Vogue 8430, Part 2

I'd intended to post an entry about making samples to test seam finishes, etc. But they didn't exactly photograph well. And let me tell you, this pattern goes together so fast that I'm already done!

Here's the red side:



And here's the black side:



And the black side, another way:



The style of this jacket is fairly avant garde, similar to Shirin Guild, Miyake, or Eskandar. It's comfortable to wear, like a sweater. I did make a few changes to the pattern:

• As is typical for me, I cut the neck/shoulders/armscye in size Small and the rest of the garment in size Medium. There's a lot of ease, so I might have been able to do the entire jacket in Small.



• I lengthened the fronts by 1-5/8" so the front and back side seams would match. I figured this would be an easier way to deal with making it reversible, vs. uneven side seams as originally designed.

For the seams, I used a variation of the flat felled seam. A traditional flat fell didn't work well due to the bulk of the fabric. Because it's jersey, I then went with an raw edge flat fell. Better, but still not exactly what I wanted. So, I went with a raw edge fell with a wide and long zig zag, the largest my machine will make. I used coordinating threads, red/orange on top, black in the bobbin so the stitching matches each side of the fabric. The tone-on-tone just looked classier and will be more versatile for the completed reversible garment. Sometimes the raw look requires tempering, you know?

On the jacket edges, I just finished them off by zigzagging right at the edge of the fabric. I don't know if the finish was technically necessary, but I like it better vs. a strictly raw edge.

This is almost an Anthropologie* type of garment, so that's one of the reasons I'm not overly concerned about the rawness. Although the fabric is wool, I also didn't felt it. Felting can take a lot of fabric, in that you're basically shrinking the fabric. You don't know how much it'll shrink to make the felt until you do it, so your yardage potentially runs the risk of going from adequate to not enough in a heartbeat. I only had 3 yards to work with and I didn't want to end up without enough. So the jersey will remain jersey and I'll probably be dry cleaning it. I have cut a couple of samples from the scraps and will launder them to see what happens.

I do have some yardage left over, so I'm also planning on doing more experimenting with it. I also have an aqua/black piece that was originally going to be a second version of this jacket. However, this one is pretty memorable, so I think I'll use that piece for something else. If I make this pattern again, and I think I will, I'd rather make something that will look different from this one instead of a clone. Hopefully FabricMart will continue to carry similar double-faced wool from time to time and I'll be able to obtain even more to (possibly) felt and sew.


*I know I've been shamelessly name-dropping in this entry, but Albuquerque actually has an Anthropologie store now (we've arrived! haha). So of course, I checked it out and actually bought a few pieces even though most of the styles are a little youngish for me. Anyway, raw edges are plentiful and and many of the jackets are made from lightweight boiled wool.