As a lover of cooking and gardening, I have been putting up food since my early marriage. I love to put up food. To me a full freezer and pantry full of Ball jars is a beautiful sight. So 2 days ago I went and bought a 50 pound bag of carrots for 8.00. They came from Canada, bagged up and washed, and were still wet. To properly store them in our root cellar they needed to be dry. So we spread out this blanket, under the ceiling fan, and spread the carrots, all 50 pounds out on the floor of the family room for an overnight stay. The next morning, yesterday, I started packing them up in the root cellar. I got this far and decided I should take a picture before I finished putting them all away. So, you see, I am not crackers, or living some double life up here in the Adirondacks. Now, on to boring pictures of the CJ;;;;;
The sleeves are in good shape. I had two issues, however. I was not sure of the length and couldn't interface the hem edge until I got the length right. Issue two: I simply did not have enough charmeuse to line the sleeves. The extra wide seams needed in this style of construction ate up the silk a little more than I had expected.
I stitched the three sleeve pieces together and then pin basted the center sleeve seam. Its not visible on the fashion fabric but both large sleeve sections are eased in the elbow area to the narrow under sleeve. Next it was off to a mirror for a try on and pin to the jacket to establish the sleeve length. Once that was done I interfaced the hem edge with a lightweight hair canvas. It was catchestitched to the bottom edge and the seams and ends. But what about the lining for the sleeves?
Well, I had a few options. One was to interface the sleeve with a different fabric, no way. Or, I could squeeze out whatever I could from the tiny amount of remaining charmeuse. I decided on option two. It would look better, to me anyway and as long as I maintained the same grainline there should be no problem. So that is what I did. The sleeve back is entire. The sleeve front has a center section as does the undersleeve. You can see better in the lining where the large sections are eased to the center narrow undersleeve. This built in area for movement allows the sleeve to be narrower than you might normally wear, more like a sweater. I have to tell you I have taken an inch out of the two large sections and 3/4s of an inch out of the undersleeve. The sleeves in this pattern are W I D E . There was over 5 inches of ease around my upper arm. So beware if you are making this pattern. I have heard no one else make this comment on PR so maybe my bouncy little post-meno arm flaps aren't that big after all. I don't know. I just know that the sleeve fits much better and there is not a soul on this earth who will see the inside of this sleeve but me. So I am happy with my sleeves. This afternoon I got the trim all stitched on the sleeves and the lining stitched to the fashion fabric. This pattern has you match the lining and shell seams on the either side of the undersleeve. You then stitch them together with a running stitch for about 2/3s of the length. The lining will never twist around this way. Pretty clever! Tomorrow I'll start working on the sleeve buttonholes and then installation. We are almost done!!! I am up to near 90 hours now on this so the home stretch is approaching. I think I will go have some carrot sticks now!....Bunny
You are too funny! I'm so lost about the carrot thing as we don't have cellars down here. It's too wet.
ReplyDeleteI'm also lost on the jacket as I have never even heard of your method, but I've enjoying learning from you. Yes, I'm from the backwards South. LOL Or maybe I've had my life so tied up teaching for the past 20 years that I missed out on a lot of stuff.
Blogging has sure been educational and entertaining.
This will be a beautiful jacket and Coco would approve of the way you handled the sleeve lining delimma. 90 hours so far. And to think some people cannot understand why couture costs so much.
ReplyDelete'putting up" food must be cold climate thing. In Australia we tend to eat fresh. Your Chanel jacket will be extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've never heard of 'putting up' food either. We do freeze excess food, and my mum preserves, makes chutneys, sauce and jams etc.
ReplyDeleteYour jacket is going to be so beautiful and 90 hours is a labour of love.
That jacket is going to be some gorgeous. The colours, and the matching buttons, wow. Is that one of the "real" C. fabrics?
ReplyDelete"Putting up" or "putting food by" is a matter of taking today's bounty and saving it for the day when it is unavailable fresh. It is also a money saver as you can see by the price of the carrots. It is the only way our Amish friends eat all winter. They can their meats as well as make wonderful jams and preserves. It's something I have always enjoyed. However, I would love to eat fresh all the time but our climate won't allow.
ReplyDeleteDigs, the fabric is not a real CC. It is a boucle from Banksville. They have a huge variety to choose from and you just tell them the colors or style you want and they will swatch it out for a small fee.
Bunny In museums, I've see a few couture garments by famous names. I was surprised at how often they would choose to piece something. If you weren't looking for it, you couldn't find the piecing. So I'm sure you're in good company.
ReplyDeleteNice job. I probably would have done the same thing - I'm pretty used to running a little close on fabric and have a few tricks up my sleeve.
ReplyDeleteYou are an amazing woman, with all that you are able to accomplish, Bunny!
ReplyDeleteWe just had cooked carrots the other day with a titch of honey & some of the Splenda® brown sugar substitute. Yummy!
You are doing or have done so many activities that I used to do but no longer can. A lack of energy is such a curse! It is really a joy to find a kindred spirit; your blog has healing properties. :-)
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