Monday, December 7, 2009

Vogue 8480

This is the second time I've made this little spring jacket. I just think it is so cute. I like the 3/4 sleeves, the topstitching, and the little collar, which is neither too small to be dorky or too big to be overwhelming. My favorite part is the back, though--the peplum gives the back a lovely shape but without making it look like your hips just gained a few extra pounds. So nice.

The only things that make me grumpy about this pattern are the pockets (too small!) and the sleeves (too horrible!). I fixed the pockets this time around, by just cutting them larger. They still aren't sturdy enough to hold much of anything, but you can slip a few keys or an mp3 player in there easily, now, without worrying that they might come tumbling out two seconds later.

As for the sleeves: well, I still hate putting in these sleeves. Last time I made this jacket, I'm pretty sure I ripped the sleeves out four or five times. This time I got them in on the second try, but they still aren't as perfect as I would like. I can't tell if the sleeves are just drafted poorly (doubtful), or if part of it is that gathering on a thick twill isn't as precise as one might hope for. At any rate, getting these sleeves to lie smoothly is a trial. For me, at any rate.

This version of the jacket is for my sister. Between the peplum and the ease, this is the perfect maternity jacket, since it expands enough to allow for the baby bump. I don't know that she'll be able to wear it right now (in the ninth month), but you never know--she's still quite small. I made it using her pre-maternity sizes, though, so that she can enjoy it even after the baby wiggles out.

In fact, I like this version so much, with the dark chocolate fabric, that I might make one for myself. I used a sandwashed twill from fabric.com the first time I made this jacket, and it is very drapey. It's cute, but feels a little bit like I'm wearing a curtain. I really like this twill (from Joann's, actually)--it is wrinklease, so it doesn't need ironing (as much), and the color is really lovely (it looks a little grey in the photos, but it is actually very chocolatey). My only complaint about the fabric is that it attracts little bits of everything like crazy. I had to seriously delint this thing before I mailed it off to my sister. Anyway, I think I'll probably make another one, but I'm torn between this dark brown color and brick red. Tempting, tempting.

Hmm, what else. Oh yeah--topstitching. What a complete pain. I didn't trust the topstitching thread to stay tied, so I pulled all the threads to the inside of the coat, knotted them, then threaded them through the inside stiches. So tedious. And of course, all the knots got a good dose of fray-check. Hopefully everything will stay in place!

All in all, much cuter than the first version, I think. Hopefully it fits my sister, though, because I really don't want to have to take out those arm pieces again!


Not quite sure about those buttons--they might be a little too boring.

The back--luckily, in this light, you can't tell that the top stitching thread is two different colors: dark brown and slightly darker brown. I was too lazy to re-do two of the seams, and I doubt anyone will ever notice.


The inside seams--all tidied up! In retrospect, it would have been fun to use red or teal on the inside seams, but it's probably just as well that the whole jacket matches.

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