Shirt Jacket Duo

 Earlier in the year I sewed  two versions of Burda  12 2020 117. The Burda description is "The casual lumberjack top in a new look, a classical  glen plaid pattern in black and white instead of bold checks Sophisticated: the yoke with drop shoulders."

I am not quite sure how check  wool shirts came to be associated with lumberjacks because if you look at old historical photos,  there is not a plaid or check in sight.  But what this style did remind me of was the  plaid wool shirts my dad wore in the cooler months on the weekend. 

 We called them ‘Pendleton shirts’ after one of the brands that manufactured them.

 A sure to please Christmas gift for Dad was always a new Pendleton shirt. I collected some beautiful wool plaids to sew him a Pendleton shirt. He passed in 2015. I still think of him when I come across those unsewn wool plaids in my stash.

Back to sewing.  I liked the idea of a simple shirt like jacket  as an alternative to a sweater or a blazer as a third layer.  This style had a lot of  wearing ease - 6",  but a bit of shaping with bust darts.  The first one was sewn from a thickish wool from the Give Away table at retreat.  It was coarsely woven, but a wonderful rich blue/green interspersed with gold-colored threads .  It is lined in silk print of teddy bears, also a find on the Give Away table. 

The fabric was so thick, the thought of making buttonholes scared me. So I chose  Anorak snaps for the closures.  The design used a faced to the edge section for the cuff opening, rather than a slit.  A design feature I have noted in my  "dealing with thick fabrics " tips and tricks.

Cuff  opening

 Another technique for heavy fabrics with sleeve cuffs  is a slit  faced  with the lining, similar to this one on a heavy wool Pendleton jacket I own.

  There is a  good YouTube video on   4 ways to Sew Slits

Burda 12 2020 117

The second version of this jacket was made from, what I think, was a silk suiting from the deep stash.  Final thoughts on this version is the fabric was too lightweight, and the plaid too light colored for the look I was going for. No problem, I have lots of black and white wools in my stash.

Burda 12 2020 117

End of 2022 Catchup

 The last half of 2022 was very busy for me. I  am doing a quick end of year catchup so that the blog is up to date for the annual export process. 

 Sewing for Others

DS #1  is in law school in a very hot climate.  He likes to wear fitted shirts untucked ( see Untuckit for the look),  but has trouble finding them in the tall sizes he needs.   I sewed him a couple of shirts, adding several inches in length to the torso and sleeves. One long sleeve shirt from Vogue 8759 in a slate blue cotton.  This is a nice pattern, I  love the 2 piece sleeves which eliminates the need for a sleeve placket.

Vogue 8759

And two short sleeve print shirts from Burda 6814. The fabrics were prints. Lobsters on a black background and cross stitch fisses in blues. They were light weight, high thread count Lori Richards cotton fabrics  purchased at the Fabric Place Basement.

BUrda 6814

Continuing Education  

• Common Armhole Fitting Issues and Developing Magic 2-Piece Sleeve Classes with Sarah Veblen on Pattern Review. Sarah has many years of fitting experiance and explains concepts clearly with examples. 

• Skirt Skills  (prerequisite) and Smarty Pants online classes from  BrooksAnn Camper. Brooks Ann is an independent designer and couture dressmaker of bridal wear that I discovered while googling "sewing a Mother of the Groom dress". Her classes teaches you to create custom pants and skirts by "mapping" your own body.  No standard formulas or drafting methods. It is a unique approach. The class videos are clear and concise. She is availble for questions and assistance,  The work required for the class does take time, but it is well worth the effort.    

The major sewing project was my Mother of the Groom dress.  I spent so much time collecting pattern/fabrics for potential dresses, and  sewing three  muslins of different patterns that were ultimately rejected.  In the end I went with a top and skirt using  Butterick 3843, a 2003 pattern for special occasion separates. 

Separates are easier to fit on my body. I wear a lot of them in real life.  And  my "dress"  had to be up for the energetic mother/son dance we had planned. Fabric used for the top was  a beautiful poly/cotton butterfly burnout in Kentucky blue  from JoAnn's.

The  burnout butterfly fabric was underlined with the same fabric used for the skirt,  a blue grey crepe georgette polyester from Fashion Fabrics Club.com. The lining  for both the top and skirt was dusty blue bemberg rayon from The Sewing Place.   It was amazing that three different fabrics from three different vendors coordinated so well. I took it as a sign from the sewing gods.  I accented the neckline of the top with blue crystal beads to add a bit of sparkle, and hold the lining in place at the neckline.

Here is a video of the dress in action at the wedding. Warning, it is my first effort using a video editor to trim  and splice segments of the official wedding video. 

I was a bit stressed  before the wedding, but it ended up being a beautiful, joyous occasion. And I now have two wonderful daughter in laws ( DS#1 got married in June).