Bound Buttonholes

Since I had more construction photos of this coat, I decided- being on a roll and all that :)), another mini tut was in order. Must be tons of great info on this in cyberspace, but here it is for what it's worth;

The Very Incomplete Bound Buttonhole Tutorial

And notice on the side bar of my blog: I have put a picture of the Magnifiers that are glued to my head on a daily basis. Lindsay T used them while constructing a gorgeous, boned, strapless dress- What I Learned, Part 1. I have an extra pair... maybe another giveaway in the future? :)) Seriously, I couldn't sew without them, and I mean it. You may not believe me, but once you've tried these you'll never go back, they are a blessing.

Lapel and Buttonholes

Two firsts for me:

A lapel roll

Triangular bound buttonholes.

And of course both techniques came from Roberta Carr :))

The lapel roll is constructed using cotton cording and hair canvas. I couldn't find the very thick cording so I used many thinner ones instead. Not perfect but it works. I held my powerful gravity iron upright and added plenty of steam and then let it cool off.

The triangular buttonholes were surprisingly easy. I used the same silk charmeuse I'm using for lining and they look pretty good and tie in with the angular design of both the fabric and the coat. And the fabric markers arrived and, although not completely fixing the problem, reduces it a bit.

Below is the facing buttonhole which I just did as a regular rectangle.

Thank you Digs for that fabulous explanation on ottoman fabric. Here's the page Ottoman fabric at TextileGlossery.com

I didn't know this resource existed so a double thank you for that.

And Nancy; so happy the sleeves on your fabulous jacket worked out!

Some Juicy Details

Just a couple of shots so I can do a review. Thanks for all your lovely comments. This was a successful project and I'm grateful for that considering the PRICE of this fabric!

I'm now making a jacket (and probably a skirt) for me-myself-I, and will post shortly. Nothing complex though it has a few tricks (welt pockets and bias contrast bands). The first one to correctly name the BWOF pattern I'm using will get a nice surprise: Fabric for a jacket from F & S of her/his? (lol) choice within reason of course- they do have some stuff way past the 500/yd mark :) And Nancy, you're not eligible cause you already know :))

I'll go by the same rule as Cidell did in her recent giveaway: You must have commented on my blog at least once, and you must promise to make this jacket within the year 2009. I will pay for the shipping as well- even to Australia :))

Okay, if you bothered to read this far, forget about the coat pictures and go check your BWOF mags. :))

Here is a link to a photo of DD doing a marvelous pose in her messy room :))

And the Chanel Journey Continues...

Getting closer but I'm taking mine time with this. The jacket fits well, and I'm now working on finishing the interior. I took a break and made the trim- just couldn't wait, too exciting! Below are some more construction pictures as well as the trim. The facing needed extra care; I had to stay stitch the shoulder/collar seam in addition to fusing the cut point. If you're making a Chanel jacket for the first time, skip anything with facings. And as little plaid/match-up as possible. Unless, of course, you're like me, and just can't be truly happy without some serious challenges :-))

First up, the facing buttonholes...

... the lining seam construction (they are all done this way) and sleeve vent...

... the fringe...

... and finally the organza (which will be the ruffled trim)...

I ended up using silk organza as interfacing for the front/collar. It turned out to be just the right 'hold' without adding stiffness. Thank you Marji for all your help, and Lindsay, if you do go ahead with that jacket, make sure to turn to Marji if you get stuck.

And if you love Chanel, be sure to check mem's comment in the previous post; a priceless story about the woman who makes the Chanel trim. Thank you, mem!

"Chanel" Jacket Construction

I’m in love.

I’m in love with Chanel

I’m in love with Chanel and boucle

I’m in love with Chanel and boucle and silk

I’m in love with Chanel and boucle and silk and hand stitching

What an experience it is to handle this rag-a-muffin. Each step in this process has been pure pleasure so far, and not on the basic level. On the highest, stratospheric, out-of-this world level.

I so appreciate all of you who left me helpful tips on how to approach this unique jacket construction. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Documenting the process has improved my sewing tremendously (thank heavens for the iPhone!), and all of you play a huge part in that. I always think of what needs to be explained with pictures, and those pictures help me catch errors before it’s too late. Thank you for reading my blog and taking the time to leave a comment.

I made a muslin of BWOF 1-2008-127, eliminated the CB seam, and moved the back waist dart to the back princess seam. I also moved the upper backside toward CB, eliminating some gaposis at the back armhole. I raised the armhole about 3/8” and scooped out a bit in front, and added a bit of coverage to the back. The shoulder seam was moved forward just a tad.

After working with the boucle, I think all of this tweaking was a waste. It’s so drapey and forgiving, these changes will play a minimal (if any) role in the final fit.

Btw, if you're looking for a very fitted princess seamed jacket, BWOF 1-2008-127  is a great pattern. And the shawl collar is super flattering imo.

After taking apart the muslin and cutting off SA, I placed the muslin on right side of the fabric in a single layer. This is where matching the plaid (in my case; the satin ribbons) takes center stage. You will need lots of room around each piece as well, since a minimum of 2” SA is necessary. I thread-traced around each piece, and cut.

Since this is a shawl collar jacket, I needed to make front facings, which is not part of the Chanel construction in the Threads article. I cut four of the front pattern (like the BWOF pattern calls for), and put the facings aside to be quilted/attached later.

For lining, I dyed a piece of silk charmeuse in Light Pink (I know, here comes the dye again- but I didn’t have a choice, honestly! F & S didn’t have the right color.) I placed it on the table, right side facing down, and placed the cut boucle- one piece at the time- on top, right side facing up. I pinned down vertical lines, spaced 1 1/4” apart (due to the ribbon pattern), and 1” away from all seam lines and ending 2” above the hem fold line. I used silk thread- off white in needle, light pink in bobbin-, a walking foot and longer stitch length. I left thread tails at each beginning and stop, which I pulled to the inside and tied off.

Then I pinned the CB on the dressform and pinned the sidebacks, folding in SA, and matching each side square by square. After slip-basting in place on the form, I hand stitched all seams using small back stitches. The shoulder/collar seam point is the tricky part. I fused the point that needs to be cut, stitched the shoulder seams, cut the points and stitched the back neck/collar together. 

I needed three buttonholes, and after quite a bit of experimentation, I used medium fusible interfacing on both the front and welt, the stitched rectangle is 1” long by 1/2” wide. Next, I will make the buttonholes in the facing and quilt the facings on. Then the sleeve... and finally the trim. Very excited about the trim.