It was the fabric first

Hello! I'm Challis, and I have been reading this blog for a long time. I have been inspired more than once by the Chanel style jackets posted here and I just completed mine.

Before all, I would like to thank Antoinette and Cindy for setting up this blog and for letting me post here and I'd like to congratulate with all the nice people who post here.

Let's talk about the jacket then!

I fell in love with this black and white boucle during last Autumn, and I have been wondering what to make out of it since then.

That is when I first met this blog and I started reading and following... it would be nice to make a Chanel style jacket with the boucle, I tought.  So the boucle I loved came home with me and my sewing adventure started.

Here follows another picture of the boucle, it is a blend of wool, polyester and lurex. Unfortunately the nice silver sparkling thread is not visible in the picture.

I cut a sample, to put in the washing machine. It came out perfect, so I pretreated all the fabric with the washing machine in a delicate wool cycle.

It was time to choose the pattern then.

My new found love of sewing slippery silk

Since this is the first garment I've sewn with a real silk lining I wanted to be sure I didn't botch it. I've also decided on trying Cheri Dowd's shortcuts construction method this time around (Threads article #128) so the cutting and assembly needs to be accurate if the lining is to be bagged first then quilted. In the past I've found this level of accuracy hard to achieve with slippery fabrics, so this time I applied myself more diligently to the task.

Using very fine new pins and fabric weights I secured the silk to tissue paper and cut it out using a cutting wheel (a great suggestion from Sandra Betzina in Fabric Savvy, that worked a treat).



I used lots of fine pins to hold the seam together and sewed over the pins (took courage) using a very sharp 80/12 Jeans needle (which I was assured would be fine and it was, dispite my concern about using a jeans needle for silk).



Then using my new pressing tools I ironed the seams flat (the iron shield was a surprising success as it is used with the iron on the highest setting).



I am so happy with the results!



These are tips that you probably all know. Are there any others you know that I dont?

To interface or not to interface ...

As mentioned in previous posts, the lovely wool Sharon and I have chosen is a fairly loose weave and lightweight. I imagine it is lighter in weight than the traditional boucles used in a Chanel jacket. I'm tempted to use a light iron-on interfacing (before cutting it out) to add a bit of structure to the jacket and help reduce the fraying. However I also want it to have the soft cardigan quality typical of this type of jacket. I'm just concerned it may be too soft and perhaps floppy in appearance around the neckline. Sigrid also mentioned her fabric was too thin for quilting. I haven't tested mine yet but am hoping I can include the quilting so perhaps the interface would help. I'd love to hear what other people think and to know what those with thin fabrics are doing. Sharon, what are your plans? I'm not sure how far along you are. I hope you don't mind that we have the same fabric - I don't :-)

In the Zone

Finally, I am ready to get started. I've had my fabric (and muslin fitted) for a while, but finding the trim has proved more difficult than I expected.

I have been looking for something a little more unusual/interesting in aubergine/purple tones, but these two braids are the most promising of the trims I've found to date and neither are especially special or unique. My leaning at the moment is towards the stronger purple braid, as I love the contrast effect of the trim on the traditional Chanel jackets - the paler colour, while a perfect match, is not as dramatic. In the meantime I'll start sewing and keep looking (just in case a better trim presents itself). I also have a ball of wool in the right colour-way and (once the jacket is cut out) any left-over fabric threads that are perhaps another trim possibility.

Two Generations Shopping for Fabric

Although I thought about shopping in New York for my fabric, I realized it wouldn’t happen soon enough. We were in New York two weeks ago for a family BBQ in Queens, which meant there was no time for a side trip to Manhattan. I head for my favorite independent fabric store, Sarah’s Fabrics in Takoma Park. My daughter and I managed to get to the fabric store 30 minutes before closing. Can you select fabric for a dress and two Chanel-type jackets in 30 minutes? YES! She even picked out a piece for a skirt. We know what we like. We walk up and down the aisles and when we see it. BAM!


I saw the fabric for my dress, or what became the skirt of my dress once I put the pale taupe charmeuse and the black charmeuse next to it. Quick conference with my daughter and the pale taupe charmeuse became my bodice, the black charmeuse became the midriff, and the “dotted” chiffon became the skirt. While those fabrics were being cut, we searched for the fabrics for our jackets. My daughter doesn’t like the boucles; the texture is too much for her. What else can I use, she asks. Wool plaids are good. There on the bottom shelf, a purple and black houndstooth plaid. Purple is one of her favorite colors. She can’t be persuaded to consider anything else. She’s done. I spot my fabric as we head for the cutting table. It’s too much for my daughter; her eyes roll toward the ceiling.


Behind the cutting table are the silk charmeuse fabrics. Do you want a purple lining for your jacket, I asked my daughter. NO! That is just too much for her. Black silk charmeuse for her. For me, only the bright yellow-green silk crepe de chine will do.
Behind the front counter are trims. I tell Sarah’s husband I need a trim suitable for a Chanel jacket. He has not an idea what I want, but Sarah does and points him to the section of trims. I select the purple trim for my daughter. NO! She wants the subdued black trim. I sandwich the purple between the black trim. NO! One row of black trim. I chuckle. There’s a yellow-green trim that I am not sure about, but it looks okay because it picks up one of the colors in the fabric. I think about putting black ribbon trim under it and I buy it just in case I don’t find something I like better.


There are buttons galore. I decide to save the button decisions for another day. Generational shopping is fun, but draining. Thirty minutes is enough. We end the shopping trip with two tall frappuccinos and chocolate covered grahams.

Inspiration and Disappointment

I know many of you are in the process of picking out buttons and trims for your jackets so I thought I'd share this picture of Chanel buttons. I think it is these wonderful details that make the jacket.

Meanwhile, I am disappointed and still waiting to find lining for either of the two pieces of fabric I have. As with so many others my local fabric options are nonexistant so I sent swatches of my fabrics to several well known stores. One of my favorite sources, Josephine's sent some nice swatches but nothing that I loved. Another store which shall remain unnamed and charges for swatches, assured me they had a large selection and sent 10 pieces. Among them a silk brocade and several others that were totally unsuitable for lining. And some of the swatches were only about 1" square. I am hoping to hear from 2 other stores this week so I can get started. In the meantime I'm in a holding pattern and checking often to see what everyone else is accomplishing.

My First Chanel

Two weeks ago I saw the movie Coco Avant Chanel (which I loved), then last week there was a wonderful sale at one of my favourite fabric shops "The Fabric Store" in Sydney and this week, as part of a pattern-making course I have been doing, I was able to have my muslin professionally fitted. The stars are aligning and I am now launched on making my first ever Chanel-style jacket.

The pattern is Vogue 7975 and the fabric a beautiful lightweight loosely woven wool coating in lavender, pink and aubergine tones.



Something I hadn't realised until cutting out the muslin is that the pattern is sized as a "Misses". When I checked my body measurements against the chart I noticed I was between a size 12 and 14, when I am usually a size 10. Since the pattern I'd already purchased was sized 6-8-10 I made the muslin in size 10 and surprisingly it required only minor adjustment at the hip (despite the variation between the pattern measurements and my actual body measurements). In fact, it appears to be a perfect fit everywhere with only slightly extra hip width needed at the front (less than .5 cm on each princess seam below the waist line).




I do love the cut of this jacket; it seems to be very well designed and elegant in its simplicity. I've decided on View B, with full-length sleeves and no buttons. If there is enough fabric over at the end it would be lovely to make a matching skirt as well.

Is anyone else working with wool? I'm not sure of the best way to pre-treat the fabric. I'd rather not take it to the dry cleaners, so am considering steaming it in the drier with a wet towel or rolling it in a wet sheet over night, then steam pressing it with the iron. These are two suggestions I read on the Great Coat Sew-Along archive.

I am also wondering about fusing a very lightweight (possibly stretch) interfacing to the fabric before cutting, instead of quilting the fabric to the lining. The fabric is a loose weave and I thought this might help stabilise it. However I don't want to loose the soft cardigan like quality and drape of the Chanel jacket design. There is an interesting and informative discussion on this topic over at Lindsay T's blog,

… and, having read further on Lindsay's wonderful site (under tag 'Chanel') I am feeling more confident about the interface as my fabric sounds like it is a similar weave, my pattern is the same and I LOVE Lindsay's finished jacket. So, after pre-treating the fabric, next step is to fuse a very lightweight interfacing to my wool, initially as a patch test to ensure I don't loose the softness I'm after.

I'm enjoying everyone's posts and looking forward to the Chanel journey.

Cheers,
Sandra

Me too! Fabrics bought!

OK everyone else is showing their fabrics so I am happy to join in. These are the lining and outer fabrics I bought on my recent trip to Melbourne, Australia.


Both fabrics are silk and I have no idea about trims as yet. I am also undecided about the pattern (even though I had chosen one already!)

I have just (sort-of) finished my first jacket (not part of this sew-along). Photos are on my blog if you would like to see it.

My fabric decision is made!

Yesterday I went to Textile Fabric (Nashville) for the first time. Wow! This is the fabric store of my dreams, definitely worth the drive to Tennessee.

I had intended to get a silk suiting for my jacket, but I wasn't crazy about any of the silk choices. I did find a cotton blend I really liked, plus some matching silk lining and pretty trim.

I also got silk thread, pins for silk, and some basting needles (long and thin).

My husband said this fabric made him think of his grandfather's (French) WWII uniform.

I'm very happy with my fabric choices, so now I am focusing on reading and studying the technique and methods.

My dad mentioned to me that my grandmother has "one of those mannequins you pin clothes on" in her basement, so I may have a dress form at my disposal! I plan to drive down there this weekend to check it out. I will be so excited if it's a dress form I can use.

visit me: daily ode of delaïdo

Chanel deserves a trip for fabric

What fun to do this jacket, and great fun that the gang here is prompting everyone to do one! A great chance to hone my mothballed skills in this AND get a new jacket for me!!!

So first is design - on the Chanel.com site is the Winter 09/10 collection and there's this:I love this jacket - I love everything about it, but wonder if it will suit for a Chanel styled jacket - the quilting, the whole feel of the jacket. So I also find this...in black my fav classic color and of course hard to see, but I like the body style of this, and love the collar of the first, so this will be my design....
So this is my line drawing I'll work with....buttoned to waist, longer sleeves, probably a "kissy" type closure (where CF meets but doesn't overlap), stand up and stand away collar, no rounded extended shoulders (like the top design), and fairly classic, as these are meant to last.

Next fabric.... (and these are with my iPhone so they're not the best!) Although I can't take the time for a trip to NY to get fabric for this, I can trek to Dallas for the day and visit my favorite haunt there, Fabrique. If you're in the Southern Plains area, this is well worth a trip to visit. The girls there are so accommodating and willing to please, that I've rarely been disappointed. This is where I got the fabric for my muse's wedding and I do love their wares!


And although this looks like a Pucci accident, it really is fabulous....and maybe a slight redo in the design, as I love this print and may use part of it as binding for the jacket. And I love the black tweed, although it's hard to see in this picture, but wanted something relatively plain so that I could have the freedom to quilt the pattern of the lining or just whatever and got that. I also loved the colors in the lining/charmeuse as although the gray isn't in my family of colors, everything else is.

Here's another pic to show more of the tweed:
As far as the trim, it is fairly nondescript, as I will probably visit a fabulous shop in the historical capital city of my fair state, Sealed with a Kiss - they have killer yarns, and I will probably get something to tone with that yellow/beige to weave into the trim - at least that's Plan A! As far as buttons, I have two sets of Chanel buttons in my collection, so I will wait and see where I am...maybe a faux trip to NY to M & J via the net!