Spring Bling! Blush Baby Sequins Bomber Jacket - M7100

YES, Spring is here.  And I decided to start it off with something sparkly and fun.  I promised my daughter a bomber jacket  (M7100).  To make it special, I chose Mood's Blush Baby Sequins on mesh.  Pink is definitely her color.  This beautiful baby sequins comes in a great selection of vibrant colors.  It sews like a dream.  No need to cut sequins from the seam allowances and no breaking needles. It's worth the cost.  Keeping the bling on ten, I used Mood's Baby Pink Sparkle rib knit trim for the collar, cuffs, and waistband.  All eyes on this beauty.

For a matching skirt, McCall's 7906, view A the perfect choice.  It was also the "Sew Your View" pattern for March, 2019.  I decided to join the challenge making two skirts for my DD.  Candy Blue and Pink mercerized cotton with digitally printed sweets.  Cute. Right?  Anyway,  my DD thinks so. ;-) The second skirt is made of Gray/Blue Purple Floral cotton poplin.

Natural fibers are the best to work with.  No fuss with sewing or pressing.

Details on the constructions:

Jacket - I used between small and medium.  Instructions typical and easy to follow.  I added a lining for body and stability.  When pressing the seams of the sequins, an organza pressing clothe is a must have.  It makes it easy to see the seams while protecting the fabric.

This jacket is a quick sewing project and could be finished in a few hours.  For this first one, it took me some time to find a zipper.  First, trying to find one in Chicago.  You would think I could find a separating pink zipper locally, right?  Finally, I ordered from Wawak.  Playing it safe I ordered two, just in case.  Wawak is a great online source for sewing supplies and my order came within four days of placing it.

Skirts - Easy breezy - I used sized 12 for view -A.  Instructions easy; no problems.  Something that I rarely do is sew the buttons on by machine.  It saved me a little time.

The sewing was fun and fast. I enjoyed the process from start to finish for all three garments.

Our Saturday photo shoots rendered some great shots of my first spring outfit to showcase.  DD and I are tickled pink with how well it turned out.

 

 

Til next time.  Happy Sewing!
Cennetta

PS - Andrea has a  Youtube tutorial on how to sew sequin fabric.  Check it out.

Vintage McCall's Bomber Jacket M7203 and Vogue Jogging Pants V8909

One of the things that I love to do sometimes is mix and match patterns.  In this case, I used the bomber jacket of a vintage McCall's pattern V7203 and Vogue 8909 jogging pants.

I first planned to make the bomber jacket about a year and half ago, but I never got around to it until now.  Sure, I purchased McCall's bomber jacket from last year, but I liked this one better.  The vintage pattern has two options for making the collar, waistband, and wristbands: one for ribbed knit and the other the same fashion fabric as the jacket (collar and wristband cut on the bias - the waistband with rows of elastic inserted between channel stitches.)

Here are my reviews for the McCall 7203 bomber jacket and the Vogue 8909 jogging pants:

McCall 7203 Bomber Jacket

Pattern Description: Jacket has separating zipper and long sleeves with elasticize waistband, cuffs and neckband. 

Pattern Sizing:  6-16; My pattern was size 16, copyright 1980.  Only one size per envelope during that time.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes it did. 

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes the instructions were easy to follow.  When I opened the envelope to review them, I had to chuckle.  This pattern is almost 36 years old.  The guide sheet has colored illustrations.  Unlike the guide sheets on today.  The blue indicates the right side of the fabric.  The pattern pieces are also different, having large print and numbers to indicate notches and layout instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the option of having the entire jacket had in the fashion fabric and the instructions on how to do so.  Also, bomber jackets are on trend.  No real dislikes.

Fabric Used:  I purchased this lovely faux ultra suede from JoAnn's.  The chestnut or cinnamon color is also on trend.  This warm color is perfect for my skin tone.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  I didn't make any changes.  The pattern is a size 16.  So I thought it should be okay across the bust and shoulder areas. 

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  Yes, I want to sew it again, but in a mesh or lacy fabric.  I noticed some pull at the neck area.  So I will address that before I do so.  And, I think I will add a few inches more to the length of the waistband elastic as it pull a little more than I'd like it to.  I do recommend the construction technique to other.  You should be able to use a more recent pattern to get the same results by cutting the fabric for the collar and wristband on the bias; also by adding the elastic to the waistband with channel stitches.

I really enjoyed making this jacket.

Vogue 8909 Jogging Pants

Pattern Description: Fitted (below waist) pants have elastic waistband and purchased ribbon drawstring, yoke back, side-front seams, no side seams, and side-front pockets. A, B: Elasticized leg bands. B, C: Stitched hems.  I had view B lengthening the pant leg by a few inches.

Pattern Sizing:  4-26; I used size 14.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, they did except I eliminated the draw string and only did two rows of elastic instead of three.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Nothing difficult about them.  Simple.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the back yoke, pocket placement, mock fly, and front/side seaming.  My only dislike was the length as shown on the model.  I like my pant a little longer.  In this case I over compensated by a inch or so. Next time I won't add as much length to them.

Fabric Used: I used a lovely faux ultra suede from JoAnn's.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  The only changes to the pants were: eliminated the draw string, only inserted two rows of elastic instead of three, and lengthen the pant leg.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  Yes, and yes.  This will be my go to jogging pant pattern.

So there you have it.  My new bomber jacket and jogging pants outfit.   They can be worn together or with other coordinates.

Happy Sewing!
C

Notes on a Pattern - Part I McCall 7203 Vintage Bomber Jacket Pattern

 My pattern collection is scandalous! It is ridiculously over the top.  I already have a substantial hoard of patterns.  But, I also have three years of Burda Magazine patterns that I rarely sew from. (I'm working on that.  The magazine is full of cute styles, but a pain in the butt to trace off.).  Every season, I purchase patterns from JoAnn's and Hancock's when they are on sale. While I'm making my selections, I convince myself that it's not too bad, because I'm always sewing and most times I only pay a dollar or two for each pattern.  So why am I saying all of this? To explain why I came up with this series, to share my thought process for selecting certain patterns, and to talk about how I use them to create the clothes I wear.

That being said, this is my first post for the Notes on a Pattern series. I took my inspiration for this entry from Rhonda B's posts: March 10th inspiration and April 7th.  Lori (Girls in a Garden) also posted an inspiration outfit on the Mood Sewing Network. She included a link to Tracy Reeses' Spring/Summer Collection (love, love it).  These posts started my quest to make my own bomber jacket. Well, guess what?  I could not find a pattern at first. Then about a month or so ago.  BAM!

I found this New Look jacket. But before I buy another pattern, I searched through my many banker boxes of patterns hoping to find a similar jacket. Eureka! Apparently, I purchased the pattern below back in the day (1980c).

It had to be for a client, can't remember though. Now, I have what I need to make my inspiration jacket.

So, let's take a look at the details of this pattern. The jacket is like the jackets showcased in Rhonda's April 7th, with the omission of the zipper pockets. This is an easy design change.

Another thing that I like about it is there are two options for creating the waistband. You can use ribbed knit, or you can use woven fabric that requires you to make several casings for elastic by channel stitching several rows. The construction process is easy.

There are only six pattern pieces for each view of the jacket. The pants aren't bad either. This is a project that you will see on my blog sometime between now and the end of summer.

I chuckled when I first opened the guide sheet.  My mind wonder back to the early days when the construction was more challenging to me.  I also thought about the many garments I avoided because I was afraid to try them.  The print and illustrations are huge compare to today standards.  And finally, did you notice the price, $2.50?  Big difference from today's suggested retail price.

Happy  Sewing!
Cennetta