Progress on the Wool Shacket (Shirt Jacket)

I am not quite done with my shacket, readers, but I'm getting close.

Collar and cuffs are attached, and today I managed to finish the front pockets.





I decided to cut my pockets to blend in with the plaid, as opposed to on the bias.  It made cutting a little more complicated, but I like the way they look.  I also decided to add pocket flaps.



Like the collar and cuffs, the pocket flaps are lined with brown cotton shirting.





If you've never attached pocket flaps, it's not difficult, but since the plaids had to match the process was time-consuming.  That wide seam allowance on the flap (below) gets trimmed to roughly 1/4", and then the flap is topstitched across the top from the right side.





I purchased horn buttons today: they're slightly larger than regular shirt buttons.





I still have to make my buttonholes.  I plan to stitch the buttons on by hand -- this garment really merits that.

And that's it.  The shacket should be ready by Thursday -- very soon.

Have a great day, everybody!

Back yoke is cut on the bias.

My Next Project: a Shacket!

When I recently saw a photo of this snazzy wool "Patrol shirt jacket" on the Cadet website, I immediately thought, I can whip up one of those -- and for a whole lot less than $228! (fabric and notions only, not labor; sewing is my joy, not my job).

I've had this lovely, somewhat felted wool plaid in my stash for more than a year now, and it seemed like the perfect fabric for a shirt jacket, or shacket.  I can wear it on its own or layer it over a turtleneck or a dress shirt.



This shirt jacket will not have a front placket so as not to detract from the plaid.  It will have two front pockets and, likely, pocket flaps.

I made good progress today.  I cut my fabric -- plaids always take an extra-long time -- and have completed front, back, and sleeves.  Tomorrow I will make the cuffs, collar and collar stand and, if there's time, make the buttonholes.  I hope to have this done by early next week.

Two front pieces

I used cotton shirting for the inside yoke to cut down on bulk.

My sleeve plackets are cut on the bias.

Another sleeve placket: my wooden clapper helped to get things flat.

A flat-felled shoulder seam.

As of this evening....

This is my first project in many weeks.  I'm glad to be sewing again.

Have a great day, everybody!

(Name that organist!)

70's Bedsheet Score + Keeping Up With Technology

I knew when I started reading complaints about my choice of boring muslin fabrics in my last post's comments, I had to do something and fast.

I hightailed it to the Salvation Army this afternoon and scored some classic 70's cotton/poly flat sheets that fit the bill perfectly.  I am hoping these will last me through the winter, at least.









I could write a book about the 70's cotton/poly floral bed sheet.  Many of the manufacturers have gone out of business and the few remaining have moved production offshore.  I think today, even at the lower end of the market, 100% cotton sheets predominate, though I could be wrong.  You just don't find sheets like these 70's florals anymore except at thrift stores.  I miss them!

In other news, since my mother's fall, I've become aware of how challenging it can be to communicate electronically nowadays.  I have never had any interest in owning a smart phone; I use a bottom-of-the-line cellphone (that I rarely even carry with me); texting on it is nearly impossible.  My sister-in-law, on the other hand, is up on all the latest technology and finds it a chore to communicate via email, which I am accustomed to doing.  I may have to upgrade, though I'm not very happy about the prospect. 

You can probably tell from looking at this blog that I've changed almost nothing in the past five years -- I'm from the "if it ain't broke" school -- and I don't have any plans to upgrade, though I've thought about it.   I am active on Pinterest, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and that seems like plenty.  I've skipped Instagram (which I believe requires a smartphone) and only today read an article about something called Vine: are 6 second videos in my future?  I don't think so.

In closing, readers, are you active on/conversant with multiple online platforms?

Do you ever feel like technology is leaving you behind and you're constantly playing catch-up?

Does MPB need a facelift, or would just a bit of virtual Botox suffice?  (And if so, where?)

Have a great day, everybody!

Is this muslin good enough for a coat?

Fortuitous timing.

I picked up my mail yesterday and discovered an envelope containing Simplicity 9893 (above), a gift from MPB reader Michael C.  As you know, I've been toying with the idea of making myself another coat and have all but abandoned the idea of the dressy balmacaan overcoat from the Japanese coat pattern book.  I know I'd get more use out of something sportier.

I had recently cut Burda 3402, which I purchased a few months ago.  I'm guessing it dates from the 1990's.  Initially, it looked promising.



As I looked at the line drawings more closely and inspected the pattern pieces, however, I realized that the cut is very dated -- way too wide in the shoulders (with deep facings along the back) and narrowing down toward the hips.

Burda 3402

Burda 3402

Simplicity 9893, on the other hand, is more classic, with a Western-style front and back yoke detail that is subtle enough not to scream rodeo.  The pattern dates from 2001.

Simplicity 9893

Today I made a muslin of it.  The fit, as I expected, is boxy, but will look much better made up in a stiffer fabric and with a lining (maybe something quilted).







The collar -- which is just one piece, like a bowling shirt -- can be easily switched out for something with a shaped band for more oomph.  Pocket possibilities are endless; I'm certainly not limited to the ones from the pattern.

An inner drawstring (or back waistband with elastic inserted) could give the jacket a shape more like the Barbour below:



Epaulets and a band collar and it looks more like this:



Done up in melton wool, it resembles this Filson jacket I got Michael for his last birthday:



A few other variations:





With American men's outerwear patterns, you simply have to be able to look beyond the pattern envelope and be willing to tweak.  Hardware, pockets, and other details can turn a basic style into something more eye-catching.

Do you agree that this muslin, if not amazing as-is, is a decent base upon which to make a nice looking lined winter jacket?  A fabric possibility (from my stash) is this heavy cotton-nylon plaid:



Or the liver-colored melton I bought a couple of weeks ago:



I'm open to suggestions.

Have a great day, everybody!

Mending

I love to sew, obviously.  What I'm not a big fan of is mending. 

 With the exception of a turtleneck shirt here, a knit watch cap there, I make everything I wear and I can be hard on my clothes: I walk a lot, bike a lot, and go through periods where I'll wear a single pair of pants almost every day (laundering as needed, naturally).

I noticed recently that the back crotch of my blue twill pants -- one of my go-to garments for the last year -- had begun to wear through.  I think this is primarily caused by bike riding.  The flat felled seam acts like a (very dull) knife, cutting through the adjacent fabric.



I have never patched a pair of pants in my life but fortunately I still had a scrap of the original fabric.



I measured the size of the worn out area and cut out a patch, pressing the edges under with an iron.





Then I simply edgestitched the patch on, topstitching 1/4" away from the edgestitching.







Nothing fancy but it's nearly invisible -- certainly not something you'd notice if you weren't looking for it.  This is another reason why it's occasionally a good idea to keep fabric scraps from one's sewing projects.

I also need to repair the lining of my Donegal tweed peacoat from last year as this garment is also getting a lot of daily use.   I didn't do a very good job of slipstitching the lining originally, which is why this is happening.  (By the time I'm hand-sewing a lining on, my energy is flagging and I just want the whole thing to be over with.)  I also have to repair an armhole.





The coat itself, now in its second year of use, has held up beautifully and, believe it or not, is a great garment to bike in.  I've also been toying with the idea of replacing the buttons with something darker that would pop a bit more, but it's not urgent.



On the subject of mending, my mom is coming along.  She has a full week of rehab ahead of her and is scheduled to be discharged on Saturday.  Rehab is especially challenging because currently (and for the next month) she's not going to be able to put her full weight on her right leg.  The plan is for her to stay with my brother and SIL for right now.  We'll have to see how she comes along once she's out and how strong she feels.  She definitely seems more hopeful, her appetite has improved, and she's more accepting of what has happened.

And that's it.  Still not sure what I'll be sewing next but I'm feeling ready to jump into something soon. 

Have a great day, everybody!

Meanwhile, doggie dentistry is scheduled for this coming Friday!