Congratulations, you are so close to wearing your new Sienna Maker Jacket! We just have a few final finishing touches to add before we're all done.
HEMMING
Let's hem this jacket! If you've been following along with the entire sewalong, you know that we have made a few adjustments to our cropped green sample so we can show you a method of hemming the jacket that is different than the traditional method outlined in our instruction booklet. We'll show you how to hem our blue View B sample with this traditional way first.
The facings will end at the hem allowance, 1.5" from the bottom raw edge of the jacket.
Press the raw edge of the hem up by 1/2" all around the jacket.
Press the hem up again by 1" and pin in place. The folded hem will cover the ends of the facing. Topstitch the hem in place.
Now we'll show you how we hemmed the green View C sample. First, a little recap. We extended the length of the lapel facings so they matched the length of the jacket. After stitching the facing to the jacket, the facing was folded towards the jacket front with right sides together. A stitch line was marked at the final hem length, 1.5" from the bottom of the jacket.
The corners were trimmed and the raw edge of the hem was pressed up by 1/2". Then everything was turned right side out.
We followed the same steps for finishing the back button placket vent.
When it comes to topstitch the hem in place, the folded hem has already been secured inside the facings and back vents when these were stitched down. Measure the rest of the hem to ensure it is even and pin in place. Ensure the finished edge of the hem on the front is evenly spaced under the right and left front pocket. Topstitch the hem in place.
BUTTONHOLES & BUTTONS
If you are making View C, you need to sew three horizontal buttonholes on center front to close the jacket (you can also install snap buttons - see our tutorial here). We designed the jacket to be closed left over right, so our buttonholes will be sewn to the left front of the jacket. If you prefer your jacket to close right over left, feel free to switch sides! We still have the buttonhole locations marked on our left front with our original tailor's tacks in red thread, so we know they are evenly spaced, we just need to confirm the length of the buttonholes. Measure your buttons to determine how long the buttonholes should be. Add 1/8" of length to either side of the button so you have space to get the button in and out. Mark the length at the location on your jacket front and sew your buttonholes at your machine. You can also check out our buttonhole tutorial for more tips on how to sew the perfect buttonhole.
Strengthen the buttonholes with some fray stop before opening them with either a buttonhole chisel or a seam ripper.
When you have opened the buttonholes, mark the location for where the buttons will be sewn. Use a pencil to mark the location through the hole on the far side. If you center it on the buttonhole your jacket front will shift over giving you more ease than intended.
If you haven't sewn the buttonholes on the back button placket vent already, now is also the time! The buttonholes should be evenly spaced and centered on the left vent. Mark the location of the buttons through the buttonholes with a pencil. They should be as close to center front as possible.
Mark the button locations on the sleeves, centered through the buttonhole.
As we mentioned before, if you are using a thick fabric, you will want a little wiggle room when you sew on the buttons so you can do them up easily. Our buttons had shanks, but if yours are more like regular buttons, sew them on by making a making a thread shank.
OPTIONAL LAPEL BUTTON
You may want to add an optional snap button at the neck (great for keeping your chest warm!). Try on the jacket buttoned up or with the belt looped closed. We've suggested a location for the button on the pattern, but you can tweak that to see what works for you. If you need help installing snaps, check out our tutorial!
Enjoy your new studio maker jacket! It's glorious now but hopefully it will soon be covered in bits of thread, paint, clay... the signs of a well loved garment made just for makers!