I am going to warn you. This is going to be a picture heavy post. It was finally sunny and warm enough to take pictures outside. You may remember way back in August/September/October, I was working on my lovely husband's birthday present, a handmade leather jacket. I finished it in early October, only a week or two after his actual birthday. He wore it one time out to take pictures, and the back shoulder seam busted open. This was a combination of me not factoring in enough wearing ease, him having broader shoulders than me, and bad thread. I was out of leather needles and needed new thread, so it got hung up, and left to gather dust. In my defense, by the time the leather needles arrived (late October/early November), it was too cold for the jacket. When I saw the good weather today, I knew I needed to get off my kiester and fix this jacket. I took off the sleeves and inserted a 5/8ths inch wedge on the back armhole.
Of course, that's the one spot that is out of focus on this picture. It was a bear to do, as I couldn't take out the lining (snaps and stuff). My machine also hates this leather. It did the trick, and he can pick up the little guy without any trouble with the jacket.
Here it is from the front. If I were to remake it, I would probably extend the front shoulder the same amount. When he lifts his arms the shoulders pop up weirdly.
Here you can see the shoulder wedge. I made the jacket out of two separate hides, both remnants. They were dyed the same color, but in certain lights, you can see a slight difference between the two colors. Hopefully as it ages, the patina will even out the color. You can also see that I should have done a forward neck adjustment, oops! I must remember that one if I ever make him anything else. Tony is happy with it, so that is all that matters, right?
Final picture of them. Alex was a super serious model during the shoot. We were on our way to the park, so he was pretty excited. I am surprised I didn't get any smiles out of him.
And now on to what I have been making. We'll start with the pants. They are my second version of Burda Bella pants. I made a major change in the front pocket, raising it 3.25 inches. I also took 5/8" out of the side seam due to fabric constraints. Lastly, I used snaps instead of buttons, as my machine is on the fritz regarding buttonholes. I think it's the foot. Alex loves to play with it, so I think he broke it.
A look from the side. The denim was bought last week at Kashtan in Kyiv. I know, I know, I have perfectly fine denim in my stash (Cone Mills), but I really wanted a lighter color and lighter weight denim. I did use up about a half yard of fabric from my stash, the inside waist is leftover denim from my first pair of Ginger jeans. At least I used it within the week, so it did not end up in my fabric collection. Doesn't fabric collection sound so much nicer than stash? It definitely takes the negative connotation away.
From behind. I really love how these pants fit. They definitely make the most of my curves. I don't know if you can tell, but one of the pockets is cut off grain. I couldn't make it work otherwise.
The top is also new. It's another Deer and Doe Airelle blouse, this time sans both front and back darts. I may put the darts in, as I am feeling that it's a little too blousy. The fabric was bought for the top three weeks ago at a Kyiv craft fair. It's a lightweight voile, likely made out of rayon. I did use up a half yard of white/cotton silk voile for the lining/underlining. Which meant no facings. The cream silk collar is some of the oldest fabric in my collection, left over from my wedding in 2010.
I cut the yoke with the stripes perpendicular. I thought about cutting the yoke in half, and doing it on the bias, but decided the print is already busy enough. I used the remains of this fabric for both the pocket lining on these jeans and on another pair of pants. Looking at this picture, I really do think I should put in the darts. What do you think?
On a side note, I don't know why I was making such goofy faces at the camera. Once I saw the pictures, I wanted to redo them, but at that moment my camera died. Eh oh well. I'm just happy that there was some light for these photos. And on that note, that's all I have. Until next time happy sewing.
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