(I was toying with “How now, brown trousers” for a title, but as this is more about the jacket, it didn’t really make much sense)
I’ve now completed two pieces for my FW/07 Collection, a pair of chocolate brown trousers, and a white cropped jacket.
The trousers were made using the exact same “Frankenpattern” as my blue jeans, and ended up looking pretty much the same, only made in brushed cotton twill (from fabric.com), and with a more “skinny fit” lower leg than the bootcut called for in the Burda pattern. I’ve kept the topstitching to a low-key brown here, and used some scraps leftover from my 1930s day dress to line the pockets!
This is the only pattern I’ll be repeating in my collection, so watch this space to see them in red corduroy in a little while…
The other completed piece is the cropped jacket from Simplicity 3631, made up in a thick, white coating fabric that came free in my designer bundle from fabric.com. If I had to venture a guess, I’d reckon it was wool, but it’s very soft and flows beautifully, which is part of the reason I omitted a lining.
This patterns was a dream to sew together – all of the pieces came together almost magically and you could tell they really took the time in the instructions to add extra little hints to make it easier for beginners. Stitch in the Ditch hardly ever works for me, but on this one it all came together perfectly, and even the sleeves were easy to set in, with no easing necessary. My only suggestion is that you may want to lengthen the belt if you want to be able to tie it in a knot – as is, you can really only flip the ends around each other. But I’d definitely keep the belt – without it, I was simultaneously channelling the Jedi masters and my former acolyte duties!
The only change I made to this pattern was with the neckline darts – I didn’t really like the look of the “inside-out” darts in the pattern, so I replaced them with normal darts and I’m glad I did!
And as I was on a roll last evening, I also made up two organisers for my boyfriend and I to hang on the wall by our sides of the bed. The little bedroom in the Captain’s Cabin is barely bigger than the double bed, so we haven’t got enough room for bedside tables, and the original 1933 woodwork means we don’t want to make all the screw holes necessary to hang shelves. So these have got enough pockets for our mobiles, eyemasks, etc, and little loops to hang our glasses and watch off.
Next up: Either the frankenpattern blouse (partially also from Simplicity 3631) or BurdaStyle’s Janina trousers…