This jacket turned out pretty dang well. I'm so thrilled that I actually finished it! I'm really good at starting to sew clothes and then giving up when things get too difficult or I make a mistake. I took my time and if I started to get frustrated I simply put it down and came back to it the next day. It was awesome...and only slightly obsessive. ;)
I was going to try to make my own pattern but I just don't have the skills for that so I chose a basic jacket pattern from Vogue, V7975. I altered the sleeves so they were shorter and changed the neckline to more of a V-neck and didn't bother with a lining.
I pre-washed all the fabrics first, mainly because I somehow got a spot of oil on the panel and had to get that out so it wouldn't be a problem since I knew I needed every scrap of the panel in order to complete my project. Pinterest to the rescue...little dot of Dawn liquid soap on the oil spot and it washed right out.
I actually washed the batting too because I wanted to be able to wash the finished jacket without having to worry about crazy shrinking/wrinkles.
I split the panel up into 4 sections. 1 section for the back, 1 section for the side fronts & backs, and the remaining 2 sections for the sleeves. I did have to do some piecing to each section in order to make them big enough to cut the pattern pieces out of. I don't think you can really tell that I pieced it though by looking at it. Which is good & bad....good that it blends in, bad that it took a bit of time with no real addition to the overall look. C'est la vie.
After getting each section pieced large enough to accommodate all the pattern pieces I quilted them on my long arm. The under arm sections in the bright citron color I straight stitched on my regular sewing machine with a walking foot. I was really impressed with the Aurifil thread I used because I was able to use it on both my long arm & my sewing machine with no issues...and I still have a ton of it left. I think I have at least half a spool left and that's after a lot of piecing, quilting & sewing...very impressed.
I read a Threads article that was really helpful in choosing the right batting for quilted garments. I decided to use Quilters Dream Wool because I wanted the jacket to have some structure to it.
So now I'll enter it in the Make it Right Challenge and cross my fingers. :)
Projects stats:
Fabric used: 1 Angela Walter's Right Angle Panel, Art Gallery Pure Elements in Lemonade, Mystic Gray, Light Gray, Moonstone, Midnight, Tile Blue
Pattern: Vogue 7975 - altered
Batting: Quilter's Dream Wool
Thread: Aurifil Mako 50/2 color #2600
