My Jean Jacket

I've wanted jean jacket for years, but they never, ever, EVER came in my size. (Don't ask what it is cause I'm not gonna tell.) Then finally I find a pattern company that has patterns for really nice clothes in my size and, lo and behold, they have a pattern for a jean jacket!! PSYCH!!! And one of the great things about making clothes for myself, I get to pick the fabric AND I get to add design elements that I want. So I picked a nice stretch denim in a small stripe pattern. It's charcoal, jade green, and burgundy stripes.

I'm making this jacket for an Apparel Construction class I'm taking.

I was a good girl and I bought 5 yards which was more than I needed. Then I washed fabric because one should always prepare a fabric in the way it will be cleaned when the garment is made. (Jean Jacket, denim, wash in hot.) I knew it would shrink because it's mostly cotton, but I thought it would only shrink in the length. Wrong!! The width shrank, too, and a 60 inch width ended up a 55 inch width. I ended up with not quite enough to get all the pieces cut out. So I thought I'd order more, but when I went to order it they were sold out. Bummer!!

In the meantime I decided I wanted to line the jacket even though it didn't call for a lining. I wanted to have a fabric that was slick enough that the jacket would slide on easily over clothes that weren't so slick, and that could add a little extra warmth. I expect to wear this jacket in the winter. So GG, my instructor,  suggested something she's used before: flannel backed satin. Really?? Never heard of it before. It's a blend of 80% polyester and 20% cotton. I ended having to go to Topeka to get it, though.  I wanted purple, or even lavender, but they didn't have enough on the bolts, so I settled for fuchsia. Fuchsia?????? Yes, fuchsia! I thought it would look great. Besides, it's only a lining. It's not like people are intentionally going to see it.

In the meantime, I asked GG for a suggestions concerning my problem with the main fabric. She didn't have one right away, but thought about it throughout class. Later, when I was at the ironing board, she came over and handed me a piece of fabric to see if it would go with the denim. It did! Cool! But was there any more, that was the question. It ended up that the piece of fabric was a scrap another student had thrown into one of the many scrap drawers we have in the classroom and there wasn't any more. What there was of it was not enough for my needs. Hmmm, back to the drawing board, so to speak.

Since my class only meets on Fridays for about 6 hours, I had a lot of time to consider my options. I thought that the piece GG had found would have been great. It was a sueded micro-fiber fabric and I loved the feel of it. It was a napped fabric that didn't seem to have a direction to the nap. Perfect!! I knew I wouldn't find anything on the internet that would get to me in time for class. So I decided to go over to Hancock Fabrics to see what they had and I dragged my fiance with me for a second opinion. I found this really nice eggplant colored micro-fiber suede and it went really well with the denim fabric.

So I used the suede for the collar, the cuffs, the yoke across the back, the belted waist, and the pocket flaps. A couple of things I wanted that the pattern doesn't have are tabs at the waistband to adjust the length of the waistband, and lower pockets. In the lining I added a pocket inside the left side so I have someplace to put my phone, and whatever.

I don't have progress pics because I'm mostly making the jacket at school. It would be kind of awkward to take pics every time I finished a step in the process. That and everyone in class would keep asking what I was doing.  So I will post a pic of the finished product as soon as I'm done. It's due Friday, 16 Nov so, luckily, you won't have to wait long.