Starlet Suit Jacket: Finished!

After weeks of hard work my Starlet Suit Jacket is finally finished! I am very pleased with the way it came out. Gertie is an excellent instructor, and I would recommend this course to anyone. I love this pattern, I did a size ten with no alterations and it fits me perfectly. I hope Gertie's upcoming book will be just as perfect as this jacket, and I can't wait until it comes out!

I chose to do all the couture techniques offered in this course including, pad stitched lapels and collar, welt pockets, and bound buttonholes. Even though I have done most of this before, with the exception of the pockets, I learned different techniques which were so much easier than the way i was doing things before. The bound buttonhole, and facing for the buttonhole was amazing.

I used a spring green color wool coating, and a pink rose print silk lining, both from Mood Fabrics. The buttons which match perfectly are from M&J trim, also in NYC. I am so in love with this jacket, and really proud to wear it. Thanks Gertie and Craftsy!

See my other posts about the Starlet Suit Jacket here.

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Starlet Suit Jacket: the home stretch

I'm so close to finishing my Starlet Suit Jacket. I took a little break from hemming the lining, to show the progress in pictures.

Set in sleeve method
I still had to ease in my sleeve to make it fit

Using my sleeve roll to steam the facing seams

collar facing



Silk organza to make the buttonholes on the facing

Cutting the holes is so scary!

silk organza gets turned to the wrong side

weft fused to the hem

inside of the coat after it is hemmed

now it really looks like a jacket!

Lining body is in, now to hem it and put in the sleeves

OK, back to work for me. I'm getting really excited and can't wait to wear it!

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Starlet Suit Jacket Update: Tailoring

Happy Friday! I've been hard at work on my Starlet Suit Jacket. I'm already on chapter 8 out of 13. I've taken lots of pictures on my progress, so many of you were curious about the craftsy course. Here is what I have done so far.

I learned a new way to make bound buttonholes, so much easier and comes out much better than the old way I was doing them.

They look like bow tie pasta from the back

Padstitching and twill tape on the lapel, steamed and drying over a hand towel

Padstitching

What a difference the padstitching and steaming makes, the lapel make a nice curve now.

The undercollar with padstitching

ready for steam on the ham

The padstitching works and the collar will curl around the neck

Welt pocket! Another new skill for me. It was a bit confusing at first, but the second one came together easily

Shoulder seams and sides together, looks like a jacket now

I love the nipped-in waist

back stay out of muslin

Inside of the welt pocket

 Yesterday I started working on the sleeves, the dart looks great. I am having a problem with the easing. I have used this method before on my houndstooth coat, but it just wasn't working, it was eased far too little. I have to go back and pin, pin, pin to ease it. Sometimes it's best to walk away when I get frustrated. That's it for now, maybe if I'm lucky I can have it done for St. Patty's Day.

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Preparing for the Starlet Suit Jacket

Starlet Suit Jacket: Source

I've signed up for the new Craftsy course Sew Retro: Starlet Suit Jacket taught by the fabulous Gretchen Hirsch! This jacket has princess seams and a flared waist, how could I resist? There is two tracks to the course; fusible or hand tailoring. I am very excited to go all out with the tailoring techniques. It is super easy to incorporate hand tailoring because Gertie has included separate pattern pieces for the hair canvas, and even for the muslin back-stay.

This will be my third experience with hand tailoring methods. Last year I sewed along with Gertie and the Lady Grey Sew Along, and this winter I sewed the houndstooth coat with many of the hand tailoring techniques. More pad stitching and hair canvas for me!

I had a livingsocial deal at Mood Fabrics, I headed straight there for my fabric. I was drawn to this beautiful seafoam color. It's a wool coating, which is a little on the thicker side, but that will just make the padstiching easier to hide. The lining is a rose print silk, which is perfect for spring.  The buttons, are from M&J, are match the fabric perfectly.

I cut out and sewed the muslin this morning and it is also perfect. I am the exact size 10, don't you love when projects work out like this? Has anyone else signed up for the Starlet Suit Jacket? If you haven't there is a 50% discount on Gertie's blog : Blog for Better Sewing.

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