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Mar 25, 2013

Getting started on the 70's sheet jacket



You knew I was making a jacket to match those pants, right?

Fortunately my double flat sheet is large enough for both garments.  Is a double the same as a twin or a queen?  Anyway, it is -- well, was -- a big sheet. 



Of course, when you're making a blazer, cutting your fabric is the easy part.  That's basically what I've accomplished so far, along with interfacing my jacket fronts (with fusible of course) and front facings, and sewing my sleeves.

I'm using interfacing remnants I have around -- a black weft-weight from Mood, and some white weft-weight from Steinlauf & Stoller that's somewhat more delicate.  Neither shows through on the outside, which is why I'm mixing them; I didn't have enough of either one to do the entire job.





So far no glitches.  Tomorrow I'll do my welt pockets: there are four in all: outer breast, inner breast, and two large outer pockets.  All three outer pockets have flaps, so that should keep me busy most of the day.

I also intend to line the jacket, which will be good practice for my gray suit jacket.  This whole exercise is really a practice run for that project, which I am aiming to have finished by the third week of April.

I've used this pattern before (Simplicity 8368) to make my blue linen jacket.  I'd like this jacket to have a more natural shoulder.  The linen was so droopy that I needed slightly larger shoulder pads to keep the right shoulder in particular from visibly sagging in back.  The muslin didn't have that problem so I don't know if it was the linen itself, the additional weight of a back stay, or the lining.  I do tend to hold my right shoulder slightly lower than my left but not that much.



With the shoulder pads.
Without the shoulder pads.
The original muslin:





So that's where things stand as of today.  We'll see if I can get through this by week's end.  I'm anxious to get the gray suit started.

Hope your sewing is going well.  We had snow flurries today if you can believe it -- hope you're having a springier spring that we are (so far).

Happy Monday, everybody!

14 comments:

  1. I thought a double was a full, even though a full is essentially a bed and a half.

    Impressive progress!

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  2. Looking good! Gosh, I never thought of making pants from a sheet... the closest I got was brainstorming about how I can turn all my son's useless flat sheets (he just kicks them off) into fitted sheets. I found a sewing tutorial online, but the best part is that I'm using elastic from the undies my son just outgrew, so I don't need to spend anything on the elastic! (You've inspired me to be Earth-friendly and reuse whatever I can!)

    I love your jacket. I know it probably bugs you to have those shoulder pads in there, but I think it suits you well! (pun intended)

    Keep up the great stuff... I always love coming to your blog. Such great inspiration. You're such a "real" person that it makes someone as inexperienced with a sewing machine as I am feel like even I can make something great!

    We had snow today too... perhaps if we all use our mental powers we can summon the sun? I'm game...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Underwear into sheets? That's a new one! LOL

      To quote Mae West: "It's real, it's all real!" ;)

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    2. Well, I figured if you can turn sheets into vintage underwear, I can turn vintage (and by "vintage" I mean "completely destroyed") underwear into sheets! Hehee!

      I doubt there will be anything even REMOTELY sexy about my finished product, though. ;)

      Delete
  3. It's snowing here too. I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it!
    That's a very cheerful sheet. I had forgotten how exuberant the 70s were, textile-wise

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  4. A double sheet is neither a twin or a queen, but somewhere in between. I have been having this conversation over and over with my husband who can't remember that a twin is actually a single and a double is the same as a full. Go figure.

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  5. A "single" sheet fits a single or twin bed. A "full" sheet fits a double bed. A "queen" sheet fits a queen (wider than double) bed. A "king" sheet fits a king (wider than queen) bed. There are also a few less common width sizes, as well as fitted sheets which are deeper so that they do not easily slip off a mattress occupied by very active sleeper.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's the same as a full. We use that size back in NZ. Single = Twin Double = Full and the Royalty stay as they are.

    If it confuses you to think of a full as a double imagine how I felt when moving to the US to find out a single one person bed was a twin bed. How small was that twin?

    Full is like a roomy one person bed but can fit two people reasonably. Think cheap motel size. I think double/full was the normal bed for couples back in the day before supersizing. More intimate

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  7. I can't wait to see this! It's going to be fab!

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  8. Your blue flowered sheet jacket is - and I say this affectionately - hilarious! I love the previous comment about the exuberance of the 70s textiles - why are we so much less adventurous in this new century?

    Your blog is my favorite, in particular because, among the bloggers I follow, your focus remains true to the art and craft of sewing. So many others are blogging about their products or their business model or their pets that I despair of a good morning latte with a sewing "friend." You're keeping the faith, and writing about what brings us here together: sewing and fashion.

    Love it, thank you, keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sungold. I do try to let the dogs have their moment now and then; they have a fan base!

      Delete
  9. Peter, you need your own TV show! Or maybe your own channel! I love your style. And I do miss those fun 70s sheets.

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  10. HOLY YES, I'm SO glad you're making a matching jacket!!

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  11. That's going to be amazing and I'm inspired! I recently found a pair of 1950's curtains for £3, in a silvery grey shiny stuff with large purple flowers. I'm planning on making a jacket and matching skirt if there's enough to go round.

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