Before the next paid gig, I wanted to get to the wish list for TeenStillLivingAtHome (aka the teen formerly known as Blondini, who is not blond right now)
He wanted a wool jacket that zipped up the front with pockets pockets pockets.
So I adapted this one, not being really interested in redrafting from scratch.
Joann pattern sales have made me lazy; $2.59 for tissue with consistent sizes on it. Already printed!
The instructions for this are very basic, and show it more as a unstructured casual jacket than a man's topcoat. No pads, no rolling the collar, little facing.
I spent a fair amount of time with Roberto Cabrera's "Classic Tailoring Techniques" book, more often that not reading why I should not have done what I just did.
Le sigh.
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| This is the lining, from the flat folds tables at PacFab. It's a shantung style silk. It goes nicely with the gray and holds the pockets well. I had to mark a seam line from the facing on the lining to attach the front facings to the lining by machine. There's enough hand sewing in this anyway. |
For some reason, there are no other photos of the lining / interior pocket construction. It took long enough, surely. I made the full lining, had him try it on as a muslin, checked it for fit and marked on it for where he wanted the interior pockets to be. The interior pockets are two self-welted pockets, one vertical , one horizontal. Same construction, just turned on it's side.
I used a Baltic wool blend coating from Pacific Fabrics. It's very soft and sturdy, but it's got enough rayon in it to burn and take a shine if you heat it up enough.
So a lot of this work was done by soaking it and letting it dry to set.
I believe I rolled and stitched this collar about a gazumpty billion times
This was okay until I realized it wasn't rolled in the right place vs the collar stand height.
Zipper basting, with pliers to pull/push the needle.
Second collar reblock
All that basting still didn't deal with a puckered insertion.
More seam ripper.
And more seam ripper.
Hemmed. Lots of hand sewing here.
Wool is a very pleasant hand sew. It's soft, it's malleable, it's soft.
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| And it gets put on and it leaves. |
After the hand sewing and steaming, the overalls were a snap.
Well, sort of. The buttons weren't.
The Sullivans would not hammer in straight no matter how I held them or what angle. The nails for the Dritz that came with the strap buckles bent and broke. The Snapsource buttons on the left went in perfectly the first time, and stayed in. I am putting this in here so I can remember which ones to buy next time, as I have fallen down this rabbit hole before. You will not fool me again!
How this works: I alter the pattern on the left and read the pattern on the right for amusement. And a little instruction on seam order in men's jeans.
And I don't know why I bother. The theme of this post should be "Burda will get you most of the way there, but you really should consult a book before you make one of their patterns."
Burda isn't bad, just vague. The pictures of the pattern pieces are on the tissue, not on the instructions, so you need to open the whole tissue to refer to the images of which piece is which (versus their listed descriptions in the instructions).
Facing? Which facing?
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| Okay, this is Burda 6765. But you get the idea. This was a bust for me btw. The two pieced sleeve is great though. Why this top has a two piece sleeve, I have no idea. But it's better than the top. |
They are combined with the layout, so it's a space saving feature?
The finished measurements are also on the tissue. Still annoying. At least Vogue's single size patterns would indicate this measurement, at the actual bust point. Burda: no. And this is a man's pattern, so perhaps 'finished chest' would be appropriate.
Not a deal killer, but annoying.
To be frank: I needed an immediate and cheaper option for a overalls pattern than the men's versions online, but this version needs revision. Less bib, higher waist, deeper pockets (the pockets are sad. The shorts version pockets are a pale parody of actual pockets - they are about an inch deep). But it's a start, and it's already printed in consistant sizes on paper. And editing it to fit SlenderTeen will be very simple.
(how simple? Remove the width in back piece relating to waist dart. Straigten waist band and seam. Boom!)
So things get longer, get shorter. It was pretty straightforward. At least their alteration lines are consistent from piece to piece.
After this, and ignoring the thousand button holes (the Bernina needs a tune up STAT) and the cruddy jean buttons, it's a swift build.
I did add a facing to the interior back. I will run out of that striped sheet eventually. I will need to find more; it's perfect pocketing material.
70s Revival Teen (the teen formerly known as Blondini) chose the washed denim and bronze hardware (silver deemed too flashy), and I went with a Union Bay silver topstitching. I know my 70s denim, and due to the button switch, they are antique silver.
We were in the car, and the teen gets to run the stereo and the driver gets to yea/nay. It's been "Hamilton" or Rufus Wainwright, so I'm good.
He put on Kansas, and I was okay, but
Absolutely
No
'Dust in the Wind'.
Nope.
I had the distinction of seeing them on tour in late 1978. I only remember it because Cheap Trick opened, the import version of"Live at Budokan" had just propelled them into the spotlight out here on the left coast. It was an amazing set; the hall cleared out at the break. Sadly, I was stuck for the rest of the show.
So when we're listening in the car to 'Wayward Son' and it's six thousand different genre bits, I was struck by how much more progressive rock they were than the 'heartland' rock they called themselves. A little Gentle Giant, a little King Crimson, a little Renaissance, the tiniest bit of Weather Report. Each a solo bit about 30 seconds long.
And how fricking long that song is.
Two minutes of melody.
Ten minutes of solos.
Ah, the 70s!
This is what the Ramones saved us from.
I would like to draw an analogy between Burda and this song, but it's painfully strained.
Burda does have that two minutes of lederhosen, and they always have a couple of dirndl patterns, which have their place. Like scrubs; when you need them, you need THEM.
Otherwise, it's always a little short on distinctive style details and the instructions feel like they got lost in translation. And they were better in the 70s (I sewed a lot of Burda in the 70s and early 80s).
But for $2.59, I'll take it.
Eleven more dresses came in to get hemmed/rehabbed. And I have a little more work before Emerald City ComicCon begins March 2nd.
And will I get to SewExpo?
Ah, carry on my wayward....NO. BAD EARWORM! BAD!
