Marfy Free Jacket Pattern - The End!

Back in April this year I wrote Part 1 of the Marfy Free Jacket Pattern.  It is now officially Spring and I'm finally at the end - writing the blog post!

After I got the muslin fit to where I was comfortable - that alone was a 5 week journey, on 25 April I got to cut my real fabric.  While that sounds quite straight forward, sadly not because of my fabric choice.  I bought this lovely wool coating from The Fabric Store - it's so soft and bouncy with a medium weave - so it easily frayed but not so much that it was uncontrollable.

I cut all pieces on a single layer, carefully ensuring I had all the squares in the right places for each piece.  While this was a little time consuming it wasn't too hard - the pattern pieces didn't have any seam allowances, so where the pattern piece fell was indeed the stitching seam.

Pattern matching at centre back

After I thread traced and cut the fabric it then sat on the shelf for weeks while I tried to decide how I was going to construct it.  I couldn't decided to make a quilted Chanel inspired jacket (LFJ) or whether to take a more tailored approach.  This was my too hard point - I couldn't see how my fabric could be tailored but I could see how it would work as a LFJ; but I couldn't see how the collar would work if it wan't tailored ... *brain explode*

Finally, I decided to wait for the sew-along to get to this point, and take some wise direction from Leisa.  There it was, tailor the jacket!  Part of me was jumping up and down because I could sew the lining together using the machine and then insert, rather than having to hand-stitch each seam of the lining as is required for a LFJ; another part of me was still unsure how the pile of this fabric would behave.  What the hell ... just do it!

Leisa wrote this amazing post about pad stitching the collar.  This was like a light bulb moment!  The collar would behave differently depending on the direction of the stitches.  I decided that I wanted the back of my collar to stand up and the front to have a beautiful soft roll.

Pad stitching a stand up collar

The rest of the jacket came together pretty nicely from here.  I used a medium weight hair canvas for the front and collar which followed through to the bottom of the arm pit.  The shoulders are reinforced with a second layer of hair canvas and the bottom of the jacket has a 2" lining of silk organza.  I also draft a back stay from some scrap cotton lawn that I had lying around (sorry no pictures of that one).

The sleeve of the jacket is a one piece, which is okay, but next time I would definitely convert to a two piece and add some elbow ease.

inside of jacket

For the lining I chose this lovely silk satin from The Fabric Store - yeah it was pricey but the weight of the lining matched the jacket beautifully.  I constructed the lining using the sewing machine but then inserted it into the jacket by hand - a lovely wee fell stitch :-)

Now it is 29 June and I'm finished the construction of the jacket, only to be faced with my next dilemma ... what trim to use.  I initially thought I would use a sold black grossgain or satin ribbon and attach very close to the edge.  I bought enough of both to try, but once I pinned it in place I didn't like it - it was just too heavy for the jacket.  So once more, the jacket just hung around waiting for me to make the next decision.  Finally I settled on these small round fabric bobble buttons  - they're just giant knots really.  I was going to place a loop on one side so the jacket would close, but couldn't get that to work.  I ditched the loops and just went with the buttons, so for now the jacket doesn't close and I'm okay with that.

I also decided that the jacket didn't need the patch pockets - less is more!  I love it :-)

I finally finished the jacket on 19 July and have worn it a few times since - I never really know how I feel about anything until I've worn it a few times.  It is super warm - most definitely a winter jacket.

Would I make this pattern again - you bet I would.  Next time I would:

• add a wee bit more ease to the back, possibly return the princess seams on the back to the original size 46
• widen the arm at the bicep and convert the sleeve to a two piece pattern
• lengthen jacket to original length of pattern - this version is 3" shorter

I've never owned a jacket even remotely similar to this, so I feel real grown up when I wear it!

Way more photos over on my Flickr -->

Satin Summer Bomber

I promise, this is the last post for my 2013 makes!  This jacket has been a real journey, and for no real reason.  It started back in May 2013 during the Burda sew-along when I was checking out the patterns available on Burda Style.  It look me a couple-a months to print and tape together, at the same time I went fabric shopping (yay).  But it was September before I cut into the fabric.  Once cut it sat simmering away for a few more months before it made it to my sewing table - by this time Papercut Patterns had release their new range which included a bomber jacket.  Gee my subconscious must have been telling me something!

This is the Blouson Jacket 02/2013 #125 downloadable from Burda Style and available in sizes 34-42.  Designed to sit on the waist with 3/4-sleeves.  I stuck to the fabric recommendation and purchased a stretch satin from Global Fabrics (now The Fabric Store) - the touch is soft and dreamy, and falls beautifully.  I think I may have been put off by how hard I thought it would be to sew, but it was actually quite stable and went under the machine like a dream.

I couldn't find a blue rib knit that I liked so went with a black for all the bands.  I love it because it goes together without actually matching.  I lined it with the same fabric, so the jacket can actually be worn either way - the only give away that it is inside-out is the zip.  I used a black chunky open ended zipper.

Unfortunately not many fabulous photos of this, as I didn't make it for me, but daughter was refusing to allow me to take photos, preferring to be behind the camera with the same attitude!  I'm pleased with the result after months of waiting to make its debut.   Daughter is also stoked and wears it all the time.

I would recommend this pattern.  It is really easy to sew together with just three pattern pieces plus the ribbing.  Putting the zip into the ribbing at the bottom front was the trickiest, because the ribbing wanted to squish under the sewing foot while I was being careful not to sew too close to the zipper teeth.  Slowly but surely and it all worked out.

More (not so flash) photos on my Flickr -->