Simplicity 1328-- Finished!!

My husband has a new jacket! It fits!  And he likes it!  Happy dance!  Smiplicity 1328 has taken me almost a month to finish-- I'm a slow sewer-- but I've gotten to learn so many new things along the way:  thread tracing, flat fell seams, plackets, how to do a collar stand.  I had help along the way though.  You Tube, David Page Coffin's "Shirtmaking", "Sewing Secrets from the Fashion Industry" by Susan Huxley and Vogue's "Vogue Sewing".  I couldn't have accomplished it without them.   (Nerds do love their books.)  Coffin's book was the most helpful.  It takes you through every step of shirtmaking in detail. 

I used a size XL ( 46-48) based on the jackets in my husband's closet, size 46 regular.  I was so afraid the whole time I was sewing it that it was too big because it looked absolutely huge! Especially when I stored it on Zelda to help it keep its shape.  It looked so big there I started draping it around my chair instead.  I guess my eye was just used to seeing a much smaller size for me because it fits him wonderfully. 

I did three things differently from the pattern. 1) I lined the pockets.  I'm so glad I did.  They added some structure to the pockets and my husband was delighted with the touch.  He noticed it right away. 2) I used self fabric for the interior yoke instead of lining as I'd never seen a man's shirt use lining there.  3) I used self fabric for the button placket for the same reason.  I think they look very professional now. The fabric was a brushed flannel from JoAnn's in a lovely charcoal grey so it wasn't too thick working with those layers. 

The pattern wasn't exactly hard just very time-consuming with new things to learn. The layers were difficult for the flat fell foot for the side and sleeve seams because of the fabric I chose.  They're not perfect but they're not bad, either.   I practiced on scraps for a long time before I did it for real.  Glad I did because I was awful in the beginning!  The plackets weren't hard to do just intimidating and a bit of a puzzle to figure out.  I'm so proud of how nice they look.

My favorite things about the jacket are the same things my husband likes about it, too.  (We've grown so alike over the years.)  The softness of the fabric, the lined pockets, the pleats in the back to allow more arm movement, and the number of pockets. (There are four huge pockets on this thing!)  He was having a bit of fun modeling for me cracking jokes, goofy guy.

 So my first attempt at men's sewing has been a success and I'm no longer afraid of it or too intimidated to sew for my husband. (The what if it doesn't measure up to his RTW mentality?  There will be more projects in the future. But in my immediate future I have a Burda top because I just got some lovely cotton/linen voile in the mail and have a staycation planned for the week ahead. A few chores and a lot of sewing is on the agenda.  What fun!   Happy stitching all.

Flat Fell Seams and Plackets, Oh My!

Work is progressing on the Simplicity 1328.  With generous help from David Page Coffin's book Shirtmaking-Developing Skills for Fine Sewing, I've been able to sew the plackets in place and I believe they look good.

(I'm in the process of sewing on the cuff now.)  They're straight and raw edges are all enclosed. So far so good. 

Next up were the seams.  The Shirtmaking book recommends using a flat fell foot for best results.  My machine didn't come with one, so off to Amazon.com I trotted til I finally found a foot that would fit my machine:

Now what to do with it. It came with no directions.  I found this great tutorial on You Tube:

 

Now  I'm doing flat fell seams also! 

 

 

It's hard to see them on this gray fabric and black thread but you get the idea.   The thickness of the  flannel made it difficult.  Had it been a regular shirting cotton it would have been much easier I think.  But I practiced for a long time on scraps of the fabric before I launched into the real stuff. I'm learning so much with this project!  Hope you're having fun with your sewing too.  Happy stitching.

Shopping At Joann's

Joann's is having the Labor Day sale this weekend and have lots of sales going on.  Chiefly, for me at least, patterns.  Butterick and McCall's are $1.99 and Vogue are $4.99.  There are lots and lots of patterns I want, but I decided to limit myself to what I will realistically sew up in the near future.  Only two came home with me, McCall's 7196, I love the pleats on view D. and McCall's 7254, loving the jacket and the vest. 

Of course fabric is also on sale so a little came home with me as well.

The happy dots is a peachskin that I was thinking would be pretty for the McCall's 7196.  The ivory is another peachskin and the lace to match are for a project I want to do next, McCall's 7095. 

Right now I'm deep into Simplicity 1328:

 

 

 

I'm making view A, the shirt jacket for my husband.  This is my first foray into men's clothing, so I'm a little intimidated.  I'm using a medium-weight brushed flannel so regular markings would not show up.  It was the first time I've used thread tracing to mark a pattern.  It was very time consuming but has been worth it.  Who know where all those pockets would have ended up without it?  Now I'm working in the plackets, another new skill set. We'll see how that goes.  I fear a seam ripper is in my future with this one.  I just want it all to be so right and there are so many new skills involved in this project.   Do you challenge yourself with your projects?  I know this is how we grow as sewists and my reference books are getting quite the workout.  More updates later and don't forget to catch that sale if you haven't already.  Happy stitching.