The Modern Sewing Co Potter jacket - an odyssey

I spent a LOT of time planning a Potter jacket.  I looked and pictures and reviews. I dreamed of multiple variations.  I had never made anything by the Modern Sewing Co before, but I liked the look of a few of her patterns and was deeply considering the Worker Trousers. I got excited by her own modifications of this jacket - there are posts where she lengthened it and added an A line shape to it.  Such that I finally bought it and had 2 copies printed so I could make multiple shapes. 

Somewhere in there though I read some blogs and some reddit posts speaking about the Worker Trousers, how the designer had been very defensive about some shortfalls...and I stopped trusting that this was going to be my favourite experience of all time.  I approached the pattern with some scepticism all of a sudden even though it wasn't based on any first hand evidence.  The A0 has all pattern pieces cut flat rather than on the fold so it is a VERY expensive pattern to print, I think it's 4 pages.

In the middle of that I committed to sewing it in oilskin.  I had cut the pattern out in size 10 to make sure it was just a touch roomy, and I knew it would fit on the yardage I had. And to make it even more fun, I chose silk as my lining.  AND decided to sew it while away at work, which meant taking all the supplies (thread, scissors, etc) with me to sew it at a friend's house, on her home sewing machine (50$ singer) which she had, in fact, never plugged in.  Add to this a horrible virus, fevers throughout, and my friend thought...that this was social time and stood there talking to me while I tried to concentrate.  

I had to underline all the pieces so that the oilskin wouldn't bother the silk.

I couldn't use pins, so I had to use clippies on everything. 

The welt instructions were bad.  Who does good welt instructions? I need to just buy a sewing book and reference that instead of indie pattern designers.  I had some issues with the sleeve cap fit but wasn't sure whether I had missed notches, or whether it might have been due to using clips instead of pins.    That hem corner where the hem and the lining are supposed to meet was a total shit show, as usual, but I don't think I have ever encountered a pattern that explained that process to me very well.  I also need to do a coat course and learn how to install fancy linings properly.

 

I survived the process and got over my cold and to my shock the fit of this pattern is really lovely.  I think it's a final realisation, however, that I do not like the feel of oilskin.  Maybe in a bag.  But I will stick to dry oilskin from now on.  The drafting of this seemed to be ok.  Despite my difficult fabrics, everything came together well and I think I will need to give this jacket another chance in the future, maybe with some easier materials.  This one is not likely to stick around though. 

TPC27: the Trend Patterns Puff back jacket review

 I'm doing unusually well with jackets this season - 2!  Already!  And maybe I can get together my energy for a third?  The jacket list might finally slim down a bit?

Anyway in order to convince myself to get on with this - I cut it out at home and took it to a sewing weekend in Auckland.  It fit on the leftover piece of green poplin (has a kind of windowpane check in it like it's a sporty fabric, but I think 100% cotton.)  This piece was about 1.5 m long but was also about 2m wide, and that's what saved me.  

I had bought the lining and Draper's fabrics specifically for this project. 

Made the smallest size. I didn't see a normal type of size chart, just a finished measures size chart, and that was very huge, so the smallest size seemed wise. 

Sewing weekend.  Well, I started the jacket the first evening - and still really woozy from 6 night shifts in a row (bad idea, people) - got through the interfacing and prep work, and went to start the pocket, and I came to a screeching halt.  Every single other welt pocket in the known sewing universe is a "home sewist" welt.  The pocket consists of two separate pieces of fabric, and the welt is a friendly little rectangle (or two) that you sew down the sides and flip right side out.  Thus, every single online instruction is for same.  This pocket is constructed using an industrial welt, and there are no tutorials anywhere.  The instructions didn't make sense and I had no assistance.  That one other person who blogged about this - for some reason her blog vanished off the interwebs.  She had complained too about the welt but I know she figured it out eventually and I couldn't remember if her blog had any sage advice.

 Oh god, it was time to do the inconceivable and make a practice welt.  I literally went to bed and dreamed about this, nightmared all night about this welt. 

But I had nothing else to sew.  

I made a practice welt.  After cogitating all night my brain understood this welt still had to behave as a normal home sewist welt.  If you make this jacket or have this issue, the relevant info is that you fold down the top flap inside out and sew it down to a mark, (NOT a bit further!) and THEN the loose little edge is your standard welt edge and that's what you sew to your main fabric.  I am not usually a tutorial-constructing blogger, but if people want a tutorial I could try to make one.  

Things after that went better.  It did still take 3 welt pockets before they were not horrible, so the sides of both welts on the jacket are a bit stretched from me trying to cover my too large holes.  The rest of the jacket caused me no dramas.  

I even, because I was at a sewing weekend and had time, tried to tack down the hem edge against the inside seam allowances.  But still, this jacket has the fault of all lined jackets I have ever made.  The lining at the sleeve comes out because the sleeve facing isn't stuck down.  The hem bags down and doesn't look precise.  I had all the time, and I ironed a lot, so that hem edge at some point looked great. Not so much now. 

I think I have to stop making lined jackets until I'm ready to read a tailoring book.  I am not happy with these features but luckily my housemate loves hugely oversized things (this is MASSIVELY oversized) and she has claimed it.  It would easily fit a full zip hoodie underneath, and that's her jam.  It does have very long sleeves, which I am not bothered by, they just about cover my hands but in general that is ok with me. 

I hand sewed a single snap on the front to shut it. 

It doesn't make sense to me to have buttons on the front, because it's so oversized it really overlaps too much for buttons that go straight down.  One or two snaps in strategic locations make more sense to me.

Overall this was an interesting make.  I am NOT using this pattern for the precious star print Moschino fabric I am hoarding.  I will NOT make this again.  But, interesting.  

Vogue 1051 trousers

I haven't seen many of these in the blogs, and a short inspection reveals that the pattern is already out of print.  I bought it when I started sewing about 16 months ago, and it's been sitting on my pile ever since.  It was with me when I came to Switzerland, and therefore at the top of my list this month.  I found this amazing green wool in Frankfurt while I was slumming and waiting for my visa.

However it had passed me by that I usually wear a size 12 in Vogue, at least according to the pattern envelope...and the sizes of this pattern were 4-6-8-10.  So I cut the 10, not completely sure it would fit.  I tried to do a full frontal thighs adjustment.  It seemed to me like it might be doing absolutely nothing.  This is it:

It really only struck me now looking at this photo that I should have opened one side like a wedge...

As seems to always be the case, I thought the welt pockets wouldn't be too bad.  I mean, I suffered through them with the Rigel Bomber, I should be ready by now right?  No such luck.  And of course with finicky pants like this, you have to do four entire welt pockets, plus the zip, before you get to find out if the pants fit.  The result is that I didn't finish all my seams as I went - I zig zagged them later.  The welt pockets had me fussing and whining, and for the back welts, I put the welt piece upside down because I couldn't figure out what the pattern was doing.  I have sewn those shut to hide my shedding welt bottoms.  Anyway, I would never use butt pockets on these pants, and in fact I will not make the back pockets again.  My final lesson is that when you are doing welt pockets, you need mathematically precision, drawing out every step in chalk on the fabric before you move.  Because I still have no decent sewing supplies, I winged it, and got crap results.  

Bulgy waistband!

Is there any way to decrease the everpresent underbutt wrinkles??

some whiskering there.  And I know I don't have enough hooks on the waistband.

I will make the pants again though!  They fit just like on the model!  (er, except for the 6 inches of the hem that I hacked off - beware, these are really long.)  And I have the same little front whiskering like the model, too.  I guess the crotch curve could use a minor adjustment, if I ever figure out how.  In a loose trouser like these I think it's not a major concern, unlike in tight or stretchy trousers where my bar is higher.  I'm overall surprisingly happy with these pants.  They are my second decent pants from Vogue, my first ones are so straightforward that I am planning to buy that pattern again (I left it in New Zealand.)  However, I have the same fit problems with all pants and I am still struggling with how to fix them.

The waistband is high waist, ie they sit just covering my belly button.  On me that is a great, flattering style, but beware if you prefer low waists.  Also, the bell-bottom is pretty pronounced.  Maybe less if you are really tall, but I am 5'4" and removed at least 6" from the bottom of the pants.

Now however, I have made enough pants to notice one more trend - my Thurlows definitely had this issue, as did my Datura blouse when I sewed down the lining. When I sew the waistband to the pants, all is good.  When I fold over the waistband lining and sew it down, suddenly my waistband itself is floppy and ballooning all over the place.  Why?  What should I do to fix this? Why do I have a terrible fear that it is because I don't iron anything enough?