Pattern: Simplicity 2443 by Cynthia Rowley

Fabric: 2 yards of lightweight denim, leftover scraps of polka-dot stretch poplin for facings

Notes: I know I said I was going to wait on this one, but I loved my dress from the pattern so much that I had to make the jacket right away!  I was a little bit intimidated, because I’ve never made a jacket, but it all went fairly smoothly.

I have a denim jacket, but it’s a traditional levi jacket with the heavy hardware, long sleeves etc.  I wanted something dressy, so I picked out this lightweight denim (think trouser jean weight.)  The color is most like the close-up photos, not nearly as blue as it looks full length.

This is the actual color of the jacket.

I made several pattern alterations before I cut my fabric.  First of all, I didn’t want the jacket to be as boxy as it appears on the pattern, so I tapered in towards the waist, ending at the top of the waistband.  In all I removed 3 inches of width from that area.  I only adjusted the sides, since it was the shape I was concerned with, not the width of the front or back pieces.   I also removed most of the ease from the sleevecaps – about 3/4″ worth in this case.  I did this by drawing a horizontal line across the pattern piece right above the notches and folding a tuck to take out the depth.  That way the cap remains basically the same shape.  I have read a few articles about sleevecap ease, and most agree that you need far less of it.  I find easing sleeves frustrating, so I’m more than happy to remove the excess – and it fits fine.  In fact, I think the fit is better on me, not so puffy (but I do have small shoulders – not narrow, just small – so YMMV on that.)  The sleeve went in with no ease stitches at all – a miracle to me!  You may notice that I left the center decorative bars off – I thought there was enough going on, but if I made it again I might add them to hide the topof the darts!

I thought the directions were truly excellent – there were many new to me techniques, but they were all well illustrated and explained.  I did have some trouble with the placket, but I’ve never made one before – in fact, I had to go look through my closet for examples before I could even understand how they were meant to look!  I installed one placket by the instructions, and one with a one piece placket method I found online.   The one piece is easier, though a bit thick for my fabric.  I would certainly use it for a shirt!

Straight hair today – different!

As you can see, no buttons yet.  I’m not sure yet how I want to handle it, and since I’m not closing it anyway I’m not too worried.  I’ll figure something out.  And that didn’t stop me from wearing it out to my birthday dinner!  We went to Proof, which is located downtown on Main at 21C.  21C is an art gallery hotel, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone visiting Louisville – we stayed there for our wedding, and it’s wonderful!

I guarantee you will see this jacket plenty for Self-Stitched September – it’s going to be great for turning my summer dresses into garments appropriate for early autumn!