I definitely have to make another one of these.
I’m wearing the first one I made almost every day now. (Its so warm and comfortable…and the color goes with everything!) Mill Direct Textiles
has some stretch fleece in a few different colors. (The Rainshed is
also a good source, though the last time I ordered they only had one
color in stock.)
I’ve got just about all the materials I need for my first fully lined wool suit. I’ve chosen Burda 1/07 #113 and #111 as the pattern.
I love the inverted pleat pockets and the seaming of the skirt. Very European, and different from the average corporate suit.
I’m using a heathered black wool crepe from FFC
for the fashion fabric. I had an unusually bad experience the first
time I ordered from them, but this time had no problems. (I read this a
lot online - they seem to have a 75% success rate). For the lining I’m
using black ambiance bemberg.
I’m a bit up in the air about interfacing. I have a considerable amount
of armo weft that I would like to use but I’m not sure if that’s the
best choice for this fabric and style. Whatever I use will be
interfaced to a black cotton lawn
underlining. (From what I’ve read in quite a few places fusible
interfacing doesn’t work well with wool crepe, and should be interfaced
to an underlining instead.)
These are the buttons I picked out. (The background is the wool crepe.)
Like the buttons, the topstitching thread will also be silver.
Last night I worked on preshrinking the wool crepe. This suit
requires about 2 1/2 yards, so I cut out 3 from my stash to accommodate
for shrinkage. I know most of the sewing gurus would probably have a
heart attack if they read this, but I soaked the length of wool crepe
in a basin of lukewarm water with Eucalan wool wash. I didn’t agitate
it at all, just gently placed it in the basin and soaked it for about
15, 20 minutes. Then I very gently squeezed the water out, and rolled
it in a towel to absorb even more of the water. I let it air dry
overnight, then used a steam iron to smooth out the wrinkles and shrink
it even more.
I did end up with a bit of felting after washing it, but it was so
minor that most people would have a hard time noticing the difference.
(I really don’t know why sewers are so afraid to do this. It is so far
from being anywhere near
ruined.) It feels a bit softer too, probably from the lanolin in the
wool wash. Since I don’t plan on wearing this very often I will
probably end up not washing it, but rather just brushing and airing it
(esp. the jacket). But at least now I know its OK if I get caught in a
rainstorm while wearing it. I don’t really care for the idea of dry
cleaning, so with the exception of leather my rule is that everything I
make must be able to take a little water.
Next will be preshrinking the ambiance lining and armo weft
interfacing. (The cotton lawn is easy - just throw it in the washing
machine a couple of times.)
I think for this one I’m going to make a muslin first. Normally I’m
a rather fearless sewer and can’t even be bothered to tissue fit. I
just estimate, cut, start sewing, and and try it on a few times for
alteration purposes. Surprisingly this has worked for me so far.
However, I’ve never made a Burda jacket or skirt before, so I’d like to
get an idea of what to expect with ease before I cut into the fabric.
I’ve already spent $90 to $100 on supplies for this project so I really
can’t afford to screw up. Oh, yes, there’s also the whole fact that
I’ve never made a suit jacket before.
Just finished this today:
First thing I’ve made recently. I used a taupe stretch fleece from The
Rainshed. I will say it isn’t one of my better projects. In general I
don’t like working with knits, and this one was twice as hard to work
with because of the thickness.
I had some issues with the zipper. What ended up happening is I didn’t
account for the fleece being a four-way stretch knit, and the zipper
ended up being lopsided. I ended up chopping off the uneven part of the
collar and using some binding around the raw edge to disguise the
unevenness. Looking back now I should have interfaced the front before
putting in the zipper. It works, but it could have been a lot better.
One thing I do like about it is the fit. It is a bit hard to tell
from the picture but in person this is fairly fitted and very
comfortable. I did go a little larger on the bust than usual because I
wanted to make sure there was enough room for layering.
Check out Vogue V8431:
Even
the fashion sketch models look awful in this jacket. But I do admit
that it is a unique style that I haven’t seen before. I just don’t see
how this is a flattering style, even for thin or hourglass shaped
women. To me it looks like a bag. It reminds me a bit of those dresses
in Vogue that were part of the Fall 2007 preview collection. The
emphasis was on the shape of the garment, which was of course very
strange and usually not figure-flattering. It is something only a woman
really into high fashion could understand. Everyone else thinks it is
just plain strange. It is like Carrie Bradshaw’s outfits on Sex and the
City.
Then I saw this one, Vogue V8331:
Now
that’s my idea of figure-flattering. Princess seams, defined waist, and
a trim fit. I think it would make a very fun first jacket. To make it
more mainstream the sleeves on View B could be slimmed down to regular
straight sleeves. Or full-length sleeves could be added to the short
sleeve one. Either would work.
There’s just something very timeless and feminine about the Chanel
style jacket. A single breasted blazer with notched collar is very
professional, but this jacket says “class”:
This one is definitely on my list. View C looks particularly interesting.
Update: Added pattern link to Vogue’s website.
I found this pattern in my stash, along with enough lightweight charcoal gray wool to actually make it!
The
pants look like they need a lining though. Maybe china silk? I know
Dharma Trading has some very reasonable prices on black china silk,
along with realistic shipping. This would be a great suit pattern to
experiment with. I have yet to finish a tailored jacket, and to be
quite honest tailored jackets frighten me. (My Vogue Anne Klein suit jacket is a disaster waiting to be fixed in my pile of abandoned projects that I just can’t throw out.)
Maybe this pattern is my second chance to redeem myself. I’ve learned a lot since attempting my Anne Klein suit.
Here’s the projects I have my eye on…I will continue to update
them throughout the month as my needs change and I find more
interesting styles.
Summer blouse, fuchsia 100% cotton eyelet: Burda WOF 3/07 108
Notes:
Spring/summer skirt suit in champagne polished cotton stretch twill.
Jacket Vogue V8042, View C
Notes: I love the classic, timeless styling of this jacket, and it looks like it would make a great basic jacket pattern.Skirt Burda WOF 12/2006, 106
Notes: The
pattern description says it works best with fabrics with some body
(like denim, or the twill I want to use). I am just not sure of
how the fit for Burda skirts are.
Notes: This
style has a lot going for it. It is recommended for stretch
wovens, and includes skirt and pants as well as jacket. The unique
jacket styling has plenty of seams to fine-tune adjustments. I
admit that it looks a little overwhelming, but I could be wrong.
Burda WOF 1/2007, 105C - white 100% stretch cotton shirting; ivory 100% silk charmeuse
Notes:
I love the look of the waist darts - it looks very easy to nip in the
waistline if needed. From the magazine photos, it looks like it
would work well with softer, drapier fabrics as well as fabrics with
more body.
Vogue V7947, ivory 100% silk charmeuse
Notes:
I’ve made the jacket from this pattern before with good results.
I wonder a zipper can be somehow put in on the side. I don’t like
the idea of maintaining a nice fit while at the same time leaving
enough ease to pull it over my head. I’m sure it can be done. On
a side note, the pattern recommends tweed, crepe, gabardine, and double
knit, but in the photo it looks like it could be silk.
Sportswear jackets and blazers made out stretch wovens have been out
for a few years now, especially in the designer lines like Ralph
Lauren. I love the idea. The only thing I never understood is how the
lining for these garments worked - did they have a special stretch
fabric they used for the lining? Did they just make the lining out of
the normal fabrics, but a little larger than usual? Did they even have
a lining?
According to the August 2007 issue of Threads, the secret to lining jackets made out of a stretch woven fabric is to cut the lining pieces on the bias. They recommend using Ambiance Bemberg,
which is what I always use for linings now. It anti-static and 100%
rayon, so it breathes as well. I usually order my Ambiance Bemberg
lining from Fabric.com
- they are reliable and seem to keep a good selection of colors in stock.
I’m glad I found this tip. An upcoming project is a blazer
that will be made out of a 100% cotton twill with a little bit of
spandex in it. (Found it on the clearance rack at Joann’s at one of
their 50% off sales - I think it was only $1/yard!) I was going to try
some of the stretch linings from Sawyer Brook,
but was hesitating because of the very limited colors, and the fact
that most are made out of polyester. Why spend the money on buying a
beautiful 100% wool fabric for a suit jacket if you are just going to
ruin the breathability by lining it with cheap polyester?
According to Threads,
using one of these stretch lining fabrics may not work anyway because
of the difference in the amount of stretch between the fashion fabric
and lining fabric.
- they are reliable and seem to keep a good selection of colors in stock.