Delia's Fall/Winter jacket has been made. I go back and forth every year about making jackets for the girls. I want to use wool but it can't be too scratchy. I also realize the labor involved is substantial—with no guarantee that the girls will wear them. I have been lucky so far. I think it's because they pick out the fabric, patterns, and buttons themselves (with some jedi mind tricks by me, of course.) This jacket is made from Simplicity 2534. The fabric is 80% wool 20% cashmere and is heavenly to touch and work with. The Mini Boden style polka dot lining is 100% cotton.
There is no shortage of pockets. There are pockets set in the seam on the outside and hidden pockets on the inside—with the requisite matching notebook. This a small moleskin journal covered with fabric using Heat & Bond Lite. I now use over-sized industrial snaps on jackets instead of buttons with buttonholes. I can always re-attach a yanked-off snap, but it's harder to repair a stretched-out buttonhole.
Happy. Happy.
There is a ton of jacket inspiration out there. We just got the Garnet Hill Kids catalog today and saw this one, and then there are to-die-for jackets over at Little Fashion Gallery. For sewing patterns, this coat pattern from Oliver & S is so very stylish—especially for the little dudes.
So, I did see a jacket similar at Target for $25 a few weeks ago and just about had a heart attack because it was a long week when I saw it and I was fried and hadn't even cut out this jacket yet and just thought, "Why am I sewing this?" Then there was the jacket still to sew for Sadie—the whole thing just made me feel really tired. Happily, the sewing stars aligned with this project and working on it a little bit, every few days for about a week, it came together really easily with no swearing and Delia loves it. That alone is worth it. This jacket, plus the lining and the pattern, was made for just under $40. That one at Target was 100% acrylic. The nice wool ones that I like are more than $200, so it's all good.
Sadie's jacket is almost done. It hasn't been as stellar of a sewing experience. It's a different pattern and looks lovey, but there has been swearing. There is some evil law that only one of my girls will get a perfectly sewn garment, never both of them. Baby will get a hand-me-down jacket or a towel. Or both. She's still prone to ripping her clothes off at any given moment, anyway.
Unrelated:
I have become a bit obsessed with the vintage-style hair and make-up tutorials over on YouTube. I immediately did my hair after watching this. It looks pretty amateurish, but hey, the girls like it. And it did only take about 5 minutes. Pete says it's very Blade Runner. He also said it was very high. Like in the air. Okay, then.
