Chanel Jumper??? Simp 1723

 

Sophie's jumper, Simplicity  1723, is a done deal! I put a bit of extra effort into this child's garment but that boucle made me do it!

Pattern: Simplicity 1723, jumper, jacket, skirt and headband, all with a slight nod to Coco Chanel. Amazing how her classic designs filter down to children even all these years later. It was not difficult.It does not require a lining but I did one. I recommend. My grandaughter loves any sort of jumper or long top to wear with her tees and leggings. 

Fabric:   It is made with an acrylic and cotton boucle and I pray it doesn't pill. It hasn't yet so that bodes well. I have machine washed and dried all fabrics used so expect no probs other than a lack of desire to press clothing on the part of my daughter. She will  more than likely send it to the cleaners. That's her MO for anything not knit. 

The lining fabric is a 100% poly, a charmeuse wannabe. It was "springy" as many older polies are. It was given to me by a friend when she cleaned out her stash. 

I used a poly grosgrain ribbon for the belt and some little lace flowers picked up at Fabric Place in Mass. I found the garment a bit too serious for an eight year old and had to fun it up a bit. Sophie loves polka dots.

Construction: After my last positive experience I decided to flatline the jumper much as I did my crinkle jacket.  It took a lot of "pre-sewing" but once done the process of putting the jumper together whipped right along. The facings, hem, and waistline are bound with the same lining fabric. The boucle really needed the structure of the lining and bound seams to keep it from unravelling, something it wanted to do with a vengeance.

If I had to do it again I would not face the jumper with self fabric. I would use a thin lining instead. It is far too bulky in the button area for my taste but I will just move on from that observation. It won't bug anyone but me. I did not make real buttonholes and just stitched the straps shut with the buttons. The zipper is plenty long so I don't think Sophie will have a problem getting it on. I used an invisible zip and machined stitched the facing ends into the zip, no handwork.

Facings were understitched as much as possible and the edges bound with bias lining fabric. I used my clapper and tons of steam to get those edges as flat as I could.

As far as fit, I did have to alter the pattern. Sophie is very tall and slender so this was made in a size 8 with an inch added to the bodice and another to the skirt. I think dresses look cutest on little girls when the waistline is a bit elevated and this does that  on her. Her back waist measurement is 2 inches longer than the pattern measurements and I only added that one. 

All in all, this pattern is simple, cute and could be whipped right out if you don't  flatline, line or bind those seams. This would be great for the serger. But my fabric required the additional fuss. I must admit, it does feel lush and yummy in the way a Chanel jacket does. Maybe next time I would do an edge to edge lining as she did. I hope Sophie likes it. She did pick out the pattern and pink fabric.

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I just have to comment that we have had the most incredible Indian Summer weather. It has been in the high seventies for days with clear blue skies and leaves on the trees flaming with color. Will winter want payback?......Bunny

ETA: Why does my text publish in different sizes when I don't change the size?I've notice this on only certain computers, not all. Are you seeing my text in different sizes, other than the headings? Thanks...Bunny

Simplicity 1723 Begins!

Any notions I had about whipping out a simple little jumper for Sophie have left the building. First the fabric: It's acrylic and cotton pink boucle, cute, and it FRAYS! Oy, does it fray! That was dealt with  as you'c expect. It stretches out. I ended up taping the neckline and armholes. I had to cut the tape to fit  the pattern and steam the fabric back into the proper length and stay stitch the tape on. The tape is selvedge from other projects that I save up in a jar.

I also chose to flatline this garment, so that all took time. My entire sewing yesterday was all prepping the pattern pieces before actually starting to make darts and stitching the jumper together. Now that all of that is done I can just put the thing together today. This will have a facing because of the shoulder tabs and that will be bound as well as the waistline seam. I am also putting in an invisible zip so the sequence of construction in the pattern directions will not work but that's OK.  The flatlining and topstitching all those bound seams should really strengthen the boucle weave and prevent seams from popping apart. Sophie is an active little girl who loves to dress up, a girl after my own heart, and I know  she will love this.

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I have just discovered ground cherries at our Amish neighbor's farm stand. They are wonderful and today I hope to make a coffee cake with them. I am going to get lots more and freeze them up for the winter. Plan right now is to make a ground cherry pie at Thanksgiving. We will be having a houseful this year and I want to have a memorable feast. Have you ever cooked ground cherries?....Bunny

The Dolce & Gabana Jacket Completed

The final word: I like it a lot. It's comfy, fits really nicely, just skimming things, and I know I will get a lot of use from this when it gets a tad cooler. Here's the 411:


Fabric:  The boucle, I'm embarrassed to say, was from Joann's clearance and scored for 3.00 a yard. It's 60% cotton and 40 % acrylic. It was washed and dried in the machine twice and came out  beautifully so my usually fabric snobbery got put aside for this one. The lining, on the other hand, is a silk charmeuse print that ran about 20 dollars a yard and was from Thai silks. It is so yummy. If you  have made one of these jackets you know how luscious they feel to wear. This one is no different thanks to the lovely silk. The boucle is fused to a lightweight tricot and I will definitely do that again. A lot about this jacket is Chanel technique and a lot is sacrilegious. I cherry picked how I wanted to make this and since the sewing police were busy going after the big criminals, I got away with it.

Construction:  This is where it gets interesting and here are the highlights.

*    The boucle was block fused to nylon tricot fusible interfacing. Will definitely do that again. (Not Chanel).
*    Seams were traditional  5/8ths on the inside. The outside of the seam was embellished with bias silk strips  with one turned under edge and one raw edge. The edges were brushed to promote fraying The interior seams were not overcast down. For one, the fusible prevented the fabric from fraying so this technique was not needed to finish the seams. Also, the stitching required for the bias strips secured  both of the seams down. (Not Chanel)
*    The side fronts were cut on the bias, something not in the pattern. This was to eliminate pattern matching issues and add a bit of interest. 

*    The silk lining was machine quilted to the boucle (Chanel).

*    The lining, other than the armholes, was totally stitched together with tiny fell stitches all by hand. (Chanel)

*    The sleeves have the lining/fashion fabric stitched as one to the bodice lining/fashion fabric. (Not Chanel).

*    Sleeve seam allowances have a cording stitched along the cap and are bound with more charmeuse. (Not Chanel)

*    The collar was put on in a unique fashion to eliminate facings and come up with an edge to edge lining. While the collar technique is my own, sewing the lining edge to edge with the jacket is definitely Chanel.  Here you can see the wrong side of the collar and how it is triple zigzagged to the upper collar to keep it crisp and give it a roll. My post of two days ago has details of how that was achieved.(Chanel)

*    The buttonholes were machine stitched. They look rather large and are because a boucle covered button is not easy to get through a buttonhole. Additional length was added to the BH to facilitate. (Not Chanel)

 

*    Here you can see the boucle covered buttons. They have a tiny piece of charmeuse underneath to prevent the metal of the button from showing through. I made the first one without and it was definitely needed. Getting the boucle to stay in the button cover was not easy at all and an entire afternoon was spent making these six buttons. I eventually figured out that if I got the  fabric and button pushed into the little rubber thingy and then soaked the remaining boucle with fray bloc I could manipulate the fabric to stay inside the button and accept the cap. This was probably the most difficult part of the jacket. The Fray Bloc worked and they seem quite secure. (definitely not Chanel)

Pattern: I love the way this jacket fits. It has gone into TNT status and is now waiting to be made up again. My next vision is in leather with lots of zippers. Hey, stop rolling those eyes! 

The pattern, Simplicity 2284, I HIGHLY recommend. There is a really nice shape to the two piece sleeve. The side seam sits back from where a side seam would be giving the impression of an under arm panel and helping with the fit. This patterns HAS CUP SIZES. I think the bust fit is beautiful on this pattern and I did nothing but "petite" it by shortening the bodice a bit, something I always do. If you are planning on a similar jacket, just know that the pattern meets at center front. I added an extension and collar to make it look like my original inspiration from Dolce Y Gabana. Originally I remarked how bubbly the bias trim looked on the original. Well, its not easy getting it to be flat, let me tell you. But I think I scored a little higher than the original on that one. I think only a wet baby's bum is more slippery than bias strips of silk charmeuse.

It's time to move on to the next project. Some smocking for Sophie and some bag experimentation are in the offing. I will be pleating this afternoon. As far as the bag, it will utilize a very simple design and on the bag  the foil technique I have been aching to try. 

Just want to pass on a very big Thank You to all who follow and those that just drop by and visit as well. I so enjoy all your comments and appreciate every one of them and you as well. Thanks again for making blogging and sewing such and enjoyable endeavor for me. Its always nice to share with kindred spirits....Bunny

The D & G Collar

While I referenced the collar last night I did not really get into its construction. The edge treatment required that I do away with any seam allowances on the outside edges of the collar. The top collar was interfaced with fusible weft insertion while the bottom was left unfused. In retrospect I should have fused both. Its the only  way to control the ravelly nature of this fabric. You can see here that there is no facing on this jacket. I chose to line it edge to edge like the Chanel. But how was I going to hide those nasty collar seams?

The right side of the upper collar was placed against the right side of the lining. The right side of the under collar was placed against the right side of the outer jacket. In other words you have a sandwich with the lining and jacket between the two collars. The collars are not sewn together at all at this point. I then stitched across the neckline ONLY, from edge to edge. This seam was pressed open over a ham, then graded. Then the two collars were put wrong sides together and pinned along the neckline edge. The outer edges are still raw and unsewn. I then triple zigzagged along the neck edge to secure the seam like an understitching. You can see it in the pic of you look close. It nicely sinks into the boucle. The jacket was then put on the dress form and the collar arranged and steamed heavily. There was much turn of cloth so the under collar was trimmed to match up the upper collar while on the dress form. Once the steam was dry the edges were pinned together and the jacket then removed from the form.

This time the silk bias was done a bit differently. I ironed the strip in half along the length. It was then placed around the collar edges like a binding on both sides. With one pass of the machine the same distance away as the other strips the binding was attached to both sides and complete. Out came the toothbrush and done.

I really like the results of putting this together "sandwich" style. I think it is a nice clean finish. In its next iteration, and I know there is more boucle in my future, I would fuse both collars with interfacing and quilt them together as well. Hindsight is always so clear.

The rest of the binding has been attached all around the jacket. I've decided on covered buttons and will pick those up in town tomorrow. It will be time to buy the chain as well. Gotta have the chain!...Bunny

Dolce y Gabana

I have my boucle. I have my hand painted silk charmeuse lining. I HAD visions of doing a classic Chanel jacket using  the more "speedified" method from Threads as opposed to the Kahlje method. Then I saw this on Net-a-Porter.  I am in love! Are those vertical strips slenderizing or what? It looks so great with the jeans. It is the length I love. The mix of fabric and textures is also right up my alley.

After inspecting this a lot the following occurred to me about the construction.  I need your help, bloggers. This garment appears to be made, and I could be wrong here, with the technique that lines and finishes each section as it is sewn together. I hope I am expressing myself clearly. I don't know what this technique is called so don't know how to search it on the  web. I do know pretty surely  that someone on PR was giving classes on this sort of construction. Does this ring bells with anyone? Is there a name to this particular construction? I know it exists but am drawing a blank here. Can anyone shed some light on what my vague memory is trying to recall? It would be greatly appreciated.

Oh,yeah, the price on this is $1045.00 but if you buy today, madam, you can have it for the low,low, price of $625.00! You must order within the next hour. The first fifty orders will also recieve one free ShamWow! Doesn't get much better than that! 


Thanks for the comments on the cushions. Audrey really likes them. I finished the second large cushion last night and will power on through the two bolsters now. I am waiting for additional fabric to arrive before cutting it all out as I want to cut so what remains can be used in the window treatment.

Selena's bishop will have its  smocking finished probably today. It does need some more embellishment beyond the smocking, IMO. I will make those decisions when all smocking is complete. I might smock some pockets too. We'll see........Bunny

My Chanel is Done!

And what a learning curve it was!!!  I really can't wait to do another one. There is much I will do differently. I have issues with the fit that didn't seem apparent on the muslin. But no matter, I will get lots of wear out of this and like it with my beige jeans.

Here's my issues:

• These sleeves were installed twice. Originally they  were huge. Did I add seam allowances twice? That is all I can figure. The shoulders were narrowed for my muslin and were just fine. I took out the sleeves, narrowed them, and re installed. This process came in at eleven hours. If you have made one of these you know the quilting, those three pieces of sleeve, the trimmed cuffs,  all got moved and redone. Oy,,,,,, none of this happened with my muslin. And with the expense of the fabric there was no way this was going to be a wadder.

• The shoulders are too wide and need to come in. I compensated here by adding shoulder pads which usually makes a jacket look more balanced on me anyway. I guess I could go back at this point but for me it's time to move on. Redoing the sleeves took all of the steam out of this project. It's wearable.
 

• Third issue is the actual pattern. I came to really dislike it as I went along. It is Vogue 8259. I find the sleeves very wide and feel they would be more attractive with a tighter fit as they near the wrist. I have mature upper arms but petite lower arms.  I deliberately made mine 7/8ths. My other pattern issue was the pockets. If you could look at this pattern straight on, which is near impossible to find a pic of on the internet, you can see how the pockets appear assymetrical in regards the center front. I think it is some sort of optical illusion happening with the trim, overlap and buttons. I have decided I like the look of the center front meeting at the edges with a closure of a hook much better. It just makes the pockets look  balanced in my opinion. This bothered me so much I left off  the breast pockets. I know they were where the pattern wanted them to be but it just didn't look right to me. Do you see how  my left pocket appears further away from the CF than my right pocket? It really isn't but with the trim and buttons and overlap, it looks assymetrical to me and bugs the heck out of me. Think I have an overthink problem? I won't use this pattern again. My next pattern choice will be Simplicity 2284 and I will draft a three piece sleeve. 

The good stuff:

• I still think it is really pretty and I will get a lot of use out of it.  I really think no one but me and all you blog followers will know about my fit issues.
• It taught me so much. I cut my teeth on this one. It is far from perfect. I will make another soon and am shopping for fabric as we speak. The next one will be much better. I may streamline a process or two on the next one as well. 
• I love the details. How can you not  when this much work is involved? Handworked buttonholes with bound buttonhole facings, oh my!!!
• Gotta love that chain! When it is all done and you stitch on that chain it is like taking final exams and getting the diploma! 

Finishing this jacket is the good news of the day! My March pants are another story and I will have more on that soon. In the meantime I am making two darling bags that are bringing back my sewing excitement!...Bunny