Blazer of Glory

This is the Closet Core Jasika Blazer. I decided to try a more tailored jacket this Fall and have had good results with this indie pattern co. (Ginger Jean’s are great!) But I knew it would be challenging.

I decided to go for the class they offer and it was a quite a good investment of about 40 dollars. I felt 40 times more confident than if I just had the written directions to follow.

It starts with a muslin.

I chose size 14 based on my bust size. From there I was able to adjust a few parts for a nice fit. Adjustments I made:

1. Shorten whole thing by 1 inch.

2. Shorten sleeves by 2 inches.

3. Lower bust dart 1 inch.

4. Shorten shoulder length by 1/2 inch.

From there, I cut out my corduroy and interfacing and fused it all, put in the tailor tacks and markings and learned to make a diagonal welt pocket.

Yay, once the front was done, sides and back were added, the back has a vent. More welt pockets, and flaps , lots of pressing.

Sleeves! With sleeve heads and shoulder pads.

Tools like tailors ham, which I made, and sleeve roll, press cloth, steam. I don’t have have a fancy iron, mine worked fine. Don’t forget the clapper, my husband made me one, but a good chunk of hard wood is fine. The result is a good fitting and sharp looking blazer. The corduroy is soft and cozy, so it’s got a casual vibe as well, which is my style, casual, classic and fun.

Where I left off

I was getting into painting lightly on the muslin then stitching on it free motion style. Then adding in the improv patchwork. This one is taking time to grow on me, but it is growing on me. I’m starting to love the wacky font I can barely read and the messy flowers. The message is the right one for me, as breath is the way to live and sing.

New Dress Form

Dress form

Today I worked on this dress form that I made using a customized pattern from Bootstrap fashion. It’s my 2nd go, the first one got too big for me. Lol, I shrunk a bit, so I needed an updated one, not to mention the busy printed fabric I chose for no. 1 was way too distracting. Live and learn. This time I used tea dyed muslin for a neutral look and a touch of linen on the neck, just to be pretty. I cant wait to try a draping exercise in this. Below are some progress photos and the first one I made.

Faux Fur Coat

I started this in 2019 and got stuck on the collar. I didn’t have an idea for it and the fur was a bear to sew. Fast forward a few years and I decided to use this little strip of contrasting faux as the collar. It was simply the whole little rectangle that I used. Where did I even get it? I accepted donations of fabric in the past, so probably this scrap was given to me, but so long ago, I dont recall. I always loved the spotty fur and folded it in half longwise immediately and thought “you will be a collar one day,” so now it is. It’s a small scale collar for such a big furry coat. Fun. Also showing here is the lining I chose, another donated fabric I was holding onto for ages. It’s a brocade. I made this coat to have fun and be a little over the top. I will wear it this winter.

Bathing suit sewn

My 2 piece. A bra pattern + a panties pattern = 2 piece bathing suit. I modified a Greenstyle corset bra and the Megan Neilson Acacia underwear patterns into this. I got the serger running and that’s a whole adventure story for another post.

Triangle Improv

Off book, just making an experiment with the piecing solid cotton into triangles together in a playful pattern. The quilting is done with a big freehand pattern on my sewing machine with a walking foot. This piece is small enough to hang on the wall with small paintings.