Sometime I can get a little too inspired and end up with so many ideas I have to chip at them one by one. Whenever I sew, I take particular interest in jackets and dress. I don't know what it is that draws me to both, but I'll put together a crazy jacket or a dress with tons of pieces before I will sew a pair of pants or shorts (leggings are my exception because they take less than an hour for me to make start to finish).
Unique pieces can come from complex construction with simple fabrics or simple construction with a stand-out fabric. In this case my sewing project, a winter jacket, lies somewhere in between the two. The fabric is unconventional, but the jacket has elements that make it one-of-a-kind. Last fall/winter tapestry fabric was huge and in everything. Some of that trend is still lingering in different places.
I started my hunt for the fabric first, hoping it would inspire the actual jacket, I went to a local fabric that sold all types of fabric hoping to find what I was looking for, only to come up empty. Even with all of the fabrics and looking in all sections of the store, nothing grabbed my attention. So I figured the only way I can find what I needed was to step outside the box and head to an upholstery store that had a wide variety of tapestry fabric. I found a lot of fabric choices there (and then some) and ended up settling with fabric below.
The more I look at this fabric the more inspired I get. The process of designing a look for this fabric took some time. Although it looks very "old" the key is in the construction elements and how I make this fabric come to life. There were a few requirements I wanted to include with this jacket: 1) an over-sized hood, 2) a fitted waistline, 3) to feel modern, yet Victorian, and 4) some type of lacing, (like you see on a corset), either on the sides or back. Taking this into account, I sketched up a jacket and came up with this:
At some point I will add color to the final sketch, but this is a great starting point. For this style jacket, I will be creating my pattern from my slopers, so this will be completely custom. Slopers for my non-sewers are basically patterns created from my measurements that are used to create everything from pants, coats, dresses, shirts, etc. These are the starting points I use for any home sewing that I do. Sometimes I'll manipulate an existing pattern if it is along the lines of what I'm creating. It's easier using that method sometimes because pattern creation can take awhile to develop. I'm not worried with this jacket because for me it is pretty straightforward. I'll spend most of my time adding buttons more than anything else.
I plan on documenting my progress to show you all my process for creating patterns. Being The Couture Butterfly I think it is important to share with you all my sewing adventures. Some are easier than others. Many take quite a bit of time. I hope you all will enjoy this journey with me as I sew and create another fantastic creation.
Do you all have any projects you would like to accomplish?
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