Vogue 8776 - Welcome to the Party!

Earlier this year, I finished it - it is Vogue 8776!

 

Back view. Please ignore the fact that my hair needs a trim

 

I had wanted to sew it ever since I saw it over at Miss Celie's Pants.  She looks so bad ass in her purple version.  For my take, I chose a black and white houndstooth purchased from Mood.  It's a woven wool blanket-type of fabric.  Although the fabric is beautiful, it would've be a good candidate for block fusing - the technique where you fuse the length of fabric before cutting out the pattern pieces.  It frayed so much that at some of the seams I had to "re-weave" the fabric so that I could sew it without leaving any holes.

Look at how I fray!

Here are the changes I made to the pattern:

• Created a lining by making front and neck facing patterns.  This allowed me to use the "bagging the lining" technique.
• Eliminated the back seam by creating a full back piece.  Now I had one less seam to match :)
• Lowered the collar by about 2" so that the collar sits just below my chin.  I don't know, maybe my head is just too big, but before I made the adjustment, the collar was right at my chin and it was just too tight.  Now, the collar is still high, which is welcome in breezy cool weather, but it doesn't feel like my chin is in a vice.
• I eliminated the buttons in favor of sew-in snaps.  It think button holes would've frayed way too much with this fabric, and I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the herringbone pattern.

During the process of making this, I started to second guess myself.  Would this really come out the way I had envisioned it?  Will I use a cape that doesn't cover my arms completely?  I started to think it would be kinda stupid.  But, I pushed through since all was cut out, interfaced and half sewn.  Boy, was I wrong!  It turns out that this was one of the best things I've ever made.  I absolutely love it and wear it as much as I can.  The icing on the cake is that I get complemented on it almost every time I wear it.  My most memorable complement came from a little 4-year old girl in a coffee shop.  I stood up to put it on, and she ran over and gave me a hug (she only came up to me knees), and yelled out, "I love your jacket."  Plus, I now have a coat like Posh Spice!


Here's a look at the inside with the lining and the back neck facing, a must for using the "bagging the lining" technique.

You can also see the snaps I used for closures.

Finally, a gratuitous houndstooth matching shot of one of the side seams:

I think I nailed that one!

Now, it's on to some holiday sewing!

Have you ever second guessed something you were sewing?  Did you continue or just drop the project?  Did you turn it into something else completely?  Did it end up turning out better or worse than you expected?

¡Hasta pronto!