The Savvy Sewer Salon at Sawyer Brook

Hi Everyone...
Mary Beth has offered to do a sew along using Marcy Tilton's jacket, Vogue 8620.

This stylish zip front jacket can be made in a number of fabrics, but Mary Beth has chosen to use faux suede with a batik lining. She'll tell you more about her plans in her upcoming posts.

In the meantime, here's a bit of an introduction.
With Barbie as her first customer Mary Beth Stevenson began designing and sewing clothing. From there she went on to study clothing and textile design. Her fabric stash indicates her love of using interesting and beautiful fabrics and trims in her garments. She currently is a window treatment designer but continues to design and sew clothing for herself and children. She is a local sewing teacher and has had her work published in local home decorating magazines.

Please join us and welcome Mary Beth as your coordinator.

Thanks to Barb for letting me lead this sew along.
I hope you will join in as I think this jacket lends itself to many creative opportunities.
I have been following Marci Tilton for awhile and when this pattern (Vogue 8620) came out
I knew it would be fun to try. Since I spend much of my time picking up my children
from activities I like to wear a fun coat that expresses my creativity.

I think there are many fun things you could do with the pattern and with the fabric you choose to use.
I have chosen to use Lady Sport Faux Suede in lavendar but when I look through all of the lucious fabrics
I also think Black Magic would be a great fabric for an causal but elegant evening coat; Mystere
because of its unusual texture or you could use a denim and embellish or paint the coat.

I chose the faux suede and a batik to use as the lining fabric. They are two totally different textured fabrics
but I think they will combine to make an interesting coat. I love to shop boutiques and see how different designers mix types of fabric thus my choice.
I encourage to order the pattern Vogue 8620 and buy your fabric so you can be apart of our sew along.
Next time I will go over some of the details I will be covering during construction.
So head back to Fashion Fabrics, order your fabric and pattern and we can start sewing.

Mary Beth, your jacket sounds like a lot of fun. Do you remember which collection is your fabric from? I don't remember the name and can't picture the fabric.

Have you considered the stick factor of batik? I used non-lining rayon in a coat once and it was catching clothes under the coat, especially in the sleeves. It was pretty but less comfortable than slippery fabric. I still wear it but in retrospect I would use silk for a colorful lining.

Here are the links for the fabrics Mary Beth mentioned along with some others to consider.
Lady Sport-Grape
Lady Sport-Sage
Lady Sport-Wine
Black Magic
Ruby Faux
Red Shoe
Mystere

That coat will be so pretty in lavender suede. I'll be following along to see the result!

Looking for the multi-colored zippers? Try Zipperstop

Are you watching the super bowl or getting ready to sew?

To answer Nata's question I should clarify that the jacket is not fully lined.
The lining fabric will be used for Hong Kong seam finishes on the raw edges
and around the pockets. A Hong Kong finish is a great way to finish raw
edges that will be exposed. The lining fabric is also used at the hemline.

I do agree with Nata that lining a jacket in a non slippery material makes
putting on and taking off a jacket very difficult. If you only like fully lined jackets
than you could make this jacket and fully line it with a traditional lining fabric.

Once you have your pattern I would suggest making a muslin copy as the jacket is
somewhat fitted through the waist but unstructured around the collar area.

If you are going to artwork on your coat you should also be planning the layout
of your designs.

Will you be ready to sew by the end of the week?

I didn't realize that you were not talking about the full lining. This makes all the difference. I think batik is a good choice then because it will add a pop of color to the solid.

I wasn't going to join in, but the more I look at the pattern, the more I like it. It grows on me. Local JoAnns doesn't have the pattern in my size. I ordered it on the net. With that said, I am not fully committing to a deadline. It will depend on how fast I receive the pattern.

Mary Beth, are you doing any embellishing on the jacket? Also, how did you pretreat the suede?

Natalia

I am not doing any embellishments on the jacket. The batik will be my design detail.

I ran my suede fabric throught he dryer on air to soften it up a little.

I believe Barb washed hers and that softened it up.

Once the jacket is finished I will have it dry cleaned if it needs to be cleaned

Mary Beth

Yes, I washed and dried it...I was very pleased with the results. The original piece from the mill is quite stiff, but the washed piece is what you would expect of a mid-weight faux suede.

Barb,are you making this jacket with your suede too?

No, I'm not sewing it right now...just a fabric junkie

I don't wash my fabric until I am ready to sew it. I store my stash unwashed. It's more petable this way, you see, because the sizing finishes make it sooooo smooth I am afraid this might qualify me into a fabric junkie too. When somebody mentions washing the fabric, I automatically assume they are getting ready to sew it.

I hope I'll receive the pattern before the weekend. Mary Beth, does it run true to size? I am trying to talk myself into making a muslin, but I really don't want to.

Hi everyone
Just to let you know I changed the name of the Sew Along to "Artsy Jacket". Nothing else has changed!

Mary Beth, It's a great pattern, but it's also one that wouldn't flatter me. Anything boxy like that makes me look short and squat (ugh). However I have been contemplating a jacket and ironically I was thinking of both Mystere and Black Magic.
Your whole assortment of fabric choices are just gorgeous. I didn't know you could wash the faux suede to soften it up! When I felt it, I just thought it's too stiff to sew with. Learn everyday!
I will really be following this with great interest. I think it will teach me allot about how to manage various fabrics (I have made jackets from actual leather and suede) and how to embellish and meld the various choices.
The project looks exciting!