It's Da Bomb! (er jacket) Big Reveal

I didn't notice until afterward how it looks like I'm doing two thumbs-up here. Call it subconscious, but I am pretty stoked about my efforts on this self-drafted silk bomber jacket with raglan sleeves:

The fabric is from Chic Fabrics (225 W 39th Street, # 11). I loved it so much (a subtle print with rows safety pins and needles!) so I really splurged: I bought three yards at $15/yard. (Susan from the blog Moonthirty bought the remainder of the roll and I really can't wait to see what she does with it.). 

The lining I had on hand and the waistband, neckband, cuffs and welts are sewn in a lovely Italian ponte I bought at Metro Textile (265 W 37th St # 908) for $6/yard. The zip is from SIL Thread (257 W 38th St # 1). Please, nobody tally up what this bomber jacket cost me; me-made is priceless, right? (RIGHT!?).

Anyway, after spending so much on fabric, I decided to sew my purse shut and draft my own darn pattern, working from a hoodie pattern I had created a while back. (I had my eye on the Rigel Bomber by Papercut Patterns and another by Burda. Though I liked elements of each, I couldn't afford the Rigel and was put off by a few bad experiences with Burda's insufficient instructions). 

Following the instructions in "The Art and Science of Patternmaking and Grading by Professor Harry Greenberg & Professor Leonard Trattner, it only took one failed draft for me to get the raglan sleeve seaming and fit just right. I opted for a dropped neckline similar to the Rigel though not quite so low. I hate feeling choked by my jacket collar — but I still don't want to expose whatever top I have on underneath! This neckline scoop is my Baby Bear's porridge: just right. So let's see how it looks open:

zzzzzzzzzip!

It feels like a dream, so comfy and silky. It is rather shiny, which made me falter at one point during the late-construction phase. Would it look like some fancy grandpa's Sunday best tracksuit? 

I love how the curved neckline matches up with the top of this tank when the bomber is unzipped.

I know... you want to see the innards. I lined the whole thing with yet more silk. I handstitched the lining to the outer jacket because by that point things were going so well....and I didn't want to risk botching it up!

Fancy grandpas aside, I love this bomber and how I was able to take a fabric like this printed silk and turns it into something casual and almost sporty — something that I could wear every day (unlike a dress or blouse, which I also considered. Had I sewn a dress instead, I would have ended up with something I wear once, maybe twice a year if I'm lucky).

My new silk bomber has already proven to be ultra wearable — so wearable I wore it thrice before I managed to make time with my husband/photographer for a photo shoot. So wearable it already has tea and yogurt on it. So wearable....I am considering wearing it again tomorrow.

Have you ever taken a fancy fabric and turned it into something suitable for every day wear? Tell me about it! 

Spring Break Sewing: Bomber Progress!

I have exactly five minutes to write a post before my child's daily allotment of Doc McStuffins comes to end, thus officially beginning Spring Break/No Time to Myself Week. (I already used one episode and three-quarters to shower, dress, and do some sewing, naturally).

I thought I would share some progress on my self-drafted silk bomber jacket. With my pattern tested twice and ready, I started cutting my bomber out. I thought about the weight of the silk and decided to completely fuse the front and back pieces with weft-weight interfacing. The silk is a charmeuse weight, and I thought the slant welt pocket would drag it down too much without a little stabilization. It still feels really nice. The sleeves I left unfused:

Speaking of welts, these might be some of the nicest I have sewn:



The pocket bag will be hidden by a lining eventually, but here it is for now:

I'm afraid of my neckline getting stretched out, so I won't actually leave my bomber-in-progress on my dressform...but here it is just to get a taste:

Times up! We are off to go hunt Easter Eggs in the city today (Faberge is hosting the "Big Egg Hunt" which is obviously a marketing ploy but my kid is super stoked to scan the eggs on my phone and "crack" them. Anyone else got some good Spring Break ideas? We are staying in NYC for most of it. Sewing, unfortunately, is off the table!

Bomber Pattern-in-Progress

I'm not saying you have to be a math wizard to be a good patternmaker, but it definitely helps to have the kind of mind that can solve visual problems. Exhibit A: here's what my patternmaking textbook (The Art and Science of Patternmaking and Grading by Professor Harry Greenberg & Professor Leonard Trattner ) indicates needs to be done to create a proper raglan sleeve pattern:

Fun, right?

Doing so creates the necessary ease under the arm, so you can do things like scratch your nose and wave to your friends. Now here's what that looked like in real life on my living room floor the other night:

Of course, then I taped it all down to a large piece of paper and used my curves and rulers to draw all around the now-cut-up sleeve pattern. Then I double-checked and fiddled until all the seams were the right lengths.

The end result? Pretty perfect really!

Now the back view:

I wanted to check welt placement (and let's face it, who couldn't use a little practice making welt pockets?), so I cut and sewed just one:

There you have it, kids: Math=a good fit! Now I just need to choose my lining fabric and I'm all set to sew a bomber jacket from my own pattern.  Anyone have a fave welt pocket tutorial they want to share? Throw it down in the comments below.