Friday, February 6, 2015

Zoanne's Cape/Coat


vanilla viscose/wool boucle knit from Emmaonesock.com
This year I joined Peggy Sager's Silhouette Patterns pattern of the month club.  The patterns reflect industry sewing standards and are designed to be constructed quickly.  For this design, I added four front patch pockets, and moved the two buttonholes to the neckband seam.  I'll admit I could have been far more creative with this pattern, but graduate school sometimes condenses my sewing time.  When time is limited, I prefer to sew simple projects that can be completed in a short amount of time.  That said, couture is where my heart is and I will be starting a couture project very soon! 

Here is the pattern for the above coat:
The pattern calls for significant top-stitching.  Wool boucle tends to hide stitches, so while I stitched seams with all purposes polyester thread, I top-stitched with heavier silk thread.  Below were thread choices from my stash:
top: 100% polyester all-purpose thread, Left: buttonhole twist Right: heavyweight silk thread
Silhouette Patterns are sized much differently than the large commercial pattern companies.  I made a size "3".  The only alteration was to "bend" the sleeve more:
2 sleeve pattern pieces
draw lines perpendicular to the grain line just above elbow

fold out 1/2"
straighten lower portion of grain line marking (red ink)

6 comments:

  1. Lovely jacket. What was the reason to increase bend in sleeve? How did you arrive at that decision? Was a muslin used?

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  2. Great jacket. I love the ivory/white colour - it's so refreshing! Thanks for posting the quick pictorial on how to bend a sleeve. Great thing to know.

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  3. I bent the two-piece sleeve pattern because my experience is that Silhouette Patterns are drafted for an arm that hangs straighter than mine. You will know you need this adjustment if you see horizontal or diagonal folds just above the elbow on your jacket sleeve. I'll be starting a couture dress soon, and I will show this issue on the muslin.

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  4. Love the creamy vanilla color you chose for this jacket. Very pretty!

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  5. Thanks, Tomasa. It will be nice to wear the jacket over other layers.

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