The Athleisure Jacket

I've really got the Athleisure bug, so I immediately launched into a jacket to go with my new sweatpants. I'm using the black and gray "birchbark" looking knit. I'm hoping the combination will be Armani-esque. One can always dream!

 

 

This is the pattern I used for my "Phony Missoni" jackets of last year. This time around I'm going to try the shawl collar version. (The illustration kills me!). Because this fabric is super wide, 72 inches, I only ordered 2 yards. Talk about cutting it close. I was just barely able to eek it out.

 

 

There is some serious Snug Hug usage going on with this jacket. Here a strip is sewn into the shoulder seams to prevent stretching. It works like a charm.

 

 

The seam allowance edges are covered with cotton bias binding. When the seams are pressed open the Snug Hug is completely hidden. I used this process on the shoulder seams and the side seams.

 

 

In places where the binding will be especially visible, namely the hem and front facings, I baste it in place before edgestitching. The thickness of the fabric combined with the loopy back made this necessary. Otherwise, I ended up edgestitching into air. Maybe you've been there too?

 

 

This is a little hard to see, but I interfaced the undercollar with silk organza. A little voice was saying, "what would Laura Mae do?

 

 

Rows of zig zagging along the foldline help create a little more structure.

 

 

The sleeves are lined with rayon bemberg to make the jacket slip on easily. Otherwise, it's completely unlined.

 

 

The world's worst buttonhole. This simply won't do!

 

 

 

 

Break out the silk organza and Laura Mae's bound buttonhole tutorial! The BEST!

 

 

 

 

Lastly, the collar and front facings are understitched to help help keep them from rolling out. Below the button the seam allowances are stitched to the facing. Above the button it's reversed, and the lapel / collar seam allowances are stitched to the jacket front and under collar. Sounds confusing, but it becomes obvious when you're doing it.

 

Next time, the Athleisure reveal. (Arctic Blast reveal may be more like it!).

 

 

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More Finlayson Progress

Construction continues on the Finlayson sweater. Because I'm working with a double layer of knits, I find myself having to improvise most of the seams to reduce the bulk. Even with the added steps I'm doing, this sweater goes together easily.

 

 

 

Once again, I'm using Snug Hug rayon seam binding to stabilize the seams. Here I've placed a strip in the shoulder seam to prevent it from stretching. The bigger issue at the shoulder is really the bulk. There are four layers to contend with, two each of the wool jersey and the wool / mohair knit.

 

 

 

I experimented with some scraps and came up with this quasi flat felled seam. I trimmed three layers away and then pressed a jersey layer (which has been Snug Hugged) over them. Then the whole mess is top stitched.

 

 

 

It ends up looking like this on the outside. Personally, I kinda like it!

 

 

 

So here is the final result. On the left the shoulder seam as seen from the outside, on the right is how it finished off on the inside. There are no raw edges to come unraveled anywhere.

 

 

The same process was done on the side seams.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the whole collar assembly. Trust me, it really goes together easily. For this sweater I placed a layer of the wool jersey between the upper and under collars. Two layers of the loosely woven knit were just not substantial enough for my taste. I understitched the collar to help it keep its shape, being sure to stop about 4" from each end. A lesson I learned from Finlayson #1. Alternatively, it could be topstitched.

 

 

 

Inserting the collar can be kind of a mindbender (at least it is for me!!). My approach is to fold the collar into the correct shape first, and then flip it down onto the sweater front as seen in the diagram above. It's then just a matter of basting it all into place. This pattern is beautifully drafted, and the collar falls into place effortlessly. Still, I would recommend basting the hell out of it.

 

Again, my big issue was the bulk of the seams, especially the one across the bottom the placket. That seam contained 3 layers of wool jersey, and 5 layers of wool / mohair knit! Needless to say, I did a great deal of very careful and judicious trimming. This is NO place to slip up.

 

 

 

To bind off such a bulky seam I stitched two lengths of Snug Hug together very close to one edge. I then turned and pressed the ribbon, making a double width binding. I handstitched this over the trimmed seam allowances. Handstitching gave me complete control over this process, plus .... I really enjoy it.

 

 

 

And here is the result. Certainly worth the time and effort to have a clean finish on the inside, and worthy of the luxurious fabrics I'm working with.

 

 

 

 

The back neck edge and arm holes are also finished off with Snug Hug.

 

 

 

 

Lastly, a loop and horn toggle closure finishes it off.

This sweater's ready for the great outdoors! Time for another snowy photo shoot.

 

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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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The Finlayson Sweater

Now that I've conquered my fear of knits, I decided to try Thread Theory's Finlayson Sweater. They have an entire sew-along tutorial on their website, so I won't bore you with a lot of construction details.

I like that this pattern can be made up two ways, with either a shawl collar or a hood. Personally, I'm not the hoodie and kangaroo pocket type, so I went with the shawl collar. LL Bean used to sell a rag wool sweater with a shawl collar. I think I wore it till it fell apart, so it's nice to have a replacement.

 

This is a lightweight acrylic knit that I picked up at Metro Textiles in NYC. Metro is one of those fabric haunts that's very "hit or miss", but can be worth the elevator ride up to the 9th floor (I think). The owner, Mr. Kashi, is very helpful and low pressure. While I was visiting he pointed me towards some gorgeous Japanese mens shirting, unfortunately not in colors that I would normally wear. One actually had a contrasting border running down the selvedge that could be used for inside the cuffs or neck band. Pretty cool, and silly cheap at something like $6/ Yd.

I went for this teal blue sweater knit, also $6.

 

 

I purchased the PDF version of the pattern. I work entirely off an ipad these days, and I struggled to find an app that would open the zip files. There are some seriously useless apps out there! I could get the directions, but not the actual pattern. Arrrgh!!! Matt and Morgan were SO supportive of my dilemma and pointed me in the right direction. (The solution was iZip BTW) Once that obstacle was surmounted it was clear sailing.

 

The pattern calls for an optional contrasting back neck facing. It's a good opportunity to use up some of those scraps that I just can't seem to throw away! It's also just a nice touch.

As you can see here my collar / placket isn't perfect. The pattern has separate upper and lower collar pieces, the upper collar being just slightly larger to allow for the turn of the cloth. I decided to understitch my collar to keep the seam out of sight. In retrospect I should have stopped the understitching about 4" from each end. That way it wouldn't show where the collar twists. Speaking of the collar, I'm not entirely convinced that the directions are right. Then again, I may be misinterpreting the diagrams. If you make this sweater, I'd spend some time playing with it so that your upper collar really ends up on the outside.

I "Snug Hugged" the raw edges inside. They could be zig zagged or serged, which would probably be a lot easier. I'm just sort of addicted to Snug Hug.

 

The neck seam can be covered with bias tape, twill tape or even shoelacing!

 

What else did I do? I shortened the arms by 2" and the body by 1". It went together easily and I will definitely be making it again, next time in significantly more luxurious materials. Stay tuned.

In the meantime I have a shirt I want to make.

As always, I wish you happy sewing!

 

 

 

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Taking a page from the Laura Mae playbook

I'll admit it. I'm a big time lurker on Laura Mae's blog, Lilacs and Lace. I'm never, in a million years, going to be making a beaded gala ball gown, but I love watching her process. Surely, in a prior life, this woman was one of "Les petites mains" in a Paris couture house. My current "Phoney Missoni" is going to need some couture touches, so Laura Mae is the "go to" gal for this couture wannabe. Break out the silk organza!

 

Laura Mae has some excellent tutorials on her blog. I'm always blown away by sewists who are not only incredibly talented, but generous in what they share with the rest of us. For this project I followed her instructions for making bound buttonholes, and applying Snug Hug seam binding. Both tutorials are crystal clear and easy to follow. I highly recommend them.

First up, Bring on the Snug Hug!

 

 

I actually ordered this roll of Mimi Brown Snug Hug from Amazon. The seller turned out to be A. Feibusch Corp., 27 Allen Street on the lower east side of Manhattan. They've been "zipping the world since 1941", so I've got a new place to explore the next time I get to the city. One roll of Snug Hug and I'm a believer!

 

What can I say about this stuff? It's amazingly light yet stable, adds almost no bulk, is easy to both sew and press, AND you get 100 yards so you can Snug Hug with reckless abandon.

 

So where did I use it? First, I basted a strip along the edge of the lapel to help it keep its shape. (See the top photo). It's so lightweight one would never know it's there. Certainly much more appropriate than the cotton twill tape that's usually used in menswear. I also inserted a strip along the shoulder seams to prevent them from stretching. I would normally have done this with a piece of leftover lining material. This was much faster, unroll a bit and it's done. Plus there's nothing to unravel, which is important in an unlined jacket.

 

 

I sewed a strip into every vertical seam to prevent sagging. When both layers of knit fabric were sandwiched together there was a surprising amount of weight pulling / stretching the jacket down. By simply inserting a strip into the seam I was able to stabilize the knit vertically and maintain the shape of the jacket. Again, it added almost no bulk.

 

 

All the raw edges were finished. Once you get going it's hard to stop, especially when things look this great.

 

What's going on here? I started to reinforce the armscye a la Roberto Cabrera, but changed my mind. Suddenly things were becoming too structured, and I was losing the "sweaterness" that I was after. Out came this strip.

 

 

I ended up setting the sleeve and sewing around the armscye twice (three times at the underarm), trimming out the fashion fabric and then binding the lining fabrics together. This was a bit tricky since Snug Hug is only 1/2" wide, but I was able to make it work. First I pressed the Snug Hug in half, and then basted it in place before sewing it on the machine. A little more time consuming, but worth the effort I think.

 

With all the seams snugly hugged, I moved on to the bound buttonhole.

 

Laura Mae's tutorial is well illustrated and easy to follow, so I won't go into all the steps involved.

 

In a nutshell, I placed a square of silk organza on the outside of the jacket and plotted out the position of the buttonhole with basting thread (red). The organza supplies structure that the loosely knit fabric just can't. Without it I think the fabric would just unravel / disintegrate. I wasn't willing to risk a machine made buttonhole on this project. And a bound buttonhole is just WAY more classy!

 

 

Once the rectangular opening of the buttonhole is sewn, slashed and clipped, it's turned to the inside of the jacket forming a little "window" as you see here. Note: this "window" is actually on the front facing and has been positioned to finish off the back of the buttonhole.

Scraps of lining fabric were used to form the "lips" of the buttonhole. They are handsewn into the window opening, which is surprisingly easy to do. Handsewing gives you complete control over what's happening.

 

 

Here is the finished buttonhole from the front (it's basted shut until the garment is completed).

 

And here it is from the rear, pinned back so you can see the organza reinforcement.

 

Thanks, Laura Mae, for holding my hand and guiding me through these techniques! I'll never fear a bound buttonhole again. A big takeaway for me has been the similarity of a welt pocket and a bound buttonhole. If you've done one, you've pretty much done the other.

The jacket is complete and I've actually worn it a couple of times to rave reviews. I hope to be posting a photo shoot soon.

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

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