i finished off butterick 4610 a couple days ago, adding my trim and buttons to finish it off. everything about this went smoothly, and i really have to credit sherry over at pattern-scissors-cloth and her RTW tailoring sew-a-long posts. that woman has such a wealth of knowledge over on her blog that it's almost criminal she gives it away for free. i hope she puts out a book someday, i would buy it in a heartbeat! so needless to say, i chucked butterick's instructions aside, followed her lead and it really paid off. she has tons of RTW finishing techniques that give my blazer a real polish. now, i have a blazer that i am more than proud of and happens to be highly functional for my everyday life.
this is a really nice pattern, but i had to alter some bits to get the fit i was looking for. i outlined it all over on my last post so i won't bore you with it here, though i think i forgot the part where i added 1.25" to the sleeve length. i have monkey arms.
i am seriously dying over this blazer.
i think making this was a good training session to get me in gear for my winter coat project. you would think that sewing a blazer would make me crash and burn and not want to touch a similar project for months. but in actuality it has me even more excited! initially i planned to hand tailor my coat with the hair canvas and the pad stitching and such, but i had such amazing results with the RTW tailoring (using fusibles) that i just don't feel the need to take that kind of time anymore.
the thought of hand tailoring doesn't intimidate me anymore (and i'm sure i'll do it someday) but for my time i'll go the RTW route and i don't think i'll regret it. so unless i have a dilly of a time with fitting, the whole coat shouldn't take more than a week. and once again, if anyone is interested in following my coat making, i'll be posting often as the coat progresses, showing you the steps and pointing you toward online information and sharing what little knowledge i have on the topic. we can all hold hands and make coats together!
—lisa g.
