Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Burda 08-2010-113 Stand Collar Jacket

Burda 08-2010-113 Thumbnail

I normally travel while it is warm at my destination, but this year my travel companion's work schedule pushed our trip to Turkey back to early October. I knew we would have cool nights, at the very least. I have been feeling the lack of an early Fall jacket for mid-50s to low-60s (too cold for a denim jacket, but not cold enough for a coat) for a while, so the trip provided the impetus for me to make a jacket as the centerpiece of my wardrobe.

I didn't like much in Burda's August 2010 issue, but I just *loved* the details on the Burda 08-2010-113 jacket (pattern available for purchase at BurdaStyle at the link--I suppose this is the good thing about the website "transition"): the cool variation on a standing collar, interesting slight V neckline that doesn't compromise warmth, princess seams (accomplished with a side panel--there is no side seam), cropped length, unusual diagonal dart, rounded front hemline. So many great details. I don't really get the extended front shoulder for a faux yoke-ish look, but it doesn't seem to affect fit or wear so whatevs. And it's a petite! Although, as they have informed us "petite" only means shorter; it is not altered to accommodate, for instance, a petite's narrower shoulders and for this particular pattern I think they forgot to shorten the sleeves.

Riding a Lion, Gulhane Park I planned a purple and green wardrobe so that everything would go with the fuschia lambswool for this jacket, purchased from fabric.com when they were selling the Vera Wang Lavendar Label fabrics for $1.95/yd at the beginning of the year. The lining is the olive silk/rayon slipper satin from the same collection. I pre-treated by laying flat in the bathtub and sort of sliding it around without crumpling, hanging dry, and then washing by machine. It didn't come out with the surface intact, but it is fine for lining. I love the way the two colors look together. The buttons are from a Fabric Mart 4 pound bag I split with Cidell. I thought they were super ugly and didn't plan to take any, but she urged me to. I didn't have anything else that would work for the jacket so I used these as "temporary" buttons, but they have totally grown on me. I think they suit the tweedy vibe of the fabric and style very well.

I altered the pattern to include a swayback adjustment, shorten the sleeves (I like jackets to have knuckle length sleeves, but these were ridiculous), and a small bust adjustment by both narrowing the dart and flattening the bust curve of the side piece (as demonstrated here).

I pretreated the wool fabric by washing and drying in the washing machine and dryer. Yes, I am that brutal. After how easily ruined the VW slipper satin was, and how ridiculously much the silk chiffon bled (another project in the travel wardrobe possiblities), I wanted to make sure the fabric was worth sewing. Fortunately, it did beautifully and did not shrink very much, if at all.

The wool remained very soft after coming out of the washing machine, so I fused all the pieces with a lightweight knit interfacing to give it some body and hopefully cut down on wrinkling. Boy, is fusing boring.

The jacket is relatively easy to sew.

Seam Allowance Layering The very long diagonal bust darts require a little strategery, especially where they intersect with the princess seams. I had to clip the seam allowances to layer everything properly. In the end, my darts are not quite the same length. Oops.

The VW wool eased nicely, which was a huge bonus. For the princess seams, I ran a line of basting stitch just outside the stitching line; pulling up on those threads made it very easy to ease the pieces together without puckers.

I was very trepidatious about the sleeves after my Tuxedo Jacket of Doom experience. The body and especially the notched collar of the Tuxedo Jacket of Doom are beautiful but the sleeves are so bad that I will never wear it. There are puckers in the sleevecap (my fault, I suppose) and the sleeve folds and spirals in the most horrible way (not my fault, I don't think). The jacket is unwearable after all the work I put in. I haven't had a problem with Burda sleeves on non-outerwear (innerwear?), but that jacket was just so beyond that it scarred me!

First issue was the shoulders were way, way too wide. I do have narrow shoulders compared to the sloper used by the pattern companies, but I don't usually have too much of an issue in Burda. I trimmed about half inch off the shoulder edge of the jacket before setting in the sleeves. Because it is an outerwear jacket, which is not meant to fit like clothes but over them, I decided to leave the shoulder a tiny bit extended versus where I would place a blouse. In the end, I wish I had brought the shoulder in a full inch to my natural shoulder line, but it's not a big deal.

Sleevehead I planned to use shoulder pads but with the slightly extended shoulder and soft fabric (even after fusing) I decided it could also use a sleeve head. Using this information from Claire Shaeffer's Couture Sewing (thank you Google Books!) I cut a piece of silk organza on the bias 8 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide, folded in half, pinned over the sleeve at the armscye seam with the fold extending slightly over the seamline and hand-sewed in place (could have used machine but after how much easing the sleevecap required I didn't want to jinx my smooth insertion).

Sleevehead v. NoneWhen the armscye seam is pressed toward the sleeve the sleeve head folds over on itself because of the fold extending beyond the seamline so it is four layers. I really don't know that it made a huge difference--in the photo at left, the side with the pin has a sleeve head and the other side doesn't. But at least I tried a new technique!

The back of the sleevecap needed a large amount of easing, but here I was working with wool so it went in a little easier than the TJOD. I ran a line of basting stitching near the seamline (within the seam allowance), pinned, and then pulled the basting stitch to ease. Then I hand-basted the back sleevecap in place. Then I sewed with the sleeve toward the feed dogs so they would take up some of the ease, counting on my hand-basting to keep it flat. It worked! I was inordinately pleased.

Back
I don't really understand the point of the tiny back vent, as this is a cropped jacket, and it isn't really a proper vent anyway, just an unsewn bit of the center back seam. So I sewed the CB seam completely and dispensed with the vent.

The pattern is drafted with a patch pocket with flap at the waist and a welt pocket at the breast. I didn't want a breast pocket and I wasn't keen on the flapped pockets--seemed too fussy in my fabric. I did want pockets, however--you have to have a place to keep your gloves!

Front Pocket DetailI didn't want a flat pocket because then the gloves would create an unattractive pooch, so I used the pleated pocket from Simplicity 2728. I don't think there's actually room to put a glove in each pocket without distorting the look, but I really like the pleated pocket, and spent some time making sure the pleat seamline of the pocket matched up with the princess seamline of the jacket.

Lining Pocket Since this was a travel jacket, I contemplated whether I wanted a zipper breast pocket in the lining as a place to securely hold a credit card, but decided that the fabric was too thin and there would clearly be a credit card sitting over my boob. Obvious security precautions shout "I am a tourist with valuables! Please rob me!" So I just put in a button internal pocket large enough to hold business cards in my normal life and a credit card in travel life.

I have given up on professional-type jackets as each one I've sewn has been a disaster. However, I have had plenty of success with outerwear so I thought of this as outerwear in the construction.

Jacket Open I sewed this jacket in a little over a week, breaking up the construction into small tasks and setting goals for each evening. It was great to feel so productive, but that level of organization is not sustainable in my life, LOL. I have more outerwear pieces on the horizon for this winter. After three winters of heavy wear my green coat is completely dead at this point--threadbare and irretrievably filthy, so that needs to be replaced. I hope I can be as diligent for future projects as for this one!

I was beyond pleased with this jacket when I finished it, and it performed very well on my trip to Turkey. There is some slight pilling of the fabric on the inner sleeve and side where the sleeve rubs against the jacket, but it is noticeable only up close. Considering I wore this nonstop for 10 days, which simulates nearly an entire season of wear (10 days for 12 hours/day is 120 hours; normally I wear a coat maybe 2 hours/day, so that is the equivalent of 60 days of wear) I can say that the VW lambswool is of good quality!

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

40 comments:

Trudy said...

Wow! This jacket is so stylish. I love all of the special touches, especially the pocket and collar.

Maryissewfast said...

That really is a great style on you Trena. I love your mix of colors!

Anonymous said...

Oh! I really love this!! I bought four yards of this fabric and was not at all in love with the color in person. Your fantastic jacket is making me reconsider giving it away.

Nancy K said...

It's a cute jacket. I found out about 'petite' patterns when sewing a Burda petite jacket for my dd. The proportions are good for you.

Marie-Christine said...

No wonder you were so pleased with this jacket, it looks fabulous! I really like your changes too, the pocket pleat with dart line up is brilliant. I heartily agree with brutal pre-washing, especially before a trip. You never know where and how they'll end up, and a carefully planned trip where a crucial piece of your wardrobe fails early on is the pits. Ask me how I know :-(.

Anyway, I've been much more cheerful about sleeves since I read http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sleeve_cap_ease_is_bogus/ Now I brutally fold away extra cap ease/height and have no trouble at all. Beware though that a shoulder-width adjustment, the easy kind where you just lop off the extra, does lengthen the armhole seam a tiny bit. So do that first, then fold away some of the cap, and you'll be fine.

Little Hunting Creek said...

Beautiful jacket - this looks great on you. I like the buttons :)

Amanda S. said...

Great job! Lovely color on you and I love the little inside pocket. I'm going to file that idea away for later...

Irene said...

Lovely jacket! Love the green lining! For the pilling - have you tried a clothes shaver? Works well. I have an obsession for pulling off the offending little bits, which sometimes puts the fabric in jeopardy. Shaving the area with a special clothing shaver really cleans things up and doesn't ruin the fabric.

KID, MD said...

Utterly fabulous!! I love everything. The collar/neckline is lovely, the dart/princess combo is interesting and those pockets are absolutely perfect. The fabric and lining are both amazing. Awesome!!!!

Audrey said...

I noticed this jacket in your previous post on your trip, and hoped you would post more about it. It is wonderful! It is cute, fits great and the color is super flattering on you.

Uta said...

I love the jacket! The colors are fantastic together, as well as on you. I have a felted wool jacket that needs to be replaced (almost the same cut, gold buttons) so I'll try to keep this pattern in mind.

Liesl said...

Its fabulous! I really like the colour combination and the beautiful lines. That pocket you added looks perfect.

Vicki said...

Beautifully done and fits perfectly.

cidell said...

I am duly impressed. Seriously. This looks really really good. The entire time I'm reading I was thinking about you and not making work jackets. But, you look skinny and cute and super put together.

Meg said...

Ditto what everyone else said. I love this on you. The pattern is a keeper and you can do so much with it. Well done!!

Meg said...

I forgot to mention how much I love the buttons. Scrumptious!

Clio said...

Sharp! Really flattering cut and color on you. I could see this going with everything from jeans and a tee to a sleek dress.

Carol said...

Oh, this is lovely. I adore the green lining! Interesting that you say you like to travel when it is warm at your destination because I am the opposite. If it's too hot I don't want to to anything. I guess because I live in a subtropic climate, it doesn't feel like a holiday when I go somewhere warm!

Anonymous said...

Oh, this is the one I made! Except I had a devil of a time with the sleeves because I didn't notice the odd displacement of the shoulder seam (or rather, I did, but I didn't understand that it was intentional, oops). Other than that, it went together fairly well, although I used a very heavy wool that I think is a bit too stiff for the style. It looks all right as long as I stand still, but folds up oddly when I move.

Interesting how the same pattern can look so different because of fabrics, fit, and body-type! :)

Shannon said...

I love that jacket on you - it is the perfect style for your figure!!

Sew-4-Fun said...

Love it! I hadn't noticed this particular Burda pattern so I must look again. By the way, I noticed you are wearing jeans too! I think this must be the first time I've seen you in pants. :)

meli88a said...

Very cute. I bet it's nice and snuggly. Nice change on the pockets too, no gloves are going to make those pooch out!

AllisonC said...

Great jacket, I love all the details - the front darts and pockets look fantastic. Hopefully this has eliminated all fear of jackets now!

Ingrid said...

This looks fabulous on you, I love the colours you used! I might have to go and check this one out for next winter.
Friends of ours came back recently from Turkey, they had a great time and said the food was fantastic and the people very friendly.

Angela said...

That pattern was one of my favorites in that issue, too. You did a wonderful job and that color suits you well!

Gail said...

I love this jacket and the lining looks great too.

Kitty Couture said...

Love your jacket, Trena! The colour is great for you.
Glad you had such a good time in Turkey, and that you were able to go boot-free.

Anonymous said...

That's a sleek outfit in the pictures. The buttons are great for the jacket. And the jacket fully deserves to be the centre-piece. Did I forget to say it looks fabulous on you? Well, there.

Elizabeth said...

Pretty color on you, and I love the design of the jacket. It came out real nice. I really enjoyed your photos on fiickr of your trip to Greece and Turkey. I would love to take a trip there someday.

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised this is an outerwear jacket. With the more open collar, it looks like it could be a separates jacket, too.

This doesn't look "slapdash" at all - it fits so well. Great color choice for the lining. Those colors look so nice together.

BTW, I absolutely HATE fusing as well.

SEWN said...

Wow! This jacket is a winner! It's beautiful. I love that you changed up the pockets. They really suit the style!

Kyle said...

Gorgeous, stylish, professional. Excellent excellent excellent jacket!

kbenco said...

This is a terrific and beautifully made jacket that looks wonderful on you. I love your pockets -inside and out, and the colours are gorgeous.

gwensews said...

Very nice jacket. It goes well with jeans and will be beautiful also with dress pants or a skirt. Love your pocket!

Digs said...

Very lovely, looks terrific on you. I too love this pattern.

McVal said...

Wonderful jacket! Wow! There's a lot of work that went into that!

Sigrid said...

Absolutely lovely. good idea with the inside pocket.
I'm late, but happy to see you had a wonderful trip to Turkey without the boot.

senaSews said...

Wow, beautiful jacket. It loks so nice and well done. I love the contrasting linning!

CarmencitaB said...

What a wonderful version of it, I just finished one and though I am very happy with it, it might be a little stuffier than yours which is everyday wearable. Good job!

Tany said...

Beautiful! I love the colors (the contrasting ling was an excellent choice!)!