Hodgepodge Burda - Navy + black plaid boucle jacket w/ leather trim

The navy and black color combo is currently a very popular trend. Even though I still think you shouldn't wear black shoes with a navy dress, I do like them together in fabrics or colorblocked. Which is why, when I spotted this black and almost-navy plaid boucle at Mood Fabrics, I knew I wanted it for something. It's Oscar de la Renta fabric with metallic threads and tiny black sequins, and reminds me somewhat of the fabric used for this dress - also OdlR, and also with sequins.

I decided on jacket 106 from the February 2013 Burda issue, but the quick muslin I made fitted horribly. The no-side-seams detail that I found somewhat interesting turned out to be woefully unflattering. So as not to have to find another similar style jacket and fit that to my body, I used another Burda pattern that I knew to be a perfect fit, 113 from the May 2011 issue, which I made and blogged about here. I transferred the neckline, length of the jacket and sleeves, and binding details, keeping the princess seams of 113.

The black leather was from my stash, from which I have made quite a few garments. This is my sixth garment using leather, and I don't perspire out of nervousness anymore. The only issue I find that gives me any problem is its tendency to stretch too much while being stitched. Usually this is solved by stitching with the fabric side up. Leather can be ironed without issue, and I always use pins IN THE SEAM ALLOWANCE so that the holes they cause aren't visible on the outside. I know other people use clips but I like to use pins and find they hold things more securely then clips.

I paid special attention when cutting the boucle out to match the plaids both horizontally and vertically. I also took special care to make sure they were lined up when stitched together. Oh, I forgot to mention that I underlined each boucle piece with polyester organza. The boucle has a very loose weave and the organza keeps it from fraying uncontrollably. Also, with organza attached, the construction stitches can be seen and removed if need be. Otherwise the thread disappears into the fabric and good luck clipping it out without cutting the fashion fabric.

Dressform pictures:

For the lining I used a black silk Jacquard from Mood Fabrics. Their picture on my screen had a bit of a purple tint, which would have been fine to line this jacket with, but it indeed turned out to be black. I love the fun textural interest it gave the inside. The inner band facings are a wool sateen I got awhile ago from Mood, which has now completely sold out. They were completely interfaced before being stitched together. After the lining was in and all the seam grading had been done, I went around the entire band with needle and thread, stitching in the ditch between the leather/boucle and the sateen/lining. I do like handsewing but that left my thumb really sore.

The last fun detail of this jacket is the oversized snaps used to hold it closed. I'll probably never wear it that way because it somehow ended up a bit too snug, but I like the looks of the tough hardware with so refined a jacket.

There were twelve pieces to the jacket body (it has two-part sleeves). Multiply that by three for the boucle, organza and lining. Add in six multiplied by two for the bands and band facings and that's 48 different pieces of fabric and leather! This jacket was a ton of work! I love it, though, and am excited to incorporate it into my cool-weather wardrobe in both dressy and casual stylings.

Butterick 5817 - Blue silk top

I think I might be the last Mood Sewing Network blogger to make a garment out of their great Thakoon designer fabrics. Seriously. But, I'd seen a picture of what the designer used this fabric for, and I couldn't get it out of my mind. That blue solid border wanted to be at the top of a long sleeve blouse, so of course I had to wait for some cooler weather to use it.

This fabric is a silk crepe de chine from Mood Fabrics, which has a neat border print that doesn't show up in their photos. I used silk crepe de chine last month to line my aqua brocade dress, and I'm getting less and less afraid of sewing with it.

Since this fabric is pretty busy, I wanted to use a simple pattern. Finding a slightly fitted simple long sleeve blouse wasn't easy! After combing through all my patterns and Burda magazines, I went looking through patterns online. This is Butterick 5817, and I had to look at the line drawing to figure out exactly what it was doing. I liked the long darts and slightly shaped center back seam. I could not even think of trying to put a zipper in this thin fabric, so the small slit at the neckline really appealed.

I used a fabric covered button at the back, and interfaced the fabric before making it into a button. Experience has shown these thin fabrics will show the sheen of the metal without interfacing. I made a thread loop to hook around the button. This pattern has cuffs at the end of the long sleeves, which I did cut out. The sleeves turned out to be the perfect length without the cuffs, and I decided I liked it with just a small 5/8" hem. The neckline was finished with a strip of bias binding. I had to use the print of the fabric here since the blue wasn't wide enough to fit the entire binding in.

I've been seeing lots of silk blouses on the runways lately, and I wanted one too. Goodness knows you can't find silk anything in mid-priced department stores anymore. I hope to make another silk blouse soon, perhaps with buttons down the front and a collar.