Men's Western Jacket - THE FINAL FRONTIER

Western jacket, final frontier -- get it?

Good grief, I am still working on this jacket.  Apparently even Kwik Sew patterns are not that kwik but I can definitely see the lite at the end of the tunnel.

Where did I leave off yesterday?

Oh yeah, so before I attached those pocket flaps, I wanted to make sure I could make decent buttonholes on the velveteen.  Luckily they came out nicely.
 

I used my ever-reliable Singer buttonholer.  If you have a straight stitch Singer, you really need one of these.  You can easily find one on eBay or Etsy pretty cheap.   And if you don't own a straight stitch machine by now, WHAT are you waiting for?  The apocalypse? 

I decided to interface my facings with a weft-weight woven interfacing.  It prevents stretch but doesn't add too much stiffness.





Then I attached back to front.



Since the fabric has some stretch, I decided to reinforce my shoulder seam with twill tape.  I stitched it to the seam allowance before top stitching.



Part of what makes this project slow is that nearly every seam has to be stitched four times.  First I sew the seam, then I serge the seam allowance, then I edgestitch with the blue thread, and then I topstitch with the copper thread.  It's a lot.

Next came the collar.  I made my undercollar out of that faux suede I had in my stash.





The sleeves were a PITA but that was expected.  After considerable ripping and restitching (I wanted the topstitched sleeve seam to meet the topstitched back yoke seam at the same point on both sides -- easier said than done), I did manage to get them on reasonably well.



And that's it, friends.  I have to attach cuffs, waistband, make buttonholes, and add jeans buttons.  The neckline facings will have to be stitched down.  But you can definitely get an idea of where this is going.  I like it.



Tune in tomorrow for the big reveal and don't forget: a Singer straight stitch machine (66, 15-91, 201, 99 or 192K -- have I missed any?) for Christmas.  Or Winter Solstice.  Or whenever.

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Men's Western Jacket - PROGRESS!

Some classic styles shouldn't be tampered with.

Readers, I thought a lot about embellishing my velveteen jacket, a work in progress.  I still think about it.  But the more I look at jackets like these, the more I want my jacket to be simple.

Can you blame me?

I did try lining the inside of the pocket flap with the pebbled faux leather I showed you yesterday, but it was too slippery and I wasn't able to stitch the two pieces together properly.

There's an issue with my fabric I haven't mentioned: spandex. 

Why, oh why, wise readers, are so many fabrics woven with spandex today?  I know: it improves fit, makes clothes cling and mold and bend and all those good things.

I hate gratuitous spandex.  I really do.  I hate it in denim and I hate it in cotton velveteen.  It just causes headaches in a garment like this with lots of seams and structure.

Anyway, I'm making good progress despite the scourge of stretch.

I laundered my fabric and cut out my pattern pieces.



Then I started stitching.  Since this jacket won't be lined, I want the inside to look clean.  Even though the fabric doesn't fray I decided to serge my seam allowances before topstitching them to one side.  I take off barely 1/8".





Then I finger press the seam to the side I want to to topstitch (The velveteen doesn't require ironing).  Here's the left front with one line of topstitching (blue thread).



And with the second line (copper thread).



Next I work on my pockets.  Nothing works as well as white school glue to get those sides to hold until you're ready to stitch.  A little goes a long way and really holds.





My biggest concern is that the two pockets be perfectly matched.  I generally make the first and then use that as the template for the second, making sure the edges line up but being careful not to get glue on the right side of the fabric (it will come out in the wash, however).



Next I place them on my jacket front, again, making sure the two sides are symmetrical.



I pin them in place carefully, and stitch them on.



I try not to handle the fabric excessively.  No stretching, no tugging.

Because there's spandex in this, and it's a slightly pillowy fabric, I try to let the feed dogs do the work.  Both my Singers (15-91 and Spartan) handle velveteen beautifully without any need for special presser feet and without leaving indelible marks in the short nap.  I tried experimenting with my Viking zigzagger and the feed dogs had trouble with it.

So here's what I have so far:



I've also done the back (center, sides, and top yoke). 

With a slightly stretchy velveteen like this one (the stretch is in the width, not the length), I'm sometimes not sure where I might need interfacing and what sort to use.  The cuffs, waistband, and collar will definitely need something to stabilize the fabric.  I may use fusible or not.  The waistband in particular must not stretch.

I may also interface the extended facing, which lies under the buttons and button holes and extends upward to the collar, ending at the shoulder.  I will likely add a narrow back neck facing as well, which will make the collar easier to attach.  A lot of this is trial and error.

Friends, that's it.  Much yet to do.

Fans of monkey fur, sequins, and ball fringe will find themselves disappointed no doubt.  I just wasn't feeling it.  Perhaps you'll enjoy these unique creations:

Readers of refined taste, do you embellish your clothes?  Do you own a Bedazzler?

We have no secrets here, you know.

Do you think fringed Western jackets belong in the big city?  (Did you ever see Midnight Cowboy?  It didn't turn out so good for him.)

Happy Tuesday, everybody!

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Men's Western Jacket - FABRIC, THREAD, ETC.

Guys, I'm starting to get excited -- always a good sign.  Yesterday I managed to find a fabric I like, along with jeans buttons and thread, and I think I'm good to go.  I also dug around my stash and came up with some cool scraps I could add for embellishment/total-pimp-out.

First things first.  Here's my fabric.





It's a blue-gray velveteen -- not too stiff, not too soft -- I picked it up at Nahir, 242 West 39th St.  Surly service but an excellent selection of corduroys, velveteens, wool, and denim.  They also carry that shiny quilted coat lining in many colors, not that I'll be using it in this project but whatever.  This was a little higher than I normally pay at $8/yd., but I only needed 1 3/4 yds (of a 60" roll).

I should launder this first, right? 

Friends, I saw beautiful dyed pigskin and lambskin in a place across the street; I thought and thought.  The blue pigskin would have run me $80 for three pieces.  The brown lambskin (soft and drape-y) about $70.  I would have had to line the jacket for starters, and one of my objectives was to sew something that wouldn't overwhelm me.  I also wasn't sure how I'd attach the collar, or if the pigskin wasn't too stiff for an extended facing, etc.   I will experiment with leather someday soon, but not this project. 

Being yesterday was Sunday, many stores were closed, but I was able to find my jeans buttons and matching topstitching thread at Daytona Trimmings, 251 West 39th St.  I'd forgotten that I already have quite an assortment of jeans topstitching thread.







I stitched some samples to see how they looked.



I decided the thick gold thread was too bright; the copper tone just right.  I'm going to do the stitch line closer to the edge in denim blue and the farther line in copper.





My Singer 15-91 is set up with the blue thread, which I'll also use for all the basic seams and first line of topstitching.  My Singer Spartan has the copper thread in it, so I'll move back and forth between machines.  Of course, both are straight-stitchers and topstitch beautifully through multiple layers of anything I can fit under the presser foot.  I generally increase my thread tension a bit, especially if I'm using thicker topstitching thread -- it's more work to pull the thicker bobbin thread through those multiple layers.

When I topstich a seam -- with the seam on my left  (as in the photo above) -- I'll use the inner edge of the narrow side of the straight stitch presser foot as my guide for the line closer to the edge; roughly 1/8".  Then I'll turn my work, and using the outside of the wider edge of my presser foot, I'll stitch the farther line.   Does that make sense?

I'll post more pics tomorrow.

I'm not sure what to do with these faux leather and suede fabric scraps I found.  When I started sewing the summer before last, Nancy2001 over at Pattern Review generously sent them -- and tons of other scraps -- for me to practice on.  Everything Nancy sent was very nice quality.







I could line a pocket flap or collar.  I could do the back (or front) yoke in the darker, textured leather.  I could do the facings in the leather.  (I have a lot of both.)  A few of you had good ideas in your comments yesterday. 

And then there's this:



I know many of you like to see me dressed like a waterfront street hustler circa 1970 -- and I'm not entirely opposed to the idea -- but you know how conflicted I am, style-wise.

It's just like Lady in the Dark.  Am I the executive -- or the enchantress?   I can't make up my mind.

OK, time to get a move on.

Anybody sewing out there?  If so, what?  Not up to nagging but I do wonder.

Have a great day, everybody!


On the odd chance you have 10 minutes to kill...

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Kwik Sew Men's Western Jacket -- MUSLIN

Yesterday I gave myself permission to put my unfinished cranberry corduroy jacket project away and move on.  One day I'll return to it, but right now I want to sew something quick and fun.  What better choice than my recently acquired vintage Kwik Sew Men's Western Jacket pattern?




I'm hoping for something like this, maybe in a more interesting fabric -- even corduroy.



I quickly got started on my muslin, using an old thrift store bed sheet.  It felt so good to sew again!







So far the muslin has only required minimal alterations.  I took two inches off the length as I want the jacket to look trim.  I'm going to narrow the collar to roughly 3", which is the same width as Michael's American Apparel jacket collar.  The larger collar looks dated.

I don't like the facings; I may trim them too.  I think they're only necessary if I'm going to line the jacket, which I don't intend to.  Note how Michael's corduroy jacket doesn't have them.





I was afraid the jacket would turn out boxy but it didn't.  The sleeves, however, are drafted oddly.  For one thing, there's too much height in the sleeve cap, a problem I encounter often.  While I'm not a linebacker, my shoulders aren't especially sloped.



On every other coat or shirt I've sewn, the side seam and the sleeve seam line up, even when the sleeve is made up of two separate pattern pieces.  This allows you to sew up the side of the sleeve along with the side of the torso (which works best for shirts and other unstructured garments).  It also makes finishing with a flat-felled seam much easier.

Note the armpit of Michael's jacket.



And my muslin.



This Kwik Sew sleeve is drafted differently; the seams do not line up.  Nor does the back yoke seam line up at the sleeve seam where the two pieces of sleeve pattern join.  Basically, nothing lines up visually.  I took nearly an inch out of the height of the sleeve cap; I had to or the sleeve wouldn't fit.





I've read a lot about sleeves and ease, particularly over at Kathleen Fasanella's blog, Fashion Incubator.  I am not willing to redraft this sleeve entirely.  It's OK with a few tweaks, but it does frustrate me when sleeves don't fit armscyes in a professionally drafted garment.  We're not talking personal fit here -- there is literally too much sleeve for the hole provided.

Has this ever happened to you?

Anyway, friends, that's what I did yesterday.  I'm still not sure what I'll make the final jacket out of.  I have dark blue denim around the house but I'd like to try something more unusual, even suede.  I got some recommendations for leather suppliers nearby and I may check them out.  We'll see what happens.

What do you think?  Pink vinyl?  Faux fur collar?

Happy Sunday, everybody!

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