Fashion Show Friday/Waffle Patterns Pepernoot Coat and Sewn Square One Upline Jacket

It has been quite some time since I've modeled a garment for you, so I thought that I would do a bit of catch up today. There are so many that I haven't modeled, so just a few today, and more later.  

First up, the coat that I just finished for the Sew News Waffle Patterns Pepernoot Coat Sew Along. I absolutely adore this coat. First of all, I love the pattern, but I'm also so very pleased with how the coat turned out.

A view from the back.

The hood. When I initially made the coat, I didn't think I would use the hood. The hood has been great on cold days as well as rainy days.  

And finally, the lining.
If you would like to take a look at the sew along posts, you can find them HERE. 

I am about to wear out this coat!! It's much lighter than the cobalt blue flower coat, so great for a cool, but not cold day. It just seems to slip over just about every garment I have.   

 A view of the back.

And my fun lining!
Be sure to pop over to the Waffle Pattern website and check out Yuki's other designs. I could not be more pleased with this coat, so I feel quite safe to recommend ALL of her patterns :) 

A parting shot of the coat with the bag I made last December for a Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post. 

The Sewn Square One Upline Jacket that I did for the Sew News Sew Along. You can find the sew along posts HERE. When it comes to the 3 coats that I'm sharing with you today, I feel like a kid in a candy store when I look in my closet. I LOVE them all! I'm off to the airport in just a few minutes. We have a very bright and sunny day, but it's a bit cool, so this jacket will be perfect.

I love that the collar is quite versatile. I can leave it unzipped, zip it to the top, or zip it to the top and then roll it down. Even when it's zipped up, a scarf fits nicely inside the collar. A little difficult to see in the picture, but the style lines of the coat are also so very pretty.

The back of the jacket.

And finally, a parting shot of the lining. This was a vintage piece that's been in my collection for quite some time. So glad I had it :) 
You can check out all of the Sewn Square One patterns HERE. By the way, this jacket comes in 3 lengths. The jacket I'm wearing is the longest length.

So that's it for my little Friday Fashion show. I feel so fortunate to have these wonderful garments. Loved making them and loved the patterns :)

Happy Friday to you all!

Rhonda

Finishing The Upline Jacket

The final post for the Square One Upline Jacket sew along is up and you can find it HERE. 
I am so pleased with the finished jacket. It's sleek and lovely from the front, and soft and feminine from the back. Just an all around lovely jacket. 

I used a Riri zipper that I purchased from Pacific Trimming. It's my first Riri zipper and I think I'm hooked. What a lovely zipper. 
Of course, the zipper plays center stage in this jacket, so having it match up correctly is vitally important. Just follow the instructions and you'll have a beautifully inserted and matching zipper. 

Thanks so much for following along. I hope you've enjoyed the sew along. I feel like I'm the real winner as I ended up with 2 fabulous new jackets!
If you have not purchased a pattern, but feel you would like to give the jacket a go, you can find the pattern HERE. 
Good Luck with your jackets!
Rhonda

The Upline Jacket Week Three and I Need Your Voice

A very happy start to a new week!
I'm just a bit behind, so I decided to flip my posts. Rather than announce the new Upline Jacket post tomorrow, I'm announcing it today. I will post the new skirt drafting instructions tomorrow.
You can find the new Upline Jacket post HERE.
I am super excited about how my new Upline Jacket is turning out. What a lovely piece. Last Saturday I gave you a little sneak peek at the side seams. Absolutely beautiful! I especially love how the pocket seems to just melt into the princessline seam.

Just to punch it up a bit, I added bound buttonholes to my back belt.

It's just one of those small touches that makes a garment special.

 The back of the jacket. So graceful. The curved lines give the appearance of a thin waist!

 As you can see, there's a lot of topstitching on this jacket. 

 A little peek inside to see the lining. Pretty :)

You may have noticed that this sew along and the last sew along for the Grainline Studio Posrtside Travel Collection did not have the accompanying videos. Did you miss them? Do you think the videos add to the sew along? If so, I need you to let Sew News know. Just go to THIS WEEK'S POST, leave a message and let them know that you want the videos. 

Would you like to see a video on making bound buttonholes? Leave a message here on this post and let me know.

Wishing you a lovely week!
Rhonda

The Upline Sew Along Week 2/All About The Pockets

Week 2 of the Sewn Square One Sew Along is up on the Sew News blog and you can find it HERE.

This week, I cover a few aspects about the pattern, but the post is primarily about the pockets.

Take a look at the jacket from the pattern cover. Due to the nature of the design, the pocket is quite shallow. You might have also noticed that the jacket in the pattern photo looks shorter than mine. It is.

The pattern instructs you to hem the jacket. We will go over this in more detail once we are finishing up the jacket, but I did not put a traditional hem in my jacket. With the jacket turned inside out, I sewed a seam along the bottom of the jacket and then turned it right side out. So there is only a seam allowance at the hem of my jacket.

As I said, this week's post is primarily about sewing in the pockets. It's really quite a lovely design, with the curved princess line seam. 
If you are new to sewing, and even if you aren't, you may find pockets a little daunting. Just take the process step by step and you'll have a lovely pocket.

The pocket patterns are quite shallow for this jacket, even the longer versions. In the instructions, I show you how I made a longer pocket. Since I am making the longer version of the coat, there's plenty of room for a nice roomy pocket. 

My finished pocket.

I'm getting very excited about my coat. It's coming together beautifully. It will have a very different look from the one that I made for the magazine article. Rather than rugged and everyday, it will be soft and feminine. Fun!
If you haven't purchased a pattern, but would like to get in on the fun, you can find the pattern HERE on the Sew News website.
Be sure to check out the Sewn Square One website for other patterns and info. 

The Upline Jacket Sew Along Begins

The new sew along for the Sewn Square One Upline Jacket has begun and the first post is up on the Sew News blog. You can find it HERE.

I am super excited about this sew along. It offers a number of techniques that may seem a little challenging, but I think you'll find are really quite easy to execute. The jacket has princess line seams that are curved, so pretty. The pockets are inseam pockets, but I was amazed by how easily they came together. The second post in the series will be all about sewing the basic shape of the jacket and doing the pockets.

Probably the most daunting aspect of the jacket is the zipper, but it's really just a matter of taking your time. We will, step by step work through the process of inserting the zipper in the third post.

In this week's post, I talked a lot about fabric choices. I chose to make the jacket out of a beautiful piece of wool. I think it will look lovely when finished, but it will also give you a better chance to see the lines of the jacket as we sew along.

The more I've thought about the jacket, the more ideas I've had. A faux fur collar would be spectacular. I would just do the faux fur on the inside collar. It would feel nice and warm against the neck when zipped up, and look so pretty when the collar is open.

Another idea I had was to do the jacket in a special occasion fabric. 

Maybe do the mid-length or the longer version. Actually, the shorter version would be fun too. Especially with the addition of a faux fur collar, the jacket would become the jacket you grab for any evening occasion. 

Hmmm, I may have just talked myself into another project!

I'm looking forward to sewing along with you!

Rhonda 

Preparing For The Upline Jacket Sew Along

The sew along for the Sew News Sewn Square One Upline Jacket will begin on October 26, just a little less than 2 weeks away. The initial post is always about fabric selection and pattern preparation, but there are a few aspects that I wanted to go over just to help you prepare in case you will be joining the sew along. And, if you aren't it's good information.
I am going to be making the longer version of the coat for the sew along, but rather than the buttons that are shown on the pattern, I am going to insert a center front zipper just as I did for the jacket that's in the magazine. A couple of things to consider regarding the zipper; 
1. In order to extend from the top of the collar to about mid-thigh, it will be a rather long zipper and possibly longer than you can find at your local fabric store. 
2. For sitting purposes, the zipper should be a 2-way zipper. In  other words, you need to be able to unzip it from the bottom as well as the top.
You may need to order your zipper. Janet Pray of Islander Patterns recommends Pacific Trimming. She especially likes Riri Zippers. The zippers can be customized to fit the length of your garment. Just click on the links to find a zipper for your project.

In the next couple of pictures, you can see the inside of my jacket. It's fully lined.

The pattern instructs you to underline the fashion fabric, so the seams will be showing on the inside of the jacket. I like for my garments to look just as finished on the inside as they are on the outside, so I did a full lining. I have a couple of tricks for linings that we will go over, so be sure to plan on lining your jacket. 
The lining that I used for my jacket is actually a warm lining.  

The fabric that I will be using for my sew along jacket is a lovely piece of wool. I will be underlining the fabric, but not as instructed in the pattern. A little note on the fabric. The fabric was actually a gift from Becki of http://beccabeckstuff.blogspot.com/. She emailed me and said that she had a little something that she wanted to give me. To my delight, the beautiful wool pictured below was in the box when it arrived. She said that as much as she loved it, it was just too heavy for Houston, TX. Wow, was I ever thrilled! The lining fabric I had. In fact, I had intended to use the fabric with the Spearmint coat from Lolita Patterns, but it was such a perfect match, so my plans changed.  

You may remember that I underlined the skirt I did for the Decades of Style Arches Skirt. Just click on the Sew News Sew Along tab at the top of the page and you'll find all the links to the sew along. 

If you would like to underline your coat, be sure to purchase cotton batiste, and the finest quality that you can find. Please do not use quilting cotton or muslin. Silk organza also makes a lovely underlining. Adding the underlining will give the garment body, make it warmer and it will also wear much better with an underlining. 

I have not finished the Spearmint coat. As I said above, plans changed on the lining. Fortunately, I had a wonderful piece of silk that matches the fabric.

It took a little searching, but I did find buttons. The only problem was that the buttons weren't exactly right for a coat. So, what to do? The thought occurred to me that  I might be able to add a pearl to the center. I found the pearls that you see laying beside the buttons, and..... 

 success!!! In about a week, I should have the coat finished.

If any of you have suggestions on links where zippers can be found, please leave a message and I will be glad to let everyone know.

The Winner of The Sewn Square One Upline Jacket Pattern

Happy Saturday!! It's a lovely day here in Chicago. 

Last Saturday I announced the give away for the Sewn Square One Upline Jacket. A fun pattern with lots of possibilities. 

I made the short version which is featured in this month's issue of Sew News. I'll talk about my plans for the sew along in an upcoming post.

So no more waiting...

The winner of the Upline Jacket  Pattern is, 

Kathy Schrank!!!!!

Congratulations Kathy! Be sure to email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com ASAP with your mailing info so we can get the pattern out to you.

Have a wonderful weekend. Be sure to squeeze in something fun!

Rhonda

Win An Upline Jacket Pattern

Great news!!! I just heard from Elizabeth of Sewn Square One and she has generously agreed to give away an Upline Jacket pattern and help kick off the upcoming Sew News sew along that will begin on October 26th. Pattern cover below.

 Pattern details.

My version of the jacket. 

So here's the deal;

1. Leave a message on this post to let me know that you would like to be included in the drawing.

2. You must be a follower of the blog. Let me know how you follow, email, Bloglovin, Feedly, etc.

The give away is open to all. 

I will draw the winning name next Saturday, October 10, 2015. That will give you 2 weeks to receive the pattern and get ready for the sew along.

Thanks so much Elizabeth and a special thank you to all of you who follow the blog!

Happy Weekend!!!

Rhonda

The Sewn Square One Upline Jacket

The October/November issue of Sew News is out and I have a magazine to give away!!! 

This issue is all about getting in gear for fall. On the cover you see a fabulous jacket that was designed by Ana Jankovic. In her article, she takes you step by step through the process of creating a double lapel. The back is just as nice as the front. 

There's nothing like a little drop in temperature to make us start thinking about wearing wool and possibly a plaid pattern. There's a wonderful article on taking a simple straight skirt pattern and turning it into a kilt style skirt, with buckles and all!

There's no time like fall to think about tuning up our machines. You'll also find a very helpful article on serger maintenance. 

There are a number of other helpful and interesting articles, but I don't want to spoil the surprise, so you'll just have to get the magazine and see for yourself. 

The next Sew News hosted sew along that I will be doing is this fun jacket from Sewn Square One. It's an urban outer piece that's great with jeans, slacks and skirts. The pattern comes with 3 length options as well as a center front button or zipper option. For my test run, I chose to make the shortest version with a center front zipper. The collar can be worn open, as you see below.

Or completely zipped closed.

The pattern features a curved princess line seam with pockets. The pockets are a breeze to make.

I made a couple of very minor changes to the pattern. If you look closely at my jacket, you'll see that the zipper runs all the way to the hem. 

Look at the zipper on the pattern cover and you'll see that it's about 2" short of the hem. It's fine, I just liked the clean finish of the zipper stopping at the hem. I'll go over the other changes I made once the sew along begins.

As you can see from the pattern covers, there are 3 possible options, short, hip and mid thigh lengths. For the sew along, I will be making the mid thigh length. But rather than the buttoned front, I will be inserting a center front zipper.

If you would like to win a copy of the magazine, just leave a message on this post. I'll draw the winning name on Monday, October 5, 2015.

Good Luck!