approx the  center of the side front. This provides some additional shaping. I also trimmed of a small amount off the side front princess seam in the bust area. My boobs just looked too pointy! This jacket was cut exactly the same as the first cream one and such a huge difference in size due to the type of fabric.

As you can see in the photos this version also has a collar. There is no collar in V7975 so I drafted my own partial roll collar using the Craftsy collar drafting class by Suzy Furrer. This was such an easy thing to do and I loved designing my own collar! I know it's just a basic collar but somehow knowing that I did it myself makes me feel proud of my skills. 

I also think the Hong Kong binding on this jacket looks quite amazing. I was quite careful about trimming overlapping seam allowances to help keep the extra thicknesses to a minimum. Hing Kong binding takes a bit longer to do than an actual lining but I love how it elevates the interior of the jacket!

I am very happy with this creation!! I decided to keep the original front neckline. This allows me to play with design. I thought about adding in inseam pockets at the front princess seams, however in my mind I was thinking of this as a 2nd wearable muslin and didn't want to go there. Although, I really do like having pockets in my casual jackets!

I have worn this jacket several times already! To the movies, to a  Haute Couture club meeting, and traveling.

The buttons I used are vintage plastic 1inch buttons from my stash. I really enjoy the pop of color, color makes me happy. 

I am very, very happy overall with this jacket and it makes a perfect fall garment. Every time I put this jacket on I just feel good.

I have a couple more plans for this jacket pattern. One with a self drafted shawl collar, and a Chanel knockoff cardigan jacket. Hope to work on this over the winter. 

I am off to Delaware to help take care of my mom post surgery for the next 10 days. So glad I had the time to take off to go birth with my mom and dad. This does mean that my home sewcation is not happening. However, I have brought some sewing projects with me.... Mom sure won't be using her sewing machine while I'm there!

Happy Sewing!!

My hubby snuggling with the grand babies this past weekend!