Navy Wool Jacket

Yes, this is yet another version of Simplicity 2728!

The fabric is a fabulous Pendleton wool that was

gifted to me by my good friend, Linda.

As a matter of fact, Linda was kind enough to give

me a whole stack of Pendleton wools that she purchased

a number of years ago, but just doesn't have the time to sew.

Thank you so much Linda!!!

That wool was a dream to sew.

The white looking lines are not flaws in the material - it was raining!

I did add a few changes to this version.

One of those changes was the addition of sleeve heads.

Another change was to alter the pattern slightly to make the back hem

straight across rather than an inverted 'v' as the pattern is drafted.

The jacket is fully lined with navy bemberg rayon.

 As you can see by all the wrinkles,

I've worn this one a lot in the past couple weeks

and I've not yet had it dry cleaned.
So, wrinkled it is!

 The final change I made was to add the v-shaped pocket flaps.

Since I'm not a pocket fanatic, I didn't add pockets,
but the jacket was too plain without some kind of added dimension.

The pattern is drafted for a patch pocket,

which I thought was a bit too casual for this wool beauty.

So I dug into my pattern stash and came up with Butterick 5616.

I used the pocket flap pattern piece and

it's the perfect size for this jacket.

After sewing the top of the flap to the jacket,

I could tell it was going to flap around too much

and not stay flat against the jacket.

So I hand stitched the sides of the flap for about 1" on each side.

It worked like a charm.  :)

This jacket will serve me well throughout the winter.
It's a nice wardrobe basic that looks just as great
with jeans as it does with a skirt.
Until next time, my friends . . .

Tailoring Basics: Sleeve Heads

Sleeve with shoulder pad and sleeve head

Hello, hello, sewing friends.  Today's post addresses a tailoring basic - sleeve heads.

I must confess, I have never added sleeve heads to any of my lined jackets.

For a number of years, shoulder pads went the way of the buffalo,

but just like the buffalo, they are making a resurgence.

Yay!

I like shoulder pads.

And yes, I understand that sleeve heads are different from shoulder pads.

But IMHO, a shoulder pad could be the catalyst that requires the addition of a sleeve head.

*Disclaimer* that is not sewing law, just one blogging sewist's opinion 

When used in conjunction with one another, the sleeve pair complete the shoulder look.

Sleeve with shoulder pad, but no sleeve head

In some garments, the sleeve 'droops' or falls down at the seam line where it meets the bodice.

In the above photo, you can see a definite drop from the shoulder pad to the seam line.

The sleeve head serves to lift up and give stability to the sleeve cap.

Inside view of sleeve head

 To make my sleeve head I used cotton/poly batting because that's what I had on hand.

I traced the shoulder portion of the sleeve pattern between the two dots,

and the method I used to determine the sleeve head depth was

"meh, that looks good!"    :)

The sleeve head is sewn into the sleeve cap following along the seam line

that attached the sleeve to the body.

If you want to give your fall jacket a polished finish, consider adding sleeve heads.

Emma One Sock has a nice tutorial with photos included.  

Let's Celebrate!

President Ronald Reagan recognized the "importance of home sewing to our Nation" in 1982.

Click here to access free projects and information about this month-long celebration.

If you are in the local Utah area, send me an email

and we can design a sewing class tailored to your specific goals.

Sew on, friends!