stuff and things

31 October 2011

Design Wall Monday: A Spring Jacket (ugh)

I selected this princess line pattern for a Continuing Ed. class on Spring Jackets
I've always enjoyed making clothing. When I noticed a class on making a jacket in the Fall Continuing Education catalog, I jumped in, even though a late return from our vacation forced me to register a few weeks into the semester. Kathleen Swanson, the teacher, uses a method called "tissue fitting" instead of making a muslin to ensure the pattern fits. I've never tried this before, so am stretching my skills a bit here.

To tissue fit, you reinforce the pattern's curved areas with tape, then cut slashes just to the seam allowance (the line you sew on, on the fabric). Then you pin the seams together and try on half the jacket paper pattern. A sewing buddy (in my case, the teacher) makes sure that key parts of the pattern fall where they should: notably, the Center Back, the shoulder, the bust point, Center Front, etc. If not, you adjust the paper pattern by cutting and spreading, then taping additional pattern paper under the spread (to enlarge it).
Butterick 5393 on an actual model.
With me and projects, "complicated" seems to be the byword. On a normal pattern, you would extend the side front panel to make the necessary enlargement for my body. But look at those pleats! I'm avoiding enlarging my pattern, even though the teacher wants me to add 1 1/2 inches, because I'm not sure whether to pin the pleats together and then slash, or what! Here's the culprit side-front panel:
Pleats increase the complexity of my jacket's pattern.
I think what I'll do is trace the pattern piece onto a new pattern paper, and experiment making that adjustment. If you have ideas, please comment!

Needless to say, this one never saw completion.
Of course, I've always gone for the complicated. Above is a pattern I bought for my second sewing effort, at age 12 or so. Naturally, I chose a ravel-prone silky fabric for the skirt. Now the project lives in a box in my shed. At size 10, I'm sure that's where it will stay.

What's cooking over your way? Oh, and Happy Hallow'een!