Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Next Steps: Pattern + Leather + Lining

Hey - Not sure what happened, but this post was up for a day and then disappeared!  Here it is again...

Over the weekend, I decided that I like the jacket fit and am going to go with it with one or two minor additional changes. Hooray! We're a go! There are several next steps.

First, I have to transfer all the changes I made to the muslin back to the pattern. You see, since leather comes in hides (ie: animal shaped pieces), you don't buy by the yard. Also, there are flaws and variations on a skin. So, the better strategy for leather shopping is to bring your pattern pieces with you and lay them out on the hides you want. Karin shared with me the following tip: while there is no "grain" on leather, you should line up your pattern pieces on the hide as if the head to the tail is the straight grain. So that's what I'll be doing.

Other, more experienced sewistas have reviewed places to buy leather in the Garment District, so I'll leave that to the experts. Here's where I'll be shopping:
And, while I've been crazed with work for the last several weeks, it hasn't stopped me from buying fabric. Here's the silk that I think I'll be using to line the jacket.  I got it at Chic Fabrics. I have a few other parts to buy, like zippers.

I love turquoise!
Anyway, I plan to kick things into high gear by this weekend. And I have lots of other things to show in the interim.

9 comments:

K.Line said...

This is fascinating. I can't wait to hear more about how you align the pattern pieces with the hides. Giving you excellent sewing vibes!

T. Sedai said...

Very excited to hear about hide shopping!

And I LOVE your lining fabric!!! I always seem to be on the lookout for silk prints, but I never seem to find any in the colors I want. Your lining is going to look amazing with a leather jacket though - this is such an exciting project!

poppykettle said...

Such an exciting project to be embarking on - can't wait to see and read more!

poppykettle said...

Such an exciting project to be embarking on - can't wait to see and read more!

ReadyThreadSew said...

That silk for the lining is beyond gorgeous!

Meg @ Mood Fabrics said...

We have lots of beautiful leather at Mood! Email me when you're coming in and I'll have Dmitri pull some hides for you. Meg at moodfabrics dot com.

Clio said...

OOh! Meg you're on!

Anonymous said...

Oooh hurrah! I'm looking forward to seeing this progress and I LOVE the lining fabric. Have fun at Mood!

The Slapdash Sewist said...

Love that lining fabric! I would so wear that.