For those of you who enjoyed following me through my Lady Grey Coat sewing last winter, my garden party dress in the spring, and my Red Project Dress in the late summer, you'll be happy to know that my next big project is about to take off. For those of you who I bored to tears with multiple muslins, tips and tutorials that I found useful during fitting and sewing, and thoughts on the gadgets that came in handy, well, I guess I'll see you in a month or so for the final reveal. hee hee
So, I've decided the time is right for the leather jacket that I first mentioned in January. Loads of other sewists have been doing great projects with leather or faux leather recently. And, ever since I received the July 2010 edition of BurdaStyle, I've had a crush on this jacket.
Does that happen to you? You find yourself returning to a certain pattern in your mind, or flipping to the directions every so often just to peruse them? Or am I weird that way? Anyway, I've had this pattern on the brain for a while. I think the style is pretty unique and eye catching. And, well, we all know how I like that kind of thing.
There is a second variation on this jacket - #119 - that Burda sewed up in a navy blue wool.
I plan to do a bit of a mash up of the two patterns - the collar of #119 (ie: one piece lapel rather than pieced), the zipper closure and non-cuffed sleeves from #118, and I'm on the fence about the peplum.
At this point, muslin 1.0 is cut, but not yet marked or sewn. I'm using up some of the ugliest denim known to man for this muslin. Seriously, the right side is dark green camo with pink and turquoise roses strewn about for good measure. I'm using the plain brown wrong side. I bought it to use as muslin for jeans, but then I found RTW jeans that fit really well. So it's been an eyesore in my stash for about 2 years. My goal for muslin 1.0 is simply to work out any fitting issues and see if I prefer the peplum or the straight back.
Here's what I'm doing/pondering so far:
Have you sewn on leather or another tricky fabric? Feel free to share! And stay tuned since this is likely to be just the first of several posts about this project!
So, I've decided the time is right for the leather jacket that I first mentioned in January. Loads of other sewists have been doing great projects with leather or faux leather recently. And, ever since I received the July 2010 edition of BurdaStyle, I've had a crush on this jacket.
 |
| BurdaStyle 07/2010 -#118 |
Does that happen to you? You find yourself returning to a certain pattern in your mind, or flipping to the directions every so often just to peruse them? Or am I weird that way? Anyway, I've had this pattern on the brain for a while. I think the style is pretty unique and eye catching. And, well, we all know how I like that kind of thing.
There is a second variation on this jacket - #119 - that Burda sewed up in a navy blue wool.
 |
| BurdaStyle 07/2010 #119 |
I plan to do a bit of a mash up of the two patterns - the collar of #119 (ie: one piece lapel rather than pieced), the zipper closure and non-cuffed sleeves from #118, and I'm on the fence about the peplum.
At this point, muslin 1.0 is cut, but not yet marked or sewn. I'm using up some of the ugliest denim known to man for this muslin. Seriously, the right side is dark green camo with pink and turquoise roses strewn about for good measure. I'm using the plain brown wrong side. I bought it to use as muslin for jeans, but then I found RTW jeans that fit really well. So it's been an eyesore in my stash for about 2 years. My goal for muslin 1.0 is simply to work out any fitting issues and see if I prefer the peplum or the straight back.
 |
| Fugly, no? |
Here's what I'm doing/pondering so far:
- Which sewing machine to use - my Viking (I have a handy rolling foot for sticky fabrics) vs my granny's old workhorse (better on bulk)? I may end up sewing on the Viking and top stitching on granny's. Only testing will tell.
- Reading up on good tips for sewing on leather - Lindsay T, Gorgeous Ann, the Sewing Lawyer and Kbenco have all done great posts on working with leather or leather jackets specifically. If you've got any tips or suggestions for further research, please suggest!
- Whether to use all leather, or make the jacket leather on the front, but a sturdy double knit in the back. This would keep costs down and may make fitting a bit easier and more forgiving.
- Zippers - I'm wondering if I can forgo the sleeve zippers. I think the jacket might be a bit more sleek without them.
Have you sewn on leather or another tricky fabric? Feel free to share! And stay tuned since this is likely to be just the first of several posts about this project!
