Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Tailored Jacket: The First Cuts

 jacket jacket3

A few months ago, this was the state of my tailored jacket: one finalized muslin; four yards of gorgeous black & white wool herringbone; a yard of squishy black wool twill; four yards of hot pink silk charmeuse. When I decided to put my jacket on hold for ballgown, I tucked it all away for safekeeping - but not before cutting the herringbone and contrast wool for the outside of the jacket.

jacket7

This morning, this little pile was all that existed of my jacket. I had the forethought to mark the wrong side of the fabric with pins on every single piece, which was a great plan since this fabric is nearly identical on both sides.

(So identical, in fact, that it may not matter which side is which - but I always try to stay consistent when cutting, just in case there's a weird nap or slightly different halo to one side that is invisible until you sew the thing up and the part over your left boob is obviously a different color than every other piece and it makes you want to sob quietly while shoving chocolate cookies into your face.)

 jacket2 jacket6jacket4 jacket5

So this afternoon, I pressed and smoothed and pinned my interfacing and charmeuse lining, and then I cut out the whole shebang. I even did it in my old ballgown room, which was a little bittersweet. It felt really good to get back to my big projects, and it also felt like visiting an old friend - hello, ceiling stain! Hello, spot where I laid down on the floor and cried the day I felt pukey! Sigh.

Anyhow, now all the pieces are cut and ready to be put together! Slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

Happy Wednesday!

1 comment:

Nicole of all trades said...

It's actually black double-faced 4-ply wool crepe. :) You're welcome!