Capri Jacket Sew Along: Week Six

Carole · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:07 pm Post subject: Capri Jacket Sew Along: Week Six

No new work today! Local cherries are ripe and practically falling off the trees. So I spent a happy day picking. Tonight I'm too sunburned to do anything more than tidy up my sewing room a bit. Tomorrow is another day . . .

Carole · Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:37 pm Post subject:

This afternoon I got the lining cut out for the Pueblo jacket. I sewed it together and attached it to the already sewn in facings. I'm really glad I made a separate lining pattern for my Luxor jacket. It's much easier than trying to cut it out just from guessing on the jacket pattern.

I cut out bias strips to bind the neck and armholes of the matching tank top. I tried just serging the edges and turning them under, but the curves were pretty tight and I couldn't follow them. I think the bias strips will work nicely. I need to press them and then stitch them under. I think I'll do it by hand, rather than crush the lovely silk.

Lois · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 1:10 am Post subject:

Carole - I wanted to share this technique with you and the others. I made a tank top recently from a poly/rayon blend and wanted to bind the neckline and armholes. For the bias strips I ended up using Bemberg Rayon lining because I didn't like the "beefy-ness" of using my fashion fabric for the bias strips. Too much bulk. I doubled the bias binding, and stitched to the top, raw edges together. (2 layers of the binding because it was doubled, on top of 1 layer of the top) Then I turned the folded edge of the binding to the inside and handstitched it to the wrong side. The folded edge was handy to have to slip the needle through and hide the stitches. I liked the flexibility of the Bemberg and the vast amount of colors to choose from. I plan to use this technique again on more tops. I also liked the flat surface finish of the Bemberg compared to my top fabric. It looked a bit upscale without being shiny.

Carole · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 9:02 pm Post subject:

Lois, that sounds like a great idea. As I was cutting the Pueblo bias strips I was thinking that what I would really like to do is finish the edges of them with a silk charmeuse bias strip. I was mulling over the colors we have in stock at SB and wondering how hard the silk would be to cut on the bias. In the end, I didin't pursue the idea because I thought it would be too difficult to work with. But I like the thought of using Ambience. I love using it for lining and we have it in every color imaginable! I like the tank top quite a bit and I plan on making more. I'll use that tip on the next one and let you know how it turns out. Thank you!

I turned under the bias strips on my tank and pinned them in place. I trimmed off excess length off of the sleeve lining and pinned them in place. Lots of pinning but little sewing! Tomorrow is a day for hand work.

Lois · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 9:44 pm Post subject:

Carole - Using spray starch on the strips before sewing them onto the garment helps with the wiggle factor. Another tip I learned by fighting with bias strips too!

I'm looking forward to seeing your tank top and jacket!

Barb · Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 8:00 pm Post subject: Finally

Well, finally I carved out a little time to move forward with this project. Today I did some fine tuning on my pattern. I decided to add a little length and add some more room to the side seams and sleeve. I also adjust the neckline to the smaller size. I'm pleased with the pattern. We'll see how it translates to the linen.
For those who forgot, I'm using Rusty Nail linen which is a mid-weight linen similar to the Green Apple linen that Carole is using for her By Popular Demand jacket. Even when washed a number of times the linen is coarse in a soft sort of way Rolling Eyes

I really love it, but I am a linen lover from way back. As you cut the fabric, it feels so natural, so rustic. I cut out the jacket and sewed the major seams. I am considering using a hong kong finish on the seams rather than lining it. That will be my next step.
Anybody else doing that as a finish? Is everyone using interfacing or are you doing it Loes Hinse way?

Carole · Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:56 pm Post subject:

Finally, here's a photo of my Luxor jacket!

Carole · Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:58 pm Post subject:

On my Pueblo jacket today I finished up most of the handwork. I finished hemming the jacket fronts. I attached the lining to the hem and the sleeve lining to the sleeve hem. I sewed in the shoulder pads.

I wasn't happy with how the bias strips were working out on my tank top, so I took them off. I cut bias strips of Ambience, as suggested by Lois, and will try them out tomorrow. I think I'll be happier with that!

Lois · Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:22 pm Post subject:

Carole - That looks wonderful! Nice job. And it's so helpful to see it on you. You've inspired me to get mine moving along.

Here's my status - got out the pattern pieces and did some measuring last night. My approach to new projects is to grab a similiar garment from my closet to measure and compare to the pattern pieces. Another habit of mine is to maintain a Project Notebook where I record various notes of each project I begin. These notes are invaluable for hindsight - what worked and what didn't; or to fine tune a pattern when sewing it a second time.

So for the Capri Jacket, I measured a favorite RTW linen jacket which is high hip length with 3/4 length sleeves. I recorded and compared the following items between the RTW version and the pattern pieces:
Length of Center Back, to finished hem
Width of Back from side seam to side seam, at hem level and at broad back level
Width of Front at hemline and at bustline
Length of Sleeve and width at bicep

I concluded I'll have some minor adjustments but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the size Medium or Large matched my RTW measurements so my ultimate pattern will be a blend those 2 sizes.

Next is to make my muslin and fine tune again, checking out the shoulder point and the neckline on my frame. Third will be to decide on some back detail specifics and alter my pattern for those.

I will report back later this week.

To everybody....this is a fun project and I'm happy so many people are contributing ideas and questions. To answer Barb's question about the Interfacing, I think I'll use some fusible on the jacket facings. But keep it to a minimum so that I maintain the flow of the garment as it was designed by Loes Hinse.

Anyone else jumping in at this point? Natalia? We haven't heard what's happening with your project. Did you select an alternative fabric?

Carole · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:15 pm Post subject:

I'm so happy I ripped out those Pueblo bias strips for the edging on my tank top! I'm in the middle of replacing them right now with the rayon bemberg ones and the change is fabulous. Thank you, Lois, so much, for posting about this. The rayon is so soft, it really imitates the silk charmeuse that I originally had in mind. Plus, I love that the folded edge makes an easy tube to slide my needle through as I hand sew them in place.

Because I'm so much happier with this version of my tank top, I'm rethinking the patch pockets on my By Popular Demand jacket. I'm still not too excited about them and maybe I should do something different with them too, to keep me motivated.

Lois · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:12 pm Post subject:

Carole - I'm so glad you like the Bemberg trick. I sort of stumbled upon it. It was a good lesson for me, to play around with new ideas in the sewing room! And also a lesson that working on a "wearable muslin" can have it's benefits too. If that term, wearable muslin is new to you...it's a trial garment that if it works....you can wear; and if it doesn't work you don't mind discarding.

The story goes......I had made a skirt and jacket, to wear to a Sewing Guild event but needed a simple top to wear under the jacket. So in my stash I found the perfect color Poly. Not my favorite. But I thought it will serve the purpose - use it up. It was to be a tank top, which I underlined with cotton batiste to make it opaque and also would feel better than the Poly against my skin. As you might sense in my tone, I was lukewarm about that project but went ahead with it. Like you I knew the texture of my fabric was too bulky for bias strip finishing, and I didn't want facings. So in my search for something that would work, I fell upon the perfect color Ambiance Bemberg Rayon in my stash and thought I'd just use it and quickly finish my project.

The LESSON I learned was you never know what you will learn when pushing through a project. Never know what surprises await you....nor what solutions you will find by facing challenges. And as you said, the look is upscale plus Ambiance comes in so many colors it's a wonderful option. I will grab Ambiance first whenever I have bias strips to make.

End of the story......I worn the top, and continue to wear it - have washed it several times. The bias strips look great and the hand stitches are invisible because of that little fold.

I've like to hear other stories about successes from playing in the sewing room or with wearable muslins.....