a sewing tale: the path to morris

in sewing, the path to completion is sometimes a long & windy road

No, it isn’t a town somewhere. It’s a jacket pattern, from Grainline.

When it was first published last year there were lots of wonderful versions online, including this, and this.

Nice, I thought, very nice! But what fabric to use? That was the question, because I was living in a fabric-free zone, and very leery of online ordering any knit I couldn’t handle before purchasing.

Then Jen, Grainline’s designer, featured this version on her site, and the fabric was still available from Mood in NYC. After that  perfect recommendation, I ordered some.

Then it sat and aged a bit whilst I thought about it, as one sometimes does. . . you, know, to consider all one’s options.

this denim skirt, remember? click the pic for original post

And realized I should do a toile before cutting into the gorgeous green.

And wondered if I really wanted a jacket. The fabric would make a perfect….. (insert favourite style).

Then I watched a marathon of Stacy London & Clinton Kelly of What Not to Wear, and noted how much jackets/blazers added to one’s wardrobe.

That did it. I remembered some heavy stretch denim used for a long winter skirt several seasons ago. There was plenty left over. It’s heavy, but it passed the stretch test. Besides, it was for a toile that, if wearable, might go well with my denim skirt (right).

Then I moved house and put everything on hold.

Fast forward to a completed jacket, and end of this path.

Thank you for walking along with me, and special thanks to my patient prodder, who knows who she is. . . . .

skirt has been washed a few times; colour is a better match in daylight – needs a few washings to match

sleeve with facing stitched as per instructions (please ignore the fluff)

Step 15, which I put together without understanding what the pattern meant so it’s probably wrong

Changes included:

• lengthening the sleeves (I don’t like 3/4 length)
• no interfacing used (fabric was heavy enough; boy, did that take a while to decide)
• I stitched in the ditch behind the collar (to anchor the facing)
• sleeve hem facings were both short, which might have been caused when I cut the sleeve longer (but didn’t actually widen the sleeves)
• couldn’t decide how to finish seam edges (tried overlocking in contrasting white but couldn’t decide, so haven’t done them all)

And that’s all I can remember at present. Am basically opposed to front facings not sewn down (they flap), but there’s no way this heavy denim is going to be hand-stitched in place. Am keeping my fingers crossed.

Hope everyone has a restful weekend planned!

 

Also submitted for the 52 week photo challenge.

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