Vogue 7975 Striped collarless jacket

I finished up my jacket today!  The pattern is Vogue 7975.  The jacket came together pretty quickly.  I love a collarless jacket for ease of sewing. 

I used large hooks and eyes for closure, but I think I prefer it open.  Maybe I would need more hooks and eyes to prevent gaping totally.  I used a rayon cream-colored lining.  Nothing exciting, but I didn't want to risk a color or pattern showing through the cream stripes. 

I was super careful about matching up stripes everywhere, and I think it shows.  I am SO proud of this jacket.  I think it looks super expensive.  I will probably mostly wear it with jeans this winter, but it would also be fantastic with a cream skirt for a formal look.

I think the camera angle is making the collar look a little uneven because I was super meticulous about getting that to line up perfectly (had to rip it out and restitch once).  The only thing I wish I'd done better is keeping the facing/lining from peeking out.  I understitched, so I'm not sure how to do this better without topstitching.  Any ideas?

 

A bit more progress

I put in the lining tonight.  Now it just needs some hems, some hooks and eyes, and some good pressing.

 

Striped jacket progress

Here is the progress on my striped jacket.  I can't decide on the sleeve length, so I'm making them full length for now and we'll see what looks good.

Striped jacket in progress

Here is a look at my current project, which I am super excited about.  The pattern I am using is Vogue 7975.

 

For the fabric, I started with two colors of Sawyer Brook's textured cotton Marco.  I cut the fabric into 4" strips, selvage to selvage.  I then seamed them together to make this new, wide striped "fabric."  All of the pieces are cut out, and tonight I plan to cut out an allover lightweight interfacing to really protect the seaming.  I can't wait to see how this one comes out.  I'm thinking of making this an anchor to enter the Pattern Review mini-wardrobe contest.

Tee shirt dress

Here is a simple little tee shirt dress I made last week.  The striped fabric is from JoAnn's and the solid blue is some leftover men's tee shirt fabric I bought to make something for a nephew.  The color match is pure serendipity.  I used my TNT tee shirt pattern and flared out below the hips.  I could have flared out a bit higher, though, because I feel like my hips and rear end are on display a bit in this dress.

These photos were taken after a long, comfortable day of wear, and the dress definitely grew throughout the day.  That was mostly a good thing since I felt a bit self-conscious about the form-fittedness in the morning.  It also grew lengthwise, though, and I'm thinking a new hem is in order.  What started above my knees is now below my knees.  What do you think about the length?

I didn't think to take a good photo of the shoulders,  They lap over in a wide boatneck.  I was planning to put a couple of buttons on them, but I couldn't find a good set in my notions drawer, so I left them open, and I didn't have any trouble during the day with the shoulders.

I tried to match up all of the little stripes on the side seam, but I am proud to say I didn't stress when a couple were a bit off.  I have the same striped knit in hot pink, and I'm planning another dress, but maybe a tank style to switch things up.  This dres is super comfortable.  It's like wearing a nightgown around all day.

Pleated skirt

When I showed some progress on a draped dress last week, Diana asked if I was taking a draping class.  Um, no, but that would have been a good idea.  :-)  I have a very general idea of how draping works (tape your shape, pin the grain straight and go from there.)  It's just a lot of work though (and maybe I'm not really doing it right) and takes a few muslins, and you know that just doesn't excite me. 

Here was  my dress when I abandoned it for a skirt.  I liked the topstitching I started, though, so I incorporated that into the skirt I salvaged, and I added some patch pockets cut from the bodice material.

 I added a side zipper and used the top stitching on the waistband, pockets, and hem.  The fabric is a linen/rayon blend from Sawyer Brook.

Kate Spade inspiration

I have a little bit of time to kill this morning, so I decided to look around the interwebs for some sewing inspiration for fall (which is basically a prolonged summer here in FL).  Inspiration struck at Kate Spade, perveyor of chic, classic clothes with a feminine, kind of girly, twist. 

I love all things yellow, and I love a casual dress with short sleeves since my shoulders are always taking a beating from the sun.  This dress makes me think I could even get on board with the little collar, but mine probably wouldn't be contrasting. I think this would be nice in some type of cotton/linen blend.

Oooh, this dress is so simple but so pretty.  It would even be cute shortened to a top.  It says it's a sweater dress, but I think it would be great in a light ponte.  I can't tell if the stripes are knit-in, but I think it would with some applied trim.

One more dress, and can you see a theme with the little sleeves?  I'm getting on board with some color blocking now that it's been mainstream for years.  :-)  I like this subtle blocking and I LOVE the box pleat skirt.  This isn't very casual, though, and casual is what I need.

Finally, a coat/jacket.  I'd like a collarless version like this, but I really don't need one.  It's fun to look, though.  The fabric looks beautifully textured close up.  It says it's 85% cotton/15% faux patent leather.  Ok, I'm intrigued.