I finally finished the Ottobre jacket from the Winter 2015 issue. It's a terrific pattern and quite easy to make. I finished it a few weeks ago but just haven't had the inclination to blog about it. Some details:
it's made from the merino/nylon mix from The Fabric Store, which was only $8 per metre. It is very stretchy which posed some problems with the zip but so comfy and warm. The merino is the terry like loops on the wrong side and the nylon is the outer layer. I have it in some apple green too and they had some in a raspberry colour as well. I made leggings out of it for my niece and me a while ago and she still calls them the best leggings she's ever had!
The shoulders fit me perfectly! Really just like it was made for me (ha ha) but the hips are very narrow for me. It's a lovely two piece raglan sleeve with an add on cuff. This is left with raw edge by using the coverstitch, as is the collar. You'll notice below the cuffs and collar are lined with a red, very soft knit for contrast and softness... it's incredibly soft and a scrap from a friend's leftovers.
When I put the zip in, the final step, I tried twice but due to the stretchiness, just puckered terribly. I left it for weeks - finally I bit the bullet and just spent 15 minutes basting it in and then sewed it in with very little stress. Lesson - haste makes waste so baste - hey I'm a poet and don't know it! If you notice I also put in some red twill tape as I've seen on RTW but it isn't as perfect as it could be as I didn't baste it on just held it on while sewing the zip. because I'd done the coverstitching before the zip, I had to put the zip a different way to the usual way of sewing it on then folding back and topstitching. Wasn't reading the instructions by then, just winging it.You can see the coverstitching isn't the best but this was my first time using the machine so I'm pretty pleased with it overall.
Just when I'd finished I walked past a display cabinet in my kitchen and saw this little dragon fly thing which I'd found somewhere so immediately put it on my zip pull. I like it - pays to hoard (sometimes).
This is the inside of the collar and the twill tape on the zip. I'm glad I persisted on the twill tape as I think it finished it nicely and looks less homemade.
Nice to see my model has the same sway back and butt as me! Although I think her butt is smaller!
It's quite a long jacket but that's what you want when it's cold. I read a few weeks ago on another blog I can't remember, that Ottobre is a much smaller hip fit than Burda and I think I have to agree, but so far I haven't made a bottom piece so I'll investigate that further.
The collar with lovely zip insertion and coverstitching with strategically placed label, not to show off but to cover a very rough 2 cm bit of the coverstitching that went awol for some reason - inexperience probably. The collar also fits me perfectly and as you can see it really stands up and when zipped up no wind is going to get through that baby!
Wonky coverstitching aside, I'm pretty pleased with my jacket... how fortuitous to finally finish it just in time for 26 degrees! It's cool in my house and some evenings so I've used it enough to know the sleeve length and width, back and shoulders are perfect for me and that I need to widen the area below my waist. What do you think?
Just before I finish, a lot of people are making Maddie's Sierra free wrap around bra pattern and I saw this in a local magazine. So for those that this bra fits (not me unfortunately) this is great inspiration for making some fancy, expensive swimwear too.
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