Not surprisingly, after the big re-launch last week, I relaxed, got sick and have been drifting about in a lemon and ginger infused stupor ever since. In other news, we are having spectacularly beautiful, no-filter-necessary, typical Brisbane winter right now. And its cold. Now I know there is cold and there’s cold and I’ve already lost that one because there’s sunshine and no white stuff on the ground, but STILL, we tend to get a little bit excited here at the thought of bracing against the elements. Yesterday, I finally got jack of looking like a fly fisherman in my one extra toasty, fleece lined, tartan jacket and went out and bought a much better looking cosy, knitted jumper. Which means I can no longer deny winter is here and also how hopelessly inadequate my cool weather clothes are. Luckily, I have a big juicy list of Winter ‘to sew’s. But first, there’s a backlog of un-blogged garments to share from my time out. Sewn during the ‘endless summer’ that was autumn this year and are now of course completely inappropriate and being hidden under said oversized jumper. Out-of-sync is my middle name! First up, this happy duo: the Tessuti Tokyo Jacket and polka dot Vogue 1247…
So I’ve had my peepers on the Tessuti Tokyo Jacket pattern since this pretty version by Lisa of Tessuti, then Sallioeh’s hand-painted silk beauty and not forgetting the color-blocked goodness of Sew Amy Sew’s Tokyo. Kimono style jackets are pretty big right now, there’s a whole bunch of DIY’s around the web. It’s a silhouette that I think looks great on everyone and goes kind of awesome with everyTHING! Jeans, slouchy pants, pencil skirts, knit dresses, jumpsuits, maxi dresses etc etc. And, like my new-found sack dress love, now I’ve made one, I want another and another. A closet of sack-dresses and kimono jackets please and thank you.
The fabric! The FABRIC! Last week I raved about Nani Iro fabric, well, this here is one such lovely that I stashed away for something special. It’s called Kokka Fuccra- Rakuen Japanese Fabric and quite simply it is f*%king delicious. Being a double gauze it is super soft and being a cotton it sewed like a dream. What more can I say except that I lovingly pre-washed it, cut out the Tokyo jacket, got freaked out over something in the instructions and didn’t touch it for two months. Which is something I NEVER EVER do. Either you like having a couple of projects on the go at a time or you’re a start-it-finish-it kind of sewer. Me, I cannot deal with having several sews in progress, especially not one taunting me from under the sewing table. All laughable now, after I just pulled it out again on another ordinary day, flicked through the instructions (which were totally great) and sewed it up in half a day. You got to be in the right head space for sewing, amirite?
Sizing? I made a small, with a medium in length. Mods? Omitted the centre back seam on the main back piece and the neck-band because my print was non-directional which allowed me to lay my pieces along the length of the fabric. I French seamed, because I like French things and opted for a double fold hem in preference to a single fold with the over-locking showing. Pretty innards make me happy. Loved? Sewing the whole thing! It has become one of my favourite pieces in the hand-made closet to date and I’m putting this down to all the love and care I bestowed on the little details like pockets, the cuffs, the neck band, being rewarded with a beautifully finished garment. Lil’ bit proud. Loathed? Nada. Ok, well, maybe that my french seaming the side seams meant I couldn’t snip the curve and it doesn’t sit totally flat. Make again? Fo Shizzle.
If you recall this make here, also included with pattern Vogue 1247 is a really meh looking skirt, from the cover at least. It wasn’t until after this hot brocade version of Heather’s that I gave it a second look and actually what looks like a plain little a-line skirt from the outer is quite a neat piece of patterning architecture on the inside. Check it: secret kangaroo joey pouch pockets! So, Vogue 1247 is a great value deal folks. I had a little remnant of this light weight silk with woven dots. Read: fragile, do not pre-wash. After which, it went all seer-sucked and I wept, moved on and came to love it’s wrinkles. Can’t even remember what it was like flat. I decided the fabric needed some extra support and backed each piece of the pattern, all 8 pieces, not including the waist band, in a navy cotton voile. What I didn’t anticipate was that the polka dots are not random at all. They are in lines. Neat little lines. Like stripes actually. Dammit! Matching them around the pockets wasn’t easy and they’re not totally straight in parts but what choo gonna do.
One thing to note is it’s very very short. I meant to add an extra bit to the hem when I was cutting it out but got distracted and ended up adding binding to the hem to squeeze out an extra bit of thigh-coverage. I was saddened by this addition but the binding is such a phenomenal color match to the fabric and you do have to look quite close. And speaking of binding, ahem, the pattern calls for the inside seams to be totally utterly bound. Which might sounds like a whole lot of extra work when you could just over-lock. Which it was, but totally worth it. I think you’ll agree, these are some good looking insides down there. And I may have got a taste for it and gone on a binding rampage with the next project.
Sizing? I made a size 12, which is my normal Vogue pattern size but at the time was carrying a little extra (blog construction stress) weight around the middle. Proportionally my waist measurement is always wide compare to my hips and bust but normally the amount of ease means I get a nice little snug fit on the waist without having to size up. Apparently too snug this time: the waist-band wouldn’t meet at all. So, we rolled with it and two self cover buttons and a couple of loops later I actually kind of love the new ‘design feature’. Mods? Only a small wedge taken in at the bottom sides seams for more pencil, less A-line. Loved? Another satisfying sew, good instructions, pretty innards and pouch pockets! Loathed? Slaving over 5 meters of bias binding. Make again? Done and incoming!