Wiksten Oversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine

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Since we stayed home for Christmas this year, the fella and I are off on vacation next week to LA where we'll be staying with friends (and I'll hopefully be learning to make sandals with Jasika Nicole!) I also decided to spend a few days in NYC on my way back to Montreal so I can attend a huge fabric convention (I'm a little nervous because I've heard this one is huge and incredibly overwhelming). What this means is a packing quandary; how do you pack for two weeks in warm, sunny California and cold, snowy New York in one small suitcase? I wanted to make a few easy transition pieces that would work in either climate, and the number one thing on my hit list was this oversized kimono jacket from the Making zine, designed by Jenny Gordy of Wiksten Patterns.

Oversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine // Handmade by Closet Core Patterns

One of my big goals this year is to start making a dent in my stash (now meticulously organized and cataloged in our new stash closet). I've had this beautiful stretch twill tencel for a few months and decided it was the perfect neutral base for an easy coat I could throw on top of a dress (California) or layer with separates (NYC). I originally picked this fabric up locally at Globetex with the hope of making some soft tencel Sasha Trousers, but worried it was perhaps too lightweight for pants. Since this kimono pattern is fully lined, I figured I could stabilize some of the stretch in the fabric with a medium weight, non-stretch lining.  I had a few fabrics in mind, but since this jacket is a bit of a fabric monster, I realized most of my two-yard choices weren't going to cut it; thankfully I lucked out and found a not-quite-but-nearly matching linen at Tonitex, another wholesaler in Montreal. I like how the fabrics complement each other; the tencel has a slight washed sheen, which plays nicely with the more organic texture of the linen.

Oversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine // Handmade by Closet Core Patterns Oversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine // Handmade by Closet Core PatternsOversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine // Handmade by Closet Core PatternsOversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine // Handmade by Closet Core Patterns

I LOVE THIS PATTERN. Did I say that yet? LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. It's perfectly slouchy and oversized and the proportions are spot-on; easy to layer it's comfortable while still feeling pulled together. Guillaume is kind of obsessed with it and was wearing it around the house the other day with puppy dog please-make-it-for me eyes, but I think I'll be too busy plotting my next version for myself. I'm going to try and find a nice hefty cotton with a subtle print or texture; I think it will look totally different in a more structured fabric.

It sewed up super quickly, and I highly recommend picking up this issue of the magazine to get it, although you'll still have to download and print the pattern itself with the included link. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and I had it on my grateful body within a few hours of starting. My only beef is that there wasn't a copyshop version available; now that we have a plotter printer in the office it seems silly to have to assemble letter sheets, but I read on Jenny's instagram that she is releasing this as a print pattern in the spring, so that is another option if you don't mind waiting.

This jacket is my everything. I want to wear it non-stop, stuffing those huge pockets with everything I could possibly need for the day. Who needs a purse when you can carry around the kitchen sink in your pockets?

Oversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine // Handmade by Closet Core PatternsOversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine // Handmade by Closet Core PatternsOversized Kimono Jacket from Making Zine // Handmade by Closet Core Patterns

Since I don't have a dedicated sewing room in my home anymore, I got everything cut and prepped at the studio so I could sew it over the holidays at my dining room table. After investing so much in my sewing set-up at the studio, it's kind of funny to sew at home like I did when I first started, with just the bare minimum.  I do find it keeps me more organized and focused; I have to really think about what I'll need so I don't stall out when I'm home and realized I didn't bring any interfacing.

I also had plans to sew a few Mandy Boat and Ebony tees for my trip but I leave in two days and haven't had a chance to cut them out with all the admin I've been doing since the holidays. We'll see if I manage to get any panic sewing down before we leave.

Any tips for me while I'm in LA? I'll definitely be doing some fabric shopping but since I'm with G I'll have to keep it to a minimum. We've been researching fun places to go and see while they're there but I'd love to hear from some locals! Anything we shouldn't miss?

Outfit details: Oversized Kimono Jacket from Wiksten patterns, mid-rise Ginger jeans in Cone Denim, RTW tee, Blondo ankle booties

Chambray & Shibori Print Tamarack Jacket

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Oh the unblogged personal projects I have to share! During a month or so of relative downtime (ie. not making a million samples for future patterns and working a regular, normal amount of hours per week) I went to town on my stash and always looming "to make" list and sewed so many things.

As I've been working my way through the book A Curated Closet, I've been thinking a lot more intelligently and thoughtfully about the sorts of things I want to add to my wardrobe. Which reminds me: I really need to get around to sharing some of my personal conclusions from that book since I love looking at people's wardrobe architecting. I dsicovered one of the big holes in my closet was cozy layers for our hellish winters, even if I did recently learn that shivering all day isn't normal, and finally shook off the 19 degree brainwashing imposed on me by my frugal parents and turned the thermostat up to a much more workable 21 degrees celsius. Alexis and I realized we'd been suffering needlessly for months. Two degrees makes all the difference

Even with my thermostat deprogramming, I still love being bundled up like a kid on a snow day, so when Jen released the Tamarack Jacket in printed form I snapped it up quickly (which is good because the print version is temporarily sold out).

This was one of those big, time consuming projects that you happily sink into. The construction isn't necessarily complicated, but patience is required with all that handmade bias tape and quilting, especially if you're really going for it with a more intensive quilting pattern.

That said, I loved making this so.much. While I'm not sure the style is completely "me" (Guillaume likes to tease that I look like a bourgeois French suburban soccer mom whenever I wear it... gotta love that *french honesty*) I've been wearing it regularly all winter long. The sleeves are nice and roomy so its kind of the perfect thing to layer over sweaters.

I was also happy to stash bust the hell out of it. The chambray has been hanging around forever from who knows where, part of the endless mountain of chambrays I am constantly amassing. The lining is my favourite, a silky soft shibori print voile from April Rhodes' last collection for Art Gallery Fabrics (you can find it for sale here). April sent this to me back in the summer and I finally found the perfect project for it. Since I had just barely enough, I didn't bother fussing with print placement but I'm not losing any sleep over it.

The quilting motif was something I agonized over. I sewed up a  number of samples before settling on this simple yet geometric pattern. It took a few evenings to methodically work my way through quilting everything, but this is what rewatching the Office and podcasts are for. I had never really quilted anything before, so it was fun learning a new skill (and learning what those long arms that come with walking foots actually do - guide long lines of stitching!)

The entire jacket is finished with chambray bias tape which I stitched entirely by machine because obvious reasons. I especially love how it looks when I roll up the sleeves and a little bit of shibori peeks out.

Quilted Tamarack Jacket with Shibori print lining // Closet Core Patterns

The Tamarack must have given me the quilting bug, because I finally finished my WIP quilt from last year (free motion! madness!) and am planning to make up M7549, the really cute cropped quilted jacket from McCalls. I think that silhouette will be more appropriate for dressier outfits, and I'm kind of obsessed with the quilting pattern they did on the main envelope samples (although when I looked at the instructions they have you quilt huge pieces of fabric and then cut your pieces from that, which is COMPLETELY INSANE AND UNNECESSARY, sigh, Big 4). I'll be using up some of the "flawed" black denim from our recent kits using the shinier "wrong side of the fabric, so that should be fun.

What do you think of the quilted jacket trend? Have you made up the Tamarack yet?

Details: Tamarack Jacket with blue chambray and shibori voile, Penny Raglan tee, Ginger Jeans, Firmoo glasses)

A Wind and Waterproof Kelly Anorak (aka Little Red Riding Hood)

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Since I brought home Harry, I find myself outside a lot more often. I mean, that was kind of the point. I'm a bit of a chairbound workaholic and part of the reason I knew I needed a dog in my life was the non-negotiable walks they need several times a day. Most of the time it's fine, but man alive, there are damp, cold, rainy days where you're both shivering and wet, and he refuses to listen to your terse whispers to "Just poop already dude!" Up until last week I didn't have a proper raincoat, and I felt every minute of it when Harry refused to go in inclement weather.

Time to pull out that red nylon I bought at the Pendleton outlet in Portland last year and get to work on making myself an all-weather Kelly Anorak! And oh, how I am now regretting not making Harry a matching one with my scraps....

Waterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core Patterns Waterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core PatternsWaterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core Patterns Waterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core Patterns

I really put my heart and soul into making this baby and get an immense sense of pride every time I look at it (G actually got a little mad at me when I showed it to him since he has such a hard time finding good quality men's clothing, but failed to take me up on my millionth offer to teach him to sew). One thing I wanted to try was underlining Kelly; a lot of you have asked for a lining option, and until we get to work on that expansion pack I thought it prudent to find a way to add warmth in the meantime. Underlining is kind of the perfect solution, and I'll be sharing a post later this week explaining how I did it.

Waterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core PatternsWaterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core Patterns Waterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core Patterns

You activewear pros may scoff at me for calling this a raincoat since I didn't waterproof any of my seams. In ready to wear, seams for waterproof jackets are finished with a seam sealing tape, but since I was flatfelling my seams together with my flannel underlining, I didn't think that would work. It's possible that rain will permeate my topstitching, and while I've read that you can seal stitch lines with a product like this, I thought I would try it in the rain and see how it performs before trying it. Of course it's been dry as a bone here for the last week so I don't have anything to report on the experiment. My gut feeling is that it will do just fine in short periods of east coast rain, but might get a little damp around the seams if I was hiking for hours.

I used the hardware from our Kelly Anorak kits, and the lovely plaid interlining is from Blackbird Fabrics (the plaid is out of stock but she still has the blue flannel I used in the hood). I also used a flannel backed satin in the sleeves so I could easily wear it with sweaters without getting stuck, for a total of three different fabrics on the inside. Somehow I misaligned one of my pockets but I doubt you even noticed so forget I said anything.

Waterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core Patterns  Waterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core Patterns

I had lots of fun with the topstitching and inside details. I made bias tape from a plaid cotton in my stash and used it to finish the hem and neckline with a Hong Kong seam. Makes me smile every time I see it.

Waterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core PatternsWaterproof Kelly Anorak // Red nylon with flannel underlining // Closet Core Patterns

I'm pretty surprised by how much the style of the jacket changes with my material choices. It feels much more LL Bean-outdoorsy than the classic twill versions we made for our samples; just goes to show how transformative fabric choice can be. And the best part? It's warm. The nylon is super windproof and the flannel lining means this is a coat I can wear well into winter, provided it doesn't go to minus ten in the next few weeks. Ahh, the power of flannel!

I've started seeing some absolutely gorgeous Kelly's out in the wild (some with some fabric I didn't even consider as options!) so I'm excited to share a maker round-up with you shortly. What are you making yor Kelly out of?

Details: Kelly Anorak in red nylon, Firmoo glasses (my secret eyeglasses haven), Nars Dragon Girl matte lip pencil, Blondo waterproof ankle boots

Moto Chic Jacket from SBCC Patterns

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I'm writing this post from the sofa of a near and dear friend (I've been sleeping on it), halfway through a busy and beautiful tour of Canada's west coast. There have been hikes, wine giggles, sushi, a little rain, meetings with sewing friends, and so so so much coffee (I've been spamming instagram with pictures of mountains and oceans if you're curious). There has also been near constant heartburn which I always and only seem to get the minute I go on vacation. I think it's a Type A allergic reaction to leisure.

I had an overly ambitious plan to sew a travel capsule wardrobe before I left, but I only managed to make two of the dozen or so projects I had jotted down in a sewing fever dream. This linen baby was one of them. I was in need of a sleek little coat to feel put together while living out of a suitcase, and for the approximately one and a half weeks of appropriately cool weather I can expect upon my return to Montreal at the end of the month. Thankfully, it's Sewing Indie Month and I had an excuse to finally tackle the "bucket list" Moto Chic Jacket from SBCC patterns. Betsy sent me the pattern and I experimented with adding some rock n' roll zippers at the wrist; the tutorial is live on her blog now.

Linen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core Patterns Linen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core PatternsLinen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core Patterns Linen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core PatternsBagging a lining // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core Patterns

There are a few motorcycle jacket patterns out there but I love the soft ruffle on this one - it nips in the waist and gives you a very va-va-voom shape, especially from the back. That combination of hard and soft will always be alluring. I made her with a lovely herringbone linen I bought in a huge Craigslist haul a few years back. It's the same stuff I used for the zipper tab on my Cascade coat and it's lovely stuff; medium weight with a crisp hand and basically in lust with the iron. Rather than a silk or bemberg lining, I went for fun with a bright cotton wax print voile from Vlisco. All the various zips came from my zipper box.

Linen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core Patterns Linen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core Patterns Linen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core Patterns

The zipper at the sleeve is a fun detail, and I love how it looks against the bright pop of the lining.

Linen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core PatternszWrist zipper // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core PatternsMoto Chic Zipper sleeve tutorial-27

The drafting for this pattern is pretty much impeccable. Betsy is a master draftswoman and it shows - the sleeve is a thing of beauty. Since she drafts for petites, I did have to make a few tweaks to the pattern. I lengthened the body by 1" and the sleeves by 1/2"; I think the overall fit is pretty good considering I forwent a muslin.

Linen motorcycle jacket // Moto Chic Jacket Pattern // Closet Core Patterns

As far as jackets go, I found this project pretty speedy since there is no real tailoring, per se. The sleeves had barely any ease built in (LOVE) so setting those babies in was a snap. The trickiest part was probably installing the zipper and bagging the lining since the hip ruffle stymied my usual method. I had to do quite a bit of hand stitching at all the weird little corners my machine couldn't reach. The instructions lean towards the sparse side, so I would recommend this pattern for more intermediate stitchers; if you've had experience making jackets before, you shouldn't have a problem figuring it out.

I've been wearing it A LOT on this trip and feel super chic even when I'm sleeping on couches and air drying my hair because apparently you west coast granola types (I'm speaking directly to my best friends right now) DON'T HAVE HAIRDRYERS. *east coast shuddering*. I also failed to bring any kind of rain coat on this trip, so hopefully Portland and Seattle won't be too cold when I'm there next week (if only I could have zipped up the new Cypress Cape from Sewaholic for my trip!) Are you working on any transitional outerwear at the moment?

Autumn Anorak

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August is always a bittersweet time for me. In July, you can still fool yourself into thinking that autumn is forever away, but the nights have been getting chilly enough for me to pull my duvet out of storage (our weather has been so schizophrenic this season - its troubling) and my mind can't help but turn to a sewing plan for the cool to come. I have one last very, very, very special project to make of the lightest, floatiest, summeriest silk, but after that, I think it's time to get serious about the season change.

Which brings me to the anorak. I've been pining for one ever since I started seeing those fashionable birds of the street style set throw them over sparkly mini dresses and worn tees alike. I want a slouchy, soft khaki jacket that will transition me gracefully into that which shall not yet be named. In my blog roll today I saw a link to an Australian pattern company and discovered this jacket. It's exactly what I had in mind.

How have I not heard of this company before? It's called Style Arc. Does anyone have experience using their patterns before? I don't think they are available outside of Oz so I'm sure shipping would be a ginormous. Can someone let me know if their patterns are of sufficient quality to justify the cost?

Otherwise, Burda has a few options as well.

This one is okay but it's maybe too "army" for what I had in mind.

This one looks great in the "styled" photo, but doesn't hold up for me in the shot of the jacket alone:

Ultimately it's all contingent on me finding the perfect shade of cotton twill. I had a hard time finding a similar fabric when I made my sleeveless Victoria blazer in June. Maybe I'll have more luck in New York this fall?!

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