Missoni Sweater / Blazer #2 -- It's a Wrap!

Yay! I finished before the deadline.

 

This post is primarily for other PR contest members who may be interested in some of the construction details. The contest rules don't allow for many photos. I think I can submit only 3 photos, one of which has to be the "inspiration" garment.

 

A little sewing geekery.....

 

 

 

Because the fabric is loosely knit, I reinforced the back of the button with a small scrap of silk organza. This will prevent the button from being pulled out. This picture also gives you a good idea of how many colors are worked into the fabric. It's really quite amazing, and to my mind, beautiful.

 

 

All of the seam allowances, facings and hems are finished off with Snug Hug rayon seam binding. Time consuming and at times kind of fussy, but I love how it looks. It's nice to know that if I need to take my jacket off, people will see that it's just as pretty inside as it is outside.

 

 

 

Here are the bound buttonholes, a la Laura Mae over at Lilacs and Lace. I made them with scraps of lining, beefed up with some lightweight fusible interfacing. Her tutorial makes this SO easy. If you've avoided bound bottonholes, by all means follow her well illustrated directions. You'll never fear them again!

 

 

 

So here's my finished jacket. Time to get out the tripod, take of some pictures and post my entry to the contest. Wish me luck ..... Or better yet, throw a vote my way!

 

Oh..... And have you seen the Missoni offerings for Fall Winter 2015?

 

 

How freakin' gorgeous are these!!!

 

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Contest Sewing Update

It snowed here most of the day yesterday. So rather than risk a fender bender, or worse, I stayed in and sewed. I'm really making great progress, and feel pretty confident that I'll be able to finish before the deadline. Having made this jacket before is a huge advantage.

I'm not exactly sure how these Pattern Review contests work. Apparently I get to submit two pictures. One of the "inspiration", and one of my interpretation. I'm not sure if I can refer back to my blog. But if I can, it would give people a better idea of my process.

For some of you this is old hat, but here's where things currently stand.

 

 

The patch pockets are finished and sewn onto the jacket fronts. They're a big part of the design, so I take my time and sew them as accurately as I can.

 

 

My camera really doesn't do this Missoni-esque" fabric justice. Trust me, the overall effect is very green. I'm interlining the jacket with a substantial cotton jersey in a sort of light avacado color.

 

 

The knit fabric and jersey are basted together to act as one.

 

 

The pattern is very simple, which makes it go together quite quickly. "Snug hugging" the seams is the time consuming part, but it does make for an attractive inside finish.

 

 

Lastly, the sleeves are made and lined. The undercollar is interfaced and rows of zigzagging are added along the roll line to beef it up a bit.

The next step will be to add two bound bottonholes to the front. That's something better left for when I'm fresh. Once they're done, things will really move right along.

 

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Ready, Set....Compete!

I should have my head examined! I've gone and entered my first sewing contest at Pattern Review.

 

 

I've looked at these contests before, but they always strike me as impossible. One Pattern -- Many Looks. Oh, man, I'd be lucky to complete ONE look! Or something like, A Complete Coordinated Wardrobe. Seriously?

 

Anyway, I've decided to enter this designer knockoff challenge. I have the materials to make another "Phoney Missoni" jacket, and I figure this contest will be the push I need to get it made. Hopefully, I can complete it before the end of the month. Speedy I'm NOT!

 

BTW the grand prize is a new ironing board cover!

 

 

Better get cutting! Dad needs that cover badly.

 

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obsessing a little

Thanks to everyone on the Pattern Review message boards who advised me on the patch pockets.  It was unanimous that I interface the entire pocket even though the instructions (just pictures) don't show it. I think they would have been very disappointing if I had merely lined them.  I'm getting a lot of mileage out of my hair canvas.  In addition to the pockets I also interfaced the reinforcement patches that the toggles will be stitched to.  I spent quite a bit of time positioning the patches because they really need to line up.  I lined everything up with masking tape and then topstitched the patches in place using the tape as a guide.  Voila!  I've also attached the pockets and their flaps.  Marji from the Great Coat Sew-along blog has a great tutorial on patch pockets.  She topstitches the pocket first and then sews it by hand onto the coat.  It's time consuming, yes, but it looks SO much better and eliminates that look of the pockets just being tacked onto the coat.  The coat fronts are now complete and I've laid them out with a toggle to get a sense of what it will look like.  Things should start moving ahead quickly from this point.