Red and black jacket

My second light weight jacket without a collar.  This polyester was almost too light in weight so I fused interfacing to each jacket piece.  It is also lined with black polyester fabric.  I love how this one turned out and will wear this a lot this summer.  Time now to take a break from the Fashion Sewing Group pattern 1945.

Teal and charcoal jacket

Now that I have a jacket pattern that fits (trust me that this jacket fits me better than the mannequin) I wanted to make some lighter weight jackets.  This is the first one made with Fashion Sewing Group 1945 without the collar.  The jacket fabric is a polyester light weight fabric and lining is polyester as well.  Both fabrics came from the LA garment district.  I finished the hand sewing while on a trip last week and wore it to a cocktail party with black pants and shell with silver jewelry.

Fashion Sewing Group Pattern #1945 - Teal Dupioni

I have decided April is jacket month and am going to see how many I can get done.  These take a little longer to make when you line them and I serge every seam after it is sewn.  Still, they are faster to make than a quilt.:)

This teal polyester dupioni came from the garment district in Los Angeles and has a polyester lining to match.  I still want to practice more on jackets before I get brave enough to make one in a more expensive fabric.

For this jacket, I eliminated the vent on the sleeve and decided to try it without buttons.  I really like how this turned out and will wear this a lot this spring when I am in the office.  Not sure how this will remain wrinkle free for travel.

Fashion Sewing Group Pattern #1945 -Red and black

After sewing the Silhouette Pattern Jacket, I wanted to sew a jacket that was put together more traditionally and looked more finished inside.  I have had this princess seam jacket pattern from Fashion Sewing Group for a few years but wasn't brave enough to try it.  It has a vented sleeve (my first) and is fully lined.  After three muslins, I got the fit right so the jacket went together pretty smoothly.  The fabric is a red with black sueded polyester I had in my stash and I lined it with black polyester.  The buttons also came from my stash. I thought I needed an uneven number of buttons on the front and with the large buttons I chose, I think I should have stayed with two.  Next time.

I am pleased with the fit and the jacket.  It looks boxy on the mannequin but then when I look in the mirror, I look boxy too.  This should be a good travel jacket as I don't think it will wrinkle too much.

Silhouette Pattern #1350 Janie's Jacket

I am on to jackets now because I wear one to work everyday.  Trying to get the perfect fit, I didn't want to make the first jacket out of expensive fabric.  This is some kind of a polyester blend I got years ago at Windmill Fabrics in Boston.  The trim is the wrong side of the fabric and I lined it with a pink polka dot fabric I had in my stash.  The fit is close.  If I made this again, I would lower the neck edge and maybe add some width to the front so I can add buttons or some sort of lapped closure.

Self drafted top

From the bodice sloper I came home with from the Fabulous Fit Retreat, I tried to make a shell and teach myself flat pattern drafting at the same time. I made bias from the fabric to go around the neck and armholes and serged all the seams.  Might try french seams for a cleaner finish next time.  I like the fabric and the top is going to go well with charcoal gray pants.  Next time I will also make the shoulders narrower and the armscye larger.  Getting closer to a great fit, now just need to get better at creating design details from a sloper.

Fabulous Fit Retreat Review

I think I mentioned that I was attending the Fabulous Fit Retreat in February and am just now getting around to writing a review.  We lucked out in that usually there are at least 6-8 people in the retreat and for some reason, most dropped out at the last minute so there were only two of us.  The retreat was put on by Conselle Institute for Image Management and the teachers were Judith Rasband, co-author of one of the best fitting books:



and Loraine Henry, an excellent fitting instructor that appears at most of the sewing expos



We went through the entire book, Fitting and Pattern Alteration in the five and a half day retreat.  In addition to learning how to make tweaks to a pattern by altering using the seam method, we ended up with a perfectly fitting sloper for a bodice, skirt and pants.  I have been sewing since grade school but had never taken a class in fitting and this was well worth the time and money.  I now know why my garments haven't been fitting and can't wait to start sewing garments I love again..

We also learned about different body types and clothing styles that flatter for each of the body types.  Judith gave several lectures on building wardrobe clusters and clothes that flatter.  I came home evaluating the clothes in my closet to make sure I was wearing them and that they weren't wearing me and that they were flattering.

This was my first sewing education vacation I have given myself and plan to do this again.  I highly recommend this retreat.