Tuxedo Style Jacket made with wool/poly blend

This was a fun jacket to make, but the inset collar is a bit challenging.  I drafted this pattern after seeing a ready to wear jacket with an inset collar.  The drafting was a bit tricky, however worth the effort since this pattern is quite versatile for making a more formal wear jacket.  This Jacket has mostly traditional tailoring:  Plenty of Extra Interfacing on the hems, sleeve heads, custom shoulder pads, mitered sleeve vents, welt pockets.

Oh the beauty of Silk!!!  Silk Brocade pencil skirt and a silk top.

Good topstitching.  I stitch over tissue paper (medical table paper that I purchase by the case).  It's cheap and can be torn away from the fabric without disturbing the stitch.

The baby hem.  The perfect hem for a silk.  I do this by machine using a method that I found on pinterest.  I tried using my 1/4 rolled hem foot, but it's just too risky when you pay over $15/yard for silk.  The final result is sheer joy!!!

Poly or silk chiffon for a a wonderful draped top. Suit weight wool for the pencil skirt.

1/4" binding for the neckline and armholes.  This is achieved using a 1/4 binder attachment for my juki TL98 straight stitch machine.  

French Seams:  The hallmark of good sewing.  A must when sewing sheer and semi sheer fabrics. 

Here's my 1/4" binder attachment for my juki.  Use this with a compensating foot as I have in the above picture and you will get the most perfect binding.  But go very slow and use the awl to make sure you stay on the binding.  And make sure you cut your bias binding exact to ensure quality work.  When I work with chiffon I cut 1 1/4" to make 1/4" binding. 

Jeans and the contoured waistband

Let me start by saying that I'm fascinated with jeans.  I once had over 100 pair in my closet.  I now own 6 pair.  My husband has taught me about purging.  That being said.  I'm now fascinated w/ one or 2 really good fitting jeans.  I've worked on my jeans pattern for about a year now.  And as of last night finished a pair of jean shorts that have a few things to be perfected, but overall the fit is really good.  I  need to tweak the contoured waistband just slightly at this point.


The contoured waistband makes all the difference in fit.  I cut the waistband last.

Here's a some progression pictures of the stretch jean shorts:

 Precise topstitching……a must!!!! Take your time.  I have various size topstitching feet for my juki TL98E.

 I lined my pockets with a beautiful fabric I bought in singapore.

 Here's a great thing to note:  Iron up your hems before sewing the side seams.  It just makes the whole hemming process go faster.  It's easier to iron when everything is flat.  This ensures the both legs match.

 The fly front is the most important step.  If this does not look perfect you will have a homemade look instead of a RTW look.  I use Sandra Betzina's method without failure every time.

 Buy nice rivets of high quality to give it the finishing touch.  I also embroidered a small snowflake on the change pocket.  Topstitching must be precise as well.

Neue Mode Knit Dress

Another ITY Knit Dress.  This one was made using a free Neue Mode Pattern 23156:

The neck and armholes are done with facings.  I use a commercial grade 5 stitch cover machine to sew all my knits.  I used the singe needle chain stitch to finish this dress.  A double needle would have made it look to casual.  The back of the dress is ruched from the neck to the waist.

Sewing a Notched Collar

Firstly, I always find the newest methods used in the fashion industry before I take on a project.  The last time I made a notched collar using these methods was about 5 years ago, so I really needed a refresher.  So I turned to threads magazine for a tutorial:

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/24957/how-to-sew-a-notched-jacket-lapel

Here's my practice piece.  I always practice the technique before I attempt the project.  It's like measuring twice.  Good thing I did, because although I nailed the technique of a smooth, bulk free join from the collar to the lapel.  I failed in 2 major ways.  My under collar was too large so the seam line did not roll under (See pic #2) and I under stitched the front piece by mistake.

 Pic #1 Bulk free perfect join.

Pic #2 Undercollar is too large and the seam line is not rolling under.

 Pic #3 I got confused and under stitched the front side of the lapel instead of the back side.  I will not forget that mistake again.  But the corner was perfect and completely bulk free.

 Pic #4.  I'm not 100% sure but I think the collar may be a bit too short.  I'll work this out before I start my project.  It looks like I need to cut into into and spread it just a bit.

 Pic #5 Notch every match point on the collar so assembly to the jacket is perfect.

 Pic #4 Interface the collar but only up to the Seam Allowance.  This is very important for bulk free corners.

Pic #5 My inspiration.  The final jacket will have a peplum like this one when I'm finished.