Jacket 5 - Construction of the Outer Jacket.
Now I am ready to put the parts together. I have two jacket fronts (a left and a
right), the back, and two sleeves carefully checked to be sure they are mirrors
of each other. I have been known to end
up with two right or two left sleeves.
So, I took extra care to be sure I got these correct. The fronts and back go together easily. I have to keep the chest piece out of the
shoulder seam but as it is only tailor basted, it is easy to fold back. It’s beginning to look like a jacket.
Next is setting the sleeves.
This is where having the notches marked is helpful. I could find the front and back notches and
the shoulder seam point on the sleeves but the back notch on the jacket seems to
have disappeared. Ugh. Fitting the sleeves was more challenging than
it needed to be. I finally measured
where the back notch on the jacket should be and then fitted the sleeve. I usually would just pin and sew but this
time I basted the sleeve in place and checked the outside for fit. The first sleeve looked good; and was good
when sewn. I had basting to pull out but
the fit was smooth and even. Now for the
second sleeve. It always seems that
there is one sleeve which is a problem.
The second sleeve proved harder to fit smoothly. I ripped out the back seam twice before I had
a smooth seam with no gatherers or pleats.
And now I have a jacket!
Well, half a jacket. All the
interior finishing has to be completed.
I hemmed the sleeves before setting them but the lower hem is still to be
completed along with the lining. One
nice thing about this pattern is that the back does not have a vent at the hem nor do the
sleeves overlap openings at the cuff..
Before moving on to the facing and lining, there was one
more construction project – shoulder pads and sleeve heads. Pressing the armhole seams was a
conundrum. I always press the seam into
the sleeve. But the tailoring book said
to press the seam on the sleeve cap open.
I decided another opinion was needed and turned to Claire Shaeffer’s Couture
Sewing Techniques. She explains that
the seam below the notch should be pressed flat so as to not add bulk to the
side of the jacket. The seam above the
notches and cap should be pressed open to prevent a ridge from forming around
the cap. I pressed the cap section of
the armhole seam open. It was a struggle
to get the armhole seam over the ham and
open and at the same time keep the layers of the chest piece out of the way. It wasn’t easy but I made it happen. Now the shoulder pad is placed in the
shoulder pad pocket, basted in place, and then stabbed stitched to the armhole
seam that has been pressed open. The top
and side of the shoulder pad pocket are then catch stitched to keep everything
in place. Finally, the sleeve head strip
is slip stitched to the armhole seam round the cap. The first shoulder pad was a struggle but
then the second just went together.
The jacket and its internal structure are complete. The next adventures are the facing, lining and creating the inside pocket, and collar. (Pictures
5-1 and 5-2)
*This is the 5th posting in a series by Sandy Herman about making a tailored man's jacket.
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