WIP updates: little (or long) french jackets

have you been following the little french jacket sew-along?

it’s a blog event hosted by leisa the “sewing encyclopedia” of a challenging sew and inna of the wall inna. i have had the pleasure of working with both of these women before and i can tell you that they are jacket all-stars. inna, for instance, created the amazing lemon yellow confection here:

while leisa tackled the famous s/s2010 piece here:

with this result:

so you can see these women know what they are talking about. susan khalje is hanging out on their sideline, giving some additional advice in advance of the release of her french jacket class on DVD. so i encourage you to check it out if you have been curious about the in-depth technique of french jacket making.

since i hadn’t touched my own jackets since seeing leisa and inna in baltimore last march, and since both of them have finished pieces since then (leisa has actually finished 5 jackets, i believe, since i saw in her in march) i decided it was time to dust off my japanese hand needles and get back to work.

i started with the blue one, by finally doing up all of the interior seams with proper fell stitches and getting rid of the pin-basting. i also took the opportunity to secure the sleeves i had fitted. obviously, my helper was on hand, having studied the technique of sleeve insertion himself.

while i was cleaning up all of those interior seams i also started creating the perimeter of the jacket by pinning up the hem. it’s actually starting to look like something now.

…something like armor, maybe, or alien, but it’s a far cry from this.

then, while watching my tuesday night TV lineup, i went after the hems and godets on my ombre number. i got the second sleeve pinned and cleaned up as well. i don’t want to jinx myself, but i am in striking distance of the finish line here.

after i get those sleeves sewn instead of just pinned, i will be ready to stay-stitch the neckline and lapels and finally attach the collar. also, i may finally have cracked the issue of fringeing the lapel even without a double layer.

more as this story develops.

previous jacket work:

vogue 7975:  seventy hours well spent
return to camp chanel:  day two, day three; day four
forgive me, susan khalje, for i have sinned:  “shortcut method” experiments