Friends, the jacket is finished! I'm still a bit bleary-eyed this morning but the jacket is ready to roll.
What I like most about the velveteen is its slightly suede-y look and feel. It has more heft and body than cotton corduroy-- not to cast aspersions on Michael's corduroy jacket of course!
The buttons were easy to attach, though I learned (the hard way) that the tack must be pushed through the fabric fully before you start pounding on the button (at least with multiple layers of thick fabric). Otherwise fabric gets caught between tack and button and it won't hold. You don't hammer directly on the button, of course, but rather on a piece of wood, with another piece of wood beneath the jacket. You don't want to damage the button or the jacket.
The inside of the jacket looks clean; I'm glad I serged the seam allowances though it's purely for show; the fabric doesn't fray. Then again, you never know who might be inspecting the inside of your jacket. Luckily, my toughest critics are no closer than Florida -- I think.
I added a back neck facing, so the neck is fully faced. This made the collar easier to attach.
The contrasting undercollar adds a little visual interest; I like it.
I managed to get the sleeve seams and back yoke seam even on either side, a PITA.
Buttonholes came out nice. I realized as soon as I tried buttoning the pockets that I would need to use a larger buttonhole template for the front of the jacket. I'm glad I checked before I made them! Nobody wants to have to wrestle a button through a buttonhole and it would stretch the velveteen.
Overall, I'm pleased. Of course there are some piddly things but aren't there always?
Kind and patient readers, do you have any questions about this project? I'd be happy to address some of them tomorrow.
By the way, right now there are at least four Kwik Sew Western Jacket patterns for sale on Etsy, in both larger and smaller sizes. Worth a look if you like the pattern.
You can follow the drama of this project visually from the beginning here.
Brian of BrianSews made two really useful vintage buttonholer attachment videos last year you might enjoy. You can find them here.
Have a great day everybody!
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