Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The slippery slope



We all know the feeling.  You're dutifully following the instructions and then things start to get a little crazy.  The coat fronts are moving along nicely, and then Mr. Cabrera tells me to throw out the facing pattern that comes with the pattern, and just wing my own.  Oh man, this is the slippery slope.  Do you play it safe, or proceed into the unknown? 
 I decided to trust the man and draft my own front facing.  This is a critical component of the jacket since it becomes the outside lapel.  The front edge of the facing is cut perfectly straight on grain, and then steamed and pressed into a gentle arc to match the front of the jacket.  If one was using a striped fabric, the stripes would be perfectly parallel to the edge of the lapel.  Makes sense.  Once the facing is sewn to the jacket front, the seams are trimmed, pressed open and hand sewn back onto the twill taping.  This controls the bulk at the point of the lapel and at the curve at the bottom of the jacket front.  With the facing attached I breath a sigh of relief.  Nothing is screwed up.........yet. 

2 comments:

  1. Phew! I am really and truly amazed and in awe at your patience.

    All that effort and the hours of hand-stitching boggle my mind.

    I am SO looking forward to seing more of your wedding jacket.

    Being very inquisitive, I would also like to see some photos of the whole front-piece? I can't really imagine what it would look like right now :-)

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  2. This is very exciting and inspirational. I will be drafting my first patterns this year, and am nervous with anticipation. I also adore hand-sewing; you are doing a fabulous job pad stitching!

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