Vogue 2925 - Brown & gray tapestry-look jacket

Here is my jacket for May, and I'm just barely getting it done before the month is over. This pattern has been used twice for the knit top - here and here - and it's one of my favorite TNTs for jacket shells. I've always loved the jacket as well, and finally got around to making it. The design is very simple and contains no princess seaming, which was perfect for this busy jacquard/tapestry print picked up at JoAnn's last fall. I loved the colors and the mixture of textures and prints, and thought it very unique. Please excuse the pantsless state of Her Highness. I have some really cute gray jeans that match perfectly, but you can't put pants on a dressform.

Cutting this jacket out nearly did me in. Lining the horizontal stripes up was one issue, as was making sure the bottom peplum got attached in an area of fabric wide enough to accommodate its curved shape. In other words, it had to work with the horizontal stripes on the sleeves and not contain any of the other lines of fabric at the side seams. This was difficult, especially since I nearly didn't have enough fabric to fit it all in. I should have taken a picture of my scrap pile after it was cut out - very minuscule.

I cut a 12 at the shoulders, bust and hips, but had to taper out to a 14 at the waist. This design is very snug, and I wanted to be able to layer it over pants. Also, the waistline was dropped 1.25", so that it would hit below the waistband of whatever bottom I pair it with.

The shaping of the front is handled by one diagonal dart at each side. I matched up the stripes of fabric so that the bottom torso was aligned. The mismatched stripes from the dart are completely invisible under the sleeves, unless I lift my arms for some reason.

I had two main problems with this pattern. The first is that the front lapels are cut separately from the jacket fronts. When all the layers are sewn, there's 4 pieces of fabric and interfacing coming together in one spot at the center front. At which point the lapel gets folded over and ironed down. It's super bulky! Even if sewn perfectly, it won't lie completely flat, and both sides of the fronts and facings are visible at the same time. This is one instance where my busy print actually aids in disguising this flaw. If I had used a solid color it would look very messy. My other issue is that the sleeve cap was too tall and had to be cut down 5/8". I'm not one to complain about sleeve caps, but these were ridiculous.

Here you can see how the front facing lines up with the jacket front, as well as the hooks and eyes sewn to the inside opening. Incidentally, this brown sequined top was one of my Macy's bargains I blogged about here. Isn't it the perfect match?!

I found this brown chocolate lining in my stash, and have at least 3 more yards of it for some reason. It's a little thicker then the usual linings I use and didn't slip around much. I was completely out of fashion fabric for the inside back peplum and had to use lining fabric instead.

Now I'm off to do some alterations. Oh joy.