Monday, 24 February 2014

Scary Skill Swap - the reveal!

I posted here about the jacket I have been making for Mr Little Time and here it is!




It's been a long time in coming as I got the lining and shell assembled and ready to be stitched together and finished, and he changed his mind about the lining fabric, so it all went on hold while different lining was chosen, purchased and delivered.  Grrrr....

We started with the basic Fairbanks pattern from Green Pepper, purchased from Rocky Woods.  I was concerned that the fit would be very loose - more "hiker" than the look hubby wanted.  On measuring the pattern it confirmed there was about 10" of ease across the chest, which was far more than he wanted.  Comparing the pattern to a jacket with the right fit, we decided on a size 36.  After making a muslin, I added 1" to centre back and centre front to give a bit more space across the shoulders without messing with the raglan sleeves.  I narrowed the sleeves for a sleeker fit and took some volume out of the hood.



Overall the pattern is very good - all the seams matched and the instructions and pictures are very clear, even for the slightly more difficult techniques like welt zippers.

After looking at many different inspiration pictures, hubby decided on a front patch pocket with a flap rather than the welt zip and flap of the pattern or the integrated flap I drafted.  He also wanted the front in one piece without the vertical seams. So I was able to use the front lining pattern piece for the outer (extending it to match the length of the back outer - the lining is shorter).  He also wanted a little mobile phone-sized pocket on the arm.  Both pockets are lined in the navy cotton original lining fabric.  This was the look he was going for:

Kirk Douglas in Heroes of Telemark (Source:  notrecinema.com)

I mocked up a storm flap in lining fabric to get it to the right size and cut it in outer and lining, sewed together and topstitched.  I attached to the inside of the zipper tape before fitting the zipper and it worked (phew!).  He didn't like the drawstring waist so I didn't need to incorporate that.  There was much debate about the hip pockets, but it would have made the front too busy - the Telemark jacket is quite a bit longer.

The construction of the jacket is pretty solid - every seam is straight stitched, zigzagged inside the stitching line, pressed to the side, top-stitched and finally seam sealant tape applied.  I was worried about how the tape would go on given that the fabric couldn't be pressed at more than a medium heat, but it was really easy.  It fixed on securely at a medium heat on the iron and was repositionable until it cooled.  As I was lining the jacket and didn't need to worry how the inside looked, I added extra pieces of tape at the points of stress like under the arms (it was tricky to get the tape to fit nicely round the curve - most of the seams were sealed when the jacket was flat so there was only an issue with the side seams.).



I didn't use the cuff that came with the pattern - hubby wanted a narrower one with a velcro tab fastening to pull it tight like a vintage jacket he has.  So I based the pattern piece on that.  Narrowing the sleeves also meant I could leave out pleating the sleeve at the cuff.

There was a lot of top-stitching so my edgestitching foot got a serious workout!

The new lining fabric is this from Point North.  It's a bit lighter in colour and a lot lighter weight than the cotton (which hubby preferred).  The lining is topstitched around the hood and zip, and finished inside the bottom hem and cuffs.  Rather than using the casing for the drawstring round the hood, I left an opening at the neck edge and stitched parallel to the topstitching to make a channel.  If you do this, a little tip - make sure you make the channel wide enough to get a safety pin through.  It'll make your life much easier! (Ask me how I know).




After much deliberation (turns out having it exactly as you want it isn't as easy as it sounds!), he chose navy buttons from Minerva for the front pocket, navy and white vintage 1960s suit buttons from Ebay for the sleeve pocket, and white cord and toggles for a contrast.  Rather than buy a grommet setter for one grommet at the hem, I did a sort of buttonhole over the side seam to finish the edges neatly for the cord to poke through.

Despite being extremely indecisive and changing his mind throughout, hubby has been massively appreciative of the work and the end result, so he might even get more items made! In fact I have ordered the Pattern Cutting for Menswear book from Amazon so it appears that he will....

Do you sew for your partner?  Is he/ she as indecisive as mine?

34 comments:

  1. That is so good, well done! You're very patient, but it definitely paid off.. I've only made a couple of shirts for my boyfriend, he's started to mutter about jeans too but I don't think that would go well..!

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    1. thanks katie! he wants shirts and i think the idea of jeans has just occurred to him (scary!)

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  2. Jo this is amazing!! It looks so professional and well made. He must be pleased as punch with it!

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    1. thanks fiona! he is very happy with it (thankfully!)

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  3. Wow! That's fabulous! Sounds like you are very patient. It does indeed look very professional. I am only just beginning to sew again after a long break, so the most I have done for hubby is to sew patches on his pullovers at the elbows!

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    1. thanks linda! i guess i had to make him something finally! definitely sew for yourself first!

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  4. Woooah congratulations on a brilliant jacket. You'll need to change the "about" blurb on your site now! Glad he loves it. Sounds like quite a challenge

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    1. thanks amy! i think changing the "about" bit is long overdue!

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  5. Bladdy hell doll! This is aceballs. He's a lucky ducky and no mistakin'. Well done you on the patience and rejigging front. Really a job v well done. You should be super proud of yourself :)

    xxx

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    1. Thanks lovely. I am happy with the result (and that he is happy!)

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  6. My god I'm in total awe of you Jo, what a gorgeous jacket and so professional looking! Your patience and dedication put me to shame, I've never made my husband anything and really drag my heels just hemming his trousers.... fabulous work! x

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    1. thanks jane! i don't blame you for delaying on hemming - is there anything more boring?

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  7. Wow! This is amazing! Well done. I have never sewn anything for my husband, although I have been promising him a shirt for ages. I just never seem to manage to get round to it... No idea how picky he would be! :)

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    1. thanks helen. if he's not too picky i would go for it! although finding a shirt pattern is not that easy - they are generally quite dated i find!

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  8. Wonderful make there! Looks professionally made and the fit is beautiful.

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  9. It looks great!!! I liked reading about your hubby's input on the design process because even tough people often think guys don’t really care about clothes, I know they do. My husband is very particular and has a lot of opinions. None of them have to do with style: it’s all about comfort and function for him but he definitely pipes in when I make something for him. The best part is how appreciative our hubbies can be after they see the sweat equity we invest n making stuff for them, right?

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    1. he has been very appreciative of all the work. he (and his friends) really do care about clothes. he buys a few very well-planned things each season and spends quite a bit of money on them but wears them to death, so hopefully this jacket will be the same!

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  10. Wow, this is a fabulous top! Hubby looks so pleased and I think you've done a fabulous job. I loved reading about all the choices he made and how you incorporated his design preferences. Brilliant.

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  11. This is awesome, you should be so pleased with yourself for such a tricky challenge. Sewing for someone else is stressful enough at the best of times!

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  12. Wow, this is amazing! I'm so impressed, I love that he struggled to work out what he wanted, I think that's something that becomes easier the more you see and are able to visualise things more. Its fabulous, and I'm feeling v sheepish that I haven't done something for my hubby! (Well, not successfully anyway....)

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    1. thanks katy. i don't think he realised the difficulty in working out exactly what you want when you can have anything! it only took me 2 ish years of sewing to finally make something for him!

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  13. Oh my gosh that is a beautiful jacket! You did an amazing job! And I'm glad he appreciates it - hopefully, he also understands sewing projects a little more now. =)

    I've only sewn a few things for my husband, but he always seems to like them (even if he is pickier about everything when all options are available).

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    1. thanks brooke. i think he does understand a bit better now! "when all options are available" - that's the problem isn't it? easier to choose between the green one and the blue one than to choose between every fabric in the world ever! i think he felt pressure to pick the perfect one.

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  14. You did a great job with this! Looks really professional. Well done for conquering 'technical' fabrics. They scare me a bit.

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    1. thanks sally! the fabrics weren't as difficult as i expected. as they weren't shiny or sticky, they sewed up like normal!

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  15. Wow, this is so professional looking! I''d never heard of Rocky Woods - their website is mind blowing. What a great resource!

    Thanks for detailing all the little changes you made to this pattern. I find that kind of info really inspiring.

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    1. thanks so much dana rose! i like the detail posts too!

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  16. This looks so great Jo! I must have missed it originally - just found your post after trying to track down manorak patterns following GBSB last night. Husband wants one and I think we'll go with a Rocky Woods pattern too. You would have done that first anorak challenge a doddle!

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    1. thanks jo. it was a labour of love! i would def recommend the rocky woods patterns. really clear and well illustrated and good advice on sealing seams etc. if you have a look at the planning post, there are loads of links in there to blogs about seam taping etc.

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  17. Whoa! This is amazing! I'm so impressed! I'm definitely not showing this to Man Friend! I don't want to make him one! ;)

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  18. Thanks for writing about this. I just bought this pattern and have had a hard time finding any external resources, your comments on alterations and sizing was just what I needed.

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