I finished this up at the end of September but never had a good moment to take photos. This morning I was woken by brilliant sunlight and thought, today’s the day! It’s a little unseasonal but I think these things are good to remind us that it won’t always be this cold; there shall be more days when we drink tea in the sun and say things like, this is heavenly…
Pattern:Passport Dress and Jacket, Simplicity 2209 (Sew Lisette).
Really, worth every penny. Perfectly pitched in terms of difficulty. There are a few things where you have to take your time but the nice details – like the darts in the bodice and the pleats in the skirt – are fun and easy to do. The jacket, too, is well laid out for someone like me, who’d never made one before.
I noticed how only in the Simplicity book (the one you pick patterns from in the shop) are the Sew Lisette patterns listed as Petite. They definitely are: I’m very narrow-shouldered and love the patterns purely for the fit in this area. I didn’t have to make any adjustments.
Fabric: 100% cotton from Ikea, about 1.5m. I used white bias binding around the armholes.
So! The jacket! This was my first jacket but err… I didn’t even make a muslin. I did measure my pattern pieces very, very carefully though and was pretty confident about the size. Thankfully it turned out as intended.
I bought a button for it. When I took out the jacket this morning, I realised I had never sewn it on. Figuring this was as good a time as any to sew it on, I went to locate it and then spent a good three-quarters of an hour searching. I still have no idea where it is which is why I am modelling with a pin through the buttonhole. Sigh!
Fabric: 100% linen from Murphy Sheehy’s – I bought 2m hoping to eke out a little skirt to go with it but the panelling on the jacket took up the whole lot. I recall it being a good price, about €15/m. The lining is a seersucker polyacetate from The Cloth Shop and I have no idea what I paid for it, maybe something like €8/m. So, a little on the expensive end but a nice dressy, light jacket is hard to find.
As I said, I didn’t have to make any adjustments to the fit. The collar took patient basting and stitching but it came together well. I’m glad I interfaced where the pattern said to because it gives the front really good structure, especially with the linen.
The instructions do not including how to line the jacket so I basically made it up as I went along. I know there are lots of good tutorials out there but I didn’t get around to looking at even one of them! It was pretty straight-forward, actually. I just cut the pattern out again and sewed the facings on to it before I attached the facings to the body.
The instructions do include how to finish off the insides for leaving it unlined which is nice to have should I want to make another. I could see myself making another to go with an outfit for a certain occasion, something I would only occasionally wear, in which case it probably wouldn’t be worth lining. This one, I think I will definitely wear a lot.
Overall, I think it’s a nice outfit and the jacket will work with lots of other clothes I have. The pattern is really straight forward and if you have never made a dress or a jacket, would be a good place to start.