Monday 24 March 2014

Viewers' Choice






MissBossy Patterns was a little indecisive about her choice, but I’m pretty sure that what she wanted was this Guy LaRoche jacket.   

Since I am defiantly sewing myself a new working wardrobe (even though I don’t have a job) this fits nicely into my plans.  I bought the pattern several years ago, because I loved the curved front on the jacket.  It is only a three quarter sleeve, and a rather loose sleeve design, so it’s not a cold weather jacket.  For me that was a plus as Auckland only gets a couple of months of true winter weather, and even then, it’s not honestly cold.  Much as though I love jackets, they don’t get as much wear as they did when I lived in the UK.

I used a rather plain fabric; a navy blue poly cotton with a reasonable amount of body.  I didn’t want the fabric to overpower the curved lines.  So that it wouldn’t be too plain, I added piping in a grey satin which I had left over from a high school ball gown for my daughter.  I had quite a bit left over, so I used the same grey satin for the lining.


The pattern went together quite easily, although getting the corners right on the side panels took a little time.  It’s not put together like any other jacket I’ve made.  The sleeves are kimono, rather than set in, and there is a side panel that goes from the hem, under the arm to the end of the sleeve.   

I probably won’t use this pattern again, but only because it is a distinctive design so there probably isn’t room in my life for two of them.


The pattern calls for a press stud closure, but I felt that it would look a little amateur with sewn on studs, so I placed a single button on the left side, and a crocheted loop on the right side, which is hardly visible. 


The finished garment is not as striking as I anticipated, and I actually prefer the look with that beloved curved collar sort of flopped down.  


That said, it’s a very usable jacket, and a little different from the standard corporate navy blue blazer.

I actually wore it to an interview last week (although I didn’t get the job :(

I also made a blue and grey dress to wear with it, using more of the same navy and a grey light weight wool blend that was in the $1 stash.  There wasn't enough to do much with, but enough to just do the centre panels.  I used one of my standard patterns, which I bought in the late ninties
I'm pretty sure that this is out of print now, but I've seriously got my money's worth out of this pattern. I just did a quick count in my wardrobe and I still have three of this jacket, and five dresses.  I know there are have been more which have since been culled.  The long V neck dress is my go-to princess line dress.  It's a really simple dress, which is carried by the fabric or accessories.  I've made it up in plain fabrics, prints and one previous forray into clour blocking in black and white.  I have tweaked and fitted this dress to the point that I can sew it up in a couple of hours (really, it's that simple).

Unfortunately I recently had a small accident while diving without my wet suit jacket.  I was bashed against some rocks and grazed both my upper arms.  While this was a very minor mis-hap resulting a few surface wounds, my arms did look a bit of a mess.  

Since I wanted to be remembered as the woman who was perfect for the job, rather than the woman who looked as though she'd been attacked by a shark, I wanted sleeves on this dress, so I tweaked my standard sleeve block to fit this dress.

 Although it was a quick and simple make, I can see this dress getting a lot of use.  It's really comfortable, even in hot weather, easy to wear, but actually looks quite classy.  Of course, the vertical colour blocking is also very slimming.  Overall, I felt pretty smart for my interview (even if it didn't do me any good).

3 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your story and details about sewing your outfit. Good for you. You inspire me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Even if you didn't get this job, you did get a great dress and jacket! Good luck on the job hunt and keep on sewing so that when you and the right job meet up, you will be ready.

    ReplyDelete
  3. much nicer method of closure :)

    ReplyDelete